ARS Hotel, Rome

Author's product rating:   

Quality of Rooms	Excellent
Standard of Service	Excellent
Quality of Food & Drink	Good

Advantages:	Very peaceful, friendly staff
Disadvantages:	20 minute bus ride from centre

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I stayed in this hotel with my partner as part of a package deal bought on Last Minute.

You have to take a bus to get there, it is about 20 minutes from the Termini station (bus 90) and another 10 to get to Plaza Venezia (bus 60). We didn't find this difficult as we live in London and are used to travelling. I also found central Rome very hectic and noisy and so liked returning to a quieter suburb. Plus you get to see the 'real' Rome, where people live!

The hotel can be hard to find, you have to get off at the Sempione stop, cross the square and go up the hill, taking the first left on the corner with Blockbuster. It is a nice area, with shops, cafes and pizzerias, all much cheaper than central Rome. The buses run all night.

The hotel itself is gorgeous. It is four star, in a converted villa. It has very modern decoration, with modern art and black and white photos of Rome decorating white walls.

Our Rome had a wardrobe, trouser press, safe, hairdryer, satellite tv, and complimentary soap, shampoo, shower cap and shoe sponge. It was perfectly clean, and cleaned daily. There were also huge windows with shutters and heating that we could control ourselves. The bed was very comfortable, although I would have liked more blankets.

There is a buffet breakfast between 7 and 10, with cereals, fruit, croissants, rolls, cheese, ham, eggs, juice and beverages. There is also 24 hour room service, with reception open 24 hours. There is no restaurant, but food can be delivered to your room, and there is a bar. The lobby also has free internet access, and there is a small gym. There is a roof terrace too with a nice view, but we didn't get a chance to use it due to weather.

The reception staff were very friendly, asking us if we had been to Rome before and giving us tips. This was extremely detailed, they gave us a map and explained what each area was like as well as drawing the bus routes on there for us. They also recommended restaurants. They spoke fluent English and Spanish.

I can't praise this hotel highly enough, but do warn that you have to prepared to get the bus into the centre. It was also very couple orientated, we didn't see any families there. Children would probably be bored there, it seems geared towards peaceful, romantic weekends away.