Hotel Pensione Papa Germano

A small market takes place each weekday morning on the quiet side street where the friendly, no-frills Hotel Pensione Papa Germano is located. The family-run joint, located less than 10 minutes from Termini station, is a good central base from which to explore Rome. It’s clean, comfortable and offers both two-star hotel rooms and hostel-style dorms spread across three floors of a palazzo.

Quick read...

Pros: Convenient location. Cheap. Friendly staff. Historic building.

Cons: Can get noisy. No elevator.

Rooms

The Papa Germano’s 20 rooms come in various forms. Private rooms sleep one to four people, with or without a private bathroom, and dorm-style rooms sleep three or four people and share facilities.

Private singles and doubles are neat and unfussy, with wooden paneling, patterned bed covers, a simple bedside table and splashes of art (some of it modern, some of it not). All hotel rooms are equipped with air conditioning, a telephone and TV.

The dorms at the Papa Germano are very basic, furnished with single beds and little else (although the folks at the Papa G. are proud that their dorm beds are not bunks). Dorms are air conditioned but have no other amenities.

Bathrooms

The private bathrooms are attractive and modern with decent-sized showers. Many of the rooms without baths still include a small sink.

Hotel

The foyer area is a tad dated and decked out in orangy-creams and wooden paneling, with quite a bit of useful tourist information available. The adjacent breakfast room is simply furnished with a long sideboard for serving and small dining tables.

Breakfast is sometimes included in the room rate (check when booking). Wi-Fi is free throughout, and the Internet stations in the lobby are free for the first half hour with an additional charge thereafter. Note that rooms are only accessible via the steep stairs (there is no elevator).

Location

The neighborhood around Termini isn’t particularly beautiful (large transport hubs attract all sorts of characters—some of them shady), but it’s not unsafe, and the Papa Germano is within easy reach of most of Rome’s hotspots. The city’s historic center (home to the Colosseum and Roman Forum) is about 10 minutes away via bus or metro, or 30 minutes on foot. You’ll also find bars, cafés and supermarkets (among several “adult” entertainment choices) nearby.

To reach the Papa Germano from Termini Station, walk down the main thoroughfare, Via Volturno, and then turn right onto via Calatafimi. The hotel is located at the far end of the street and is fairly easy to spot from the road (there is a sign out front).

Guest reviews in brief

The Papa Germano is generally well received among guests, who note that it’s “nothing fancy” but it does the trick, and it’s spotless. Guests like the convenient location, but some advise being careful eating in this area—because they cater to tourists, the restaurants around here tend to jack up their prices. The breakfast, sometimes included in the room rate and which otherwise costs €5, also gets a good amount of praise.

As is typical for the area, guests complain of street noise.

* These reviews were provided by verified guests who booked through EuroCheapo's reservation partners. Click on the links below to read reviews in detail.