I have stayed in several hotels, family owned B&Bs & other types of accommodation in Italy, etc. Hotel Ercoli can be loosely classified as a "hotel". As you walk into the main building, each floor consists of either a small 2 star hotel, pensione and residential apartments. To make your way to Ercoli, you go up the small old fashioned elevator to the floor where it's located.

When I entered the small reception area, I was welcomed by a friendly older man that didnt speak much English. Luckily my Italian gone me by. As soon as he showed me to my room, it was clear that the AC (which is advertised on their website) was not on. So, I kindly asked him to turn it on but he said they dont turn it on for another 1-2 hours (meanwhile, it was already close to 7PM and one of the hottest days this Sept). Later, I asked again to turn the AC on because the room didnt cool down after opening the window. The man turned it on but it was only blowing hot air. A few hours later, I advised him it still wasnt working so he flipped another switch but that didnt help either. Needless to say I didnt sleep that night!

The next morning I asked the girl working the front desk if they can fix the AC or change my room. She said there was nothing they could do about the AC and they were fully booked. So, luckily, I find another hotel down the road at almost the same rate and checked out of Ercoli.
It is interesting to see that many guests that have reviewed this hotel have had the same issue about the AC. So, if this is a consistent problem, then dont advertise the hotel has AC.

Overall, the "hotel" might be an average budget option depending on if you are are ok with fairly dark and modern rooms that lack character. This is a very basic hotel and the pics on the website make it look nicer and as if it's a hotel that is bigger than it really is. that being said, the rooms were clean and a decent size; just dont expect any frills...and possbily no AC.

We stayed at the hotel in September 2010, the staff are polite and Tomas is charming, he liked to practice his English. The breakfast is buffet style and offers a selection of rolls, croissants and other breads, cheese , meats , yoghurt, cereals and drinks etc, it is served in a very nice breakfast room. The room was small but adequate with a fitted wardrobe, desk, and a double bed and night tables views over the street which when we were there was no problem with noise etc. The downside is that the hotel is in a old building with a very old metal lift, but it was working all the time with no problems whilst we were staying.
We would go back to this hotel next time we are in Rome.

We only stayed for 1 night only. Flew in to Rome relatively late traveling to Amalfi Coast first thing in the morning, hence wanted to look for accommodation close to Termini. This hotel is perfect if you have similar plans.
Rooms clean and comfy, bathroom spotless too.
Breakfast was surprisingly good after all I read about Italian preferences for the 'colazione', I mean it was the typical European what-you'd-expect but served by nice and polite staff. Wide selection of teas as well, so I'm told ;-)

The hotel is really nice. It is located on the third floor in a building with two or three other hotels. Because of this you are given a key for the door to the building, a key to the door of the hotel and a key for your room. The hotel itself is really clean and looks very modern. Maps of Roma are provided at the reception. There's even a Spark Notes of Roma there if you need it.

The rooms are also clean and modern. There are a few hundred channels on the TV, so it's impossible not to find one in your language. There's a safe. The bathroom has a big shower and comes with soap, shower cap, shampoo and skin lotion.

The only problem with the room was that the A/C didn't work the first two nights. And it wasn't because it was broken, but as we realized the third night, because they had stopped the central A/C unit from the front desk. So every night when we got back to the hotel in the 30° weather of September, we had to go to the reception and ask them to turn on the A/C.

The breakfast was pretty basic, but good. Espresso, coffee, tea, milk, juice, ham, cheese, bread, croissant, fruits, yogurt, jam, honey, cereal.

The biggest problem with our stay was that upon checking out we were asked to pay for our stay. Which would have been fine, except that it was our impression that we had paid online by credit card when we had reserved our room. It was explained to us that the credit card number we provided was merely for safety reasons or something like that.
So on the morning of our checkout, when we were supposed to be catching a train to the airport, we had to scramble to find a way to pay the hotel. We tried three different credit cards, which after 15 minute of waiting for their payment machine, were all rejected. And then we had to run out and look for an ATM to get some cash.
We did miss the train to the airport, but luckily still made the flight. Not the best way to end a vacation in Roma. So beware when you pay.