I am kind of surprised at all of the negative reviews on here. I am not sure whether or not I was lucky, or if other people are blowing things out of proportion.
On bed bugs: I will say that I stayed there for 8 nights, and did not have a single incident with bed bugs, as many have reported. It is probably also important to note that I was there in January -- this may have played a role in the absence of bed bugs.
On the staff: The staff was for the most part very helpful. They were willing to call me a cab when I needed one, and were knowledgable about the area. It was a little bit unprofessional, in that one evening I came home to find a friend of one of the staff sleeping in my bed. However, he apologized and gave me clean sheets, so it was not a big deal. It is true that there is a lockout every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., but this is really not a big deal in a city like Rome -- you can find plenty to do in that span of time.
On the location: The location is simply amazing, especially for the cost. I was doing research at the Vatican Library, and it was literally a 7-minute walk from the door of my hostel to the front door of the library. It is also a short walk from the Piazza de Popolo and the Villa Borghese (15-20 minutes). It is also not especially far from the historic center of Rome if you (30 minutes). It is also located especially close to two different metro stations (Ottaviano and Lepanto), and there is also a taxi stand a 5-minute walk from the hostel. In other words, you can easily get to anywhere in Rome by multiple modes of transportation from the hostel.
Cleanliness: This is one area that was certainly not excellent, but was also not horrible. The fact that they close from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day to "clean" would make one think that the rooms would be spotless, and they certainly are not.
Sleep Quality: I lucked out in this category. By going in a down part of the season, I ended up with essentially my own room for six of the eight nights I stayed there, despite paying for a 9-bed room. I didn't have to deal with people coming in and out all night, and got a good nights' sleep every night I was there. If you are going in January, there is a decent chance you get a good deal like what I got.
So, on the whole the stay at the hostel was a pleasant bed bug-less experience.
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