Easy (10 mins) walk from the train station made an easy transfer from the airport. The welcome we got was warm and friendly and the hostel was immaculate. I travelled with 3 other friends and we had the private en-suite room which was spread across a ground floor and mezzanine level and had air con (which we were able to use as we liked) and a lockable fridge which doubled up as a safe. Ok, so the view from the window was nothing to write home about but when you can walk to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps & Colloseo within 10mins each its no big deal! Despite all this the area was lovely and quiet and the room was fantastic value for money.

Note though-I actually travelled here in June 2006 so maybe things have changed?

we really regret staying here.
after merely seeing the room we went back to the office to change our booking from 3 nights to 1 night and in the mean time, try find somewhere else to stay. looking back, we shouldn't have even stayed one night.
after just one night i was literally eaten alive by bed bugs (counted over 600 bites on me).

no cream or tablets the pharmacy could give me would work and i ended up in emergency at the hospital getting needles to calm the pain and the aggravated bites.

this all still didn't work and we ended up having to cut our holiday short there (2 weeks early) to go back to London to see english speaking doctors to find out what i needed to do and to try get some relief and get better.
2 weeks later im still not better and sitting at home trying to rest instead of being on my dream holiday.

just dont do it. dont risk it.

for those who dont believe me, i have attached some photos (and these aren't even all the bites!)

i hope you take my advice

I was totally unimpressed with the hostel. Unprofessional, bad service, and not genuine people.

At the time I arrived to check in (evening because of their lock-out hours) they gave me the 'there's been a mistake on the computer system with your booking' story they seem to have given to other people in the past. When I asked why I hadn't been contact earlier they said they had just found out about the problem THAT day. I can't believe that considering I booked months in advance.

They then said they could put me up at another hostel they were associated with, which they promised offered the same facilities they did. As it was late and I was alone in the city I went to the other hostel, which did not offer the same facilities (towel hire, safety deposit, internet) at all!! It was also MUCH closer to the train station, one street away to be exact. As a solo female traveller one of the reasons I had SPECIFICALLY booked a hostel away from the station, because I didn't feel it would be safe for me returning by foot alone at night. The cost for the night was the same as for the original booking.

I was totally unimpressed with the lack of apology from the hostel and the fact they had obviously bumped my booking without telling me for whatever reason. I stayed one night only in the other hostel as I was rather stuck, it being later in the evening. I promptly booked the rest of my stay in another hostel (Alton Room), in a nicer part of town, though for a higher price.

I would NOT recommend this hostel at all, and if you do book it anyway have a few other hostels contact details as a back-up in case they do the same thing to you they did to me. Absolutely disgusted with their customer service.

Mona Lisa was a small converted 2nd floor Roman apartment into a hostel. It had 3 large rooms for 8-10 dorm beds and a girls only dorm. There was also a private room for a small family. There were 2 clean bathrooms and smoking was only allowed outside on the small terrace.

The hostel was located a 30min walk from Stazione Termini toward the west so close to the tourist sights in a quiet back street, one block from Via Nazionale. It felt like a safe area and there were many good Tratorias that wouldn't charge the earth despite its location. It was convenient for walking to all the sights and I felt almost like a Roman living there.

This was a nice quiet hostel if you like your sleep, unless there were early risers. There was a 3am curfew.

The staff were very friendly, helpful and a laugh. There was also free internet access and lots of powerpoints for charging batteries.

Breakfast was a light continental of croissant, toast, coffee and juice. The kitchen is there if you want to make a little more.

Recommended if you like a convenient and quiet place to stay.