This wonderful small "guest house" was perfectly situated for us, a large appartment with 6 bedrooms on 3rd floor (lift). Easy walking distance to many of the best locations. Judy was most helpful with advice on buses, metros etc. All the staff were very pleasant. Breakfasts were very good for this type of accommodation and the rooms immaculate with all we needed. Our room was at the back which was quiet. We valued the independence afforded by the swipe keys for entry etc. We shall return...sooner, rather than later. Patricia and Beryl, sisters from Yorkshire.

MERULANA INN, ROME. Hotel Management of the future? He can see you but you can't see him!

Found online. Don't be fooled by the photos.

We booked online using Hotel Club "Rates to Go". 170 Euros per night.

The hotel is difficult to find, mainly because this is NOT a hotel, with any discernible building or hotel staff, but part of a floor run remotely by an unknown entity with video cameras (creepy?) and one staffer who is not there most of the time.

Make no mistake, this is an experimental and unethical business venture, where a Manager without a name or contact number, who you will never see (but he can see you!), runs the business remotely from a secret location using technology to abolish practically all labour costs. Don't believe that insincere welcome. At 170 Euros a night, you are paying proper hotel prices, but will not receive any hotel services. You never know who you are dealing with....They have you full personal details and you will never know their name, address or number.......

We went to the third floor and were met by Ms G. One of the first things she pointed out was the remote controlled front door. If necessary the unknown Manager can usher you in and see what's going on using the cameras installed in the ceiling...She took one of our credit cards for what we thought was a room guarantee (ie, for mini-bar - but there wasn't anything in the fridge). We only found out the next morning when we asked her, that she had charged the credit card for the entire 4 night stay, even though we had only just arrived.

DAY ONE, first night....We needed to take a shower, but there was NO HOT WATER. Zilch. By this time Ms G. had left the building. There is a sign suggesting a number for emergencies. Whoever answers is totally disinterested. There was nobody to take action to fix what appears to be a problem they have known about for a long time...The hotel does not have and has never had enough hot water for its guests.

So we decided that we had better eat. We made a point of booking a "hotel" that says it has Wi Fi due to its obvious uses on the road. There was NO WI FI, it simply did not work. When we got back we decided to watch TV. There were 300 stations, all in Italian. Ok we're in Italy.

The walls of the tiny room we were given were battered, light fittings didn't work, the plastic bath looked like it had never been cleaned and the tap was hanging off the bathroom wall with silicon gel. When we eventually did take a COLD SHOWER the bath did not drain...The shower curtain was ineffectual and the entire bathroom flooded. Again, nobody we could report this to. Oh dear...

DAY TWO. We rose to a another cold shower and a breakfast room full of disgruntled customers. None of them had hot water. While the breakfast was scheduled for 8.00am, Ms G. did not arrive until 8.45am. The breakfast is delivered the previous day and is basically white bread, some packaged croissants, a fatty manufactured sausage slice, plastic cheese slices yoghurt and tinned fruit and some bright yellow scrambled eggs that had been "interfered" with. There was foul tasting luke warm instant coffee in a jug and two carafes of coloured artificial substances masquerading as fruit juice. There were 12 people in the little breakfast room (it was impossible to all sit at the tables) .....

We questioned Ms G. abut our credit card being charged in full and she made us wait for a long time while another lady, presumably related to the mystery owner, came and dealt with this. It was clear that there was some tension between Ms G. and her employer, by their raised voices. Ms G. had changed from her jeans into a black and white hotel service costume. On a solitary positive note, we managed to get a temporary refund from the mystery lady.

In the end we had a COLD SHOWER and went out to see Rome, at last. We went to use the taps in the room and this time THERE WAS NO WATER AT ALL.

The WATER PROBLEM and the WI FI PROBLEM dogged us for the entire 4 night stay, including DAY 3 and DAY 4. The BREAKFAST continued to be TERRIBLE, and we were made to feel UNWELCOME by Ms G. ....We also noticed that in her spare time Ms G.was asking guests to leave positive reviews of the hotel. ...We caught her writing her own reviews! tsk tsk...

CHECK OUT was a DISGRACE. We had a plane to catch and we tried desperately to negotiate a satsifactory outcome regarding the room rate in view of everything that had gone wrong. It was not fair that we should pay 170 Euros per night. The mystery video manager off-site was called. He instructed the "receptionist" to ensure that we do not leave. In a farcical routine, this woman attempted to take our backpacks out of our hands, with a view to holding them until we paid. Fortunately we were able to keep hold of our things as she attempted to steal them. We needed to meet our plane, so we left immediately. Our attempts to sort out the bill had come to nil. We have never in our lives been faced with such an unprofessional outfit. THEN WE FOUND LATER THAT THE FULL AMOUNT HAD BEEN TAKEN UNAUTHORISED FROM OUR CREDIT CARD. WE COMPLAINED TO THE BANK AND THEY LAUNCHED AN INVESTIGATION. THE MONEY WAS EVENTUALLY RE-CREDITED TO OUR ACCOUNT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL. It's a horror movie.

We spent the first three nights of our Italy vacation at Rome's Merulana Inn and loved it! This hotel was perfect for us, and a great introduction to Italian hospitality. Judy and the team here were wonderful. Merulana Inn is actually a bed and breakfast, located on the third floor of a residential apartment building. Like most of the places we stayed at, this Inn is discreetly located. No big signs or flashy neon lighting up the street with the name. Just a large double door (like most buildings) with a very small sign posted above a door buzzer with the name of the inn.

Our room was beautiful, with a very comfortable bed, and loaded with updated features including a refrigerator, air conditioner and remote-controlled door shutters that roll down to cover the terrace doors at night. Yes, we had a small terrace outside our room. Our large bathroom was equally impressive. It featured modern equipment including a bathtub with a shower, new toilet and even a bidet. The bathroom also had a door that led to the terrace, with a manual shutter/cover.

A delightful breakfast of Italian meats, cheeses, breads and croissants was served in the dining area each morning of our stay. The staff also prepared coffee and scrambled eggs with cheese and ham as well. Another great feature here was the free wireless internet service, which was very dependable. A nice modern touch was a small key card holder inside the room where you place one of your key cards, to activate the electricity in your room. This is a great way for the owners to control energy use, as you take your card with you when you leave the room for the day, and the electricity shuts off on its own. Much better than another place we stayed at where many lights and other electrical devices were on timers.

Merulana Inn is located within walking distance (10 mins) of the Roma Termini train station. If you are arriving in Rome by plane, you will probably take the Leonardo Express train from the main airport to the Termini. We each had a large backpack and a small, rolling suitcase and were able to walk to the inn with no problem.

There are also several cafes, gelato places, grocery stores and pharmacies in the immediate area, and of course churches.

The best value in Rome is the Roma Pass. This pass gives you access to the city's Metro system for three days, as well as several museums and archaeological sites (2 free). We used this to visit the Colosseo and Foro Romano (Coliseum and Forum), as well as the Galleria Borghese. The pass only costs 25 euros, and you can purchase it online from the U.S. and pick it up when you arrive in Rome.

I can't wait to visit Rome again, and will most certainly stay at Merulana Inn again, as well as recommend it to anybody who is planning to visit The Eternal City.

make shure to take the key every time you live the room
there will be no one to open you untill the morning
we use the safe in the room
there is a Refrigerator in the room