Hotel Serena - Rome, Italy 

My boyfriend and I stayed here for one night - and I think it's really only good enough for a short stay like that! Reading the previous reviews, I find them rather silly! Considering this hotel is situated in such a busy city centre, how much more do you want?! Also the value was very cheap, so you get what you paid for. I think maybe cos we only stayed for one night it wasn't a very big deal for us. And I do agree the rooms are very small - but Rome itself is such a packed city that you can hardly ask for a bigger room unless you're willing to fork out lots and lots of money! We came when they were refurbising the upper floor...the floor that our room was on, so was a bit off-putting having builders outside our room. But the room seems pretty sound-proofed, you can hardly hear them outside! They must be finished by now so it shouldn't be as bad. Their lifts are rather funky, scary but interesting! The location of the hotel was, I'd say, just perfect. It was within walking distance from the main station (Termini) which is what we wanted so it would be easy for us to get around the city. But then we realised that the location of the hotel was even better because the colesseum was within walking distance as is most of the sites. Further away such as the Vatican City may be easier to go to by the metro but once you get the hang of it (and if you have a map handy!), it actually doesn't take that long to walk between the hotel and the Vatican (if you're willing to walk around which we were because it gave us a chance to see the real Italy!) There were many food places around the hotel so that was very useful. There's not much to say about the hotel itself - it was clean and practical, and is just right if you're in Rome to explore the city rather than rest and stay all day and night in the hotel!

Apart the rooms being tiny and the street noisy and dodgy at nights, there was a few reasons why I don't recommend this hotel: 1) you might get unlucky and get the same room as us, the one that's over a kebab shop, and every morning you wake up to a disgusting greasy smell of kebab (which will stay in your room and clothes for the rest of the day). 2) the walls are so thin that you'll be able to hear in every detail the deeds your neighbour is up to in his toilet. 3) when lifting the throw on the bed I found some hairs on the duvet. 4) breakfast is poor. 5) and finally - do not even dream of getting a refund!