The old Switcharoo...

The hotel is a close walk from the train station, however when i gave them my name to check in, the receiptionist checked some list of his, and said "One of the floors in the hotel is flooded and we do not have a room for you". This was at 10 AM. So I said, I will wait and take another room of someone checking out later today or wait until one of the rooms on a floor without a flood is available. They said it's not possible and that arrangements were already made at one of their other hotels.

This was the classic example of a European hotel chains overbooking, so that the sister hotels that aren't as nice don't remain vacacant.

I would NEVER book at this hotel ever again.

Thoroughly the quiet charm

We really enjoyed everything- it was a charming European hotel in Rome at a good price. A quiet restful port on a quiet street. A big European tub in our room, nice beds that rested us well every night. A really nice place for first-timers to Rome. Ya- the police do guard the backside of the gov ministry across the street 24/7, with machine guns and an armored mini-van- a welcoming sight given the urbane hectic lifestyle of Rome. 5 minute walk to both Metro lines, and tons of outstanding charming intimate restaurants hidden in the labyrinth of streets just around all the corners, with great recommendations from the front desk. We're in our 50's- walked the 20 minutes to just about every where- its all down hill getting there, up hill coming back. Strolled down to the Forum/Coliseum every evening. Do the evening cross town walk to Plaza Navona. Tired at the end of the day?- Metro'ed back and stopped for a beer at one of the side-street sidewalk bistros before turning in. Nice facilities, helpful and very courteous staff- just don't act like your typical loud, overbearing, American tourist. Tons of local shopping. A delightful continental breakfast on the intimate patio started the day with a smile- Victorio, our lovable gruffy Roman Dad, catered to our every need, and we left him a nice tip. Nice little neighborhood street market 2 blocks up the way. Would stay there again for sure. Around the RR station 5 min up the street- most places are conveniently open on Sundays- its not America, you know. Make sure you close all the elevators doors when you get off.

Didn't care for it

My husband and I stayed here the second week of August 2004. The hotel is on a very safe street, there were police on the street every night, I never found out, but I think there was a government building on same avenue as the hotel.

The staff was a bit shady. I never knew what to think of them, I just got a weird vibe from the whole hotel. They were not helpful in making any suggestions, it was like we were putting them out by asking them things.

The hotel had a "fake fancy" to it. The breakfast was terrible, the worst coffee in all of Europe (we had visited 3 other cities prior). The fruit laid out had mold on it.

The hotel was disappointing, I am so glad that I got a deal on the hotel for 360 euros for 4 nights, there is no way I would have paid the 500 euros they normally ask for. In fact, 360 was too much! My husband and I stayed at better hotels through out Europe that were 1 and 2 stars for a lot less and thought they were 100 times better than Viminale!

I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. It's not close to anything but the train station, there is only 1 bus line near it that comes once in a blue moon. If you want to go anywhere, you would have had to walk at least 20 minutes, which was fine for us since we are young, but if you can't walk that far (and possibly farther) I would suggest another hotel closer to the center of the city.

Wonderful hotel!

Very simply, a wonderful hotel with a pleasant and attentive staff who went out of their way to make our visit enjoyable. The hotel is in a mercifully quiet area, only two short blocks to Via Cavour and a 5-minute walk up the street to the main railway station, the Stazione Termini.

The staff directed us to several fine trattorias and restaurants in the area on those evenings when we were too tired from walking around Rome to travel somewhere by cab and search for a restaurant. And the local restaurants, cafes and deli's are wonderful.

Although some of the rooms are apparently quite small, our room was spacious, with an exceptionally comfortable bed and high windows with shutters that opened onto a remarkable view.

Breakfasts were varied and adequate, with a wide variety of meats, pastries, cereals, juices and the like, all backed up by excellent Roman coffee and cappuccino.

Highly recommended!

Nice!

This is a decent hotel. The rooms are "OK" and everything seemed clean and well looked after. The hotel is on a nice quiet street with little traffic, but also quite close to the main train station, if that is where you are arriving to. The breakfast area is great and the breakfast itself was above average. There is a charming old church the next street down, behind the hotel itself. The position is quite good, a 15 min walk takes you to the heart of old Rome. On your way down, keep an eye out for a restaurant "da Robertino" - it is simply superb and not to be missed.If you are in Rome for a short stay - this hotel should fit the bill nicely. The staff were friendly and helpful and the stay was comfortable.

Typical 3*

I feel guilty about complaining about this hotel at all really as I got such a cheap deal on it, £400 for 4 nights bed and breakfast for 2 with 1 airticket to Rome included! However, we did have a few complaints. One, the bedroom was a bit smelly - it could have been the drains as the smells seemed to eminate from the bathroom. Two, the safe refused to open on 2 occasions and we had to send for a little man with big rods to open it. Three, the toilet stopped working on 2 occasions and we had to send for a little man with a step ladder who quickly got it working again. And contrary to one of the other reviews the lighting was abysmal. On the plus side the twin room was a decent size with a settee where we could watch TV from (MTV and BBC news and CNN). we had a decent view of a leafy area to the front of the hotel (the back should look out over Santa Maria Maggiore). It was very central for many of the major sites (about 20mins walk) and yes the breakfast waiter was very amusing once you realised he was only joking with you. The staff were very obliging with ordering taxis etc. In conclusion we enjoyed our stay because at the price we paid we weren't expecting too much anyway and if you need to do Rome on a budget you could do much worse than the Viminale. However, one of its sister hotels, The Eliseo is a lot nicer for not that much more money but it is only close to The Spanish Steps and not much else - although the views from the top floor breakfast room more than make up for this. Ask for a room with the same view!

Viminale in rome

The Viminale is a nice hotel in a reasonably quiet part of Rome.

it is close to the Termini station. We had no problems walking to all the sights we wanted to see, you can take a circular route and see all the important sights and arrive back at the hotel. The entrance area was very impressive. The staff were very good and spoke english. The breakfast, although continental was sufficient enough to see you on your way, the pastries were excellent, as was the coffee, order it as you like it. I was disappointed with the room as I was led to believe they were on the big side, ours was quite small, however the maid service was excellent (even got clean linen on our last day) All in all the hotel was clean, but for the price I paid £388 for 3 nights was expecting just that little bit more.

Quiet and comfortable

My wife and I stayed at the Hotel Viminale in October 2002.

The hotel is on a side street about 5 blocks from the main train station (Termini) and two blocks off of Cavour. The area is quiet and appeared safe although it is not upscale. There are a few average restaurants nearby.

The room and bath were spacious, probably much larger than the average room in Rome. We even had a king-sized bed! It was quiet at night and only a little noisy during the day with the window open. Furnishings were simple and a little worn. Lighting was excellent. We had a small TV with cable that received only Italian stations. The TV remote did not work.

We did not need heating or airconditioning, so I cannot comment on those items.

The hotel info stated they had electronic keys for doors. I think some rooms may have had them, but many did not. In fact, the door to our room would not stay closed unless you turned the deadbolt with the key.

Hotel info also stated there were safes in the rooms. Ours had one, but it was not bolted down. Needless to say, we didn't trust the in-room safe!

The bath had only a tub with the typical wand device for showering (although the hose was too short to allow for a stand up shower). Plenty of hot water, but bring your own soap since the supplied bars were tiny. Hairdryer was provided.

Breakfast was included in the room rate andconsisted of sliced meats and cheese, cereal, hard boiled eggs, juice, rolls, yogurt, etc. (the typical European cold breakfast fare). Cappuccino was available if you asked for it.

The staff was fluent with english and helpful when asked. They were courteous, but not overly friendly, except for the gentleman working the breakfast room who was always cheerful and enjoyed talking to the guests in their various native tongues.

Overall, I'd say our experience was good since we always slept well. The location is not great since it is some distance from the main tourist sites. The hotel could light a fire under their maintainance staff and fix many of the irritating little things that didn't work.