Hotel Colors/Hostel Colors

image
Hotle Colors Balcony

Cheerful and cheap digs near the Vatican and St. Peter's in Rome, Italy

The folks who founded (but no longer run) Fawlty Towers now operate this fifth-floor walk-up near Vatican City (along with an excellent local travel agent/tour company called Enjoy Rome, www.enjoyrome.com). I stayed here with my Boy Scout troop for a week one summer; worked out great.

It's in the residential Prati neighborhood, about three blocks from Castel Sant'Angelo, eight blocks from Piazza San Pietro (and hence St. Peter's Basilica), and ten blocks from the entrance to the Vatican Museums.

The simple, spacious rooms are vibrant in a supersaturated, whimsical, accident-at-the-Crayola-factory way. Only one room is shared dorm-style, and the largely young backpacking clientele tend to be of a more reserved, mature stripe.

The washer/dryer available to guests costs less than a Laundromat.

You can put the communal kitchen and small shared terrace to good use since the hotel's located just a few hundred yards from some of the best food shopping in Rome—indoor and outdoor markets a few blocks north, plus on Via Cola di Rienzo two renowned grocers: Franchi (the top spot in Rome for fresh calzoni around 5pm) and Castroni (unique boutique grocery store).

They also rent an apartment near Termini.

Rates & Availability

» Find even more hotels in Rome at our partner site Booking.com...

Tips & links

Details

Via Boezio 31 (Vatican) - Two blocks south of Via Cola di Rienzo, at the corner with Via Terenzio—which changes named to Via Fabio Massimo starting one block north
tel. +39-6880-6505
www.colorshotel.com

» book

Bus: 81; 49, 492, 990
Metro: Ottaviano (A)
Hop-on/hop-off: Vaticano

Nearby...
Rome hotel & lodging links
Useful Italian for lodging
English (Inglese) Italian (Italiano) Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun
Good day Buon giorno bwohn JOUR-noh
Good evening Buona sera BWOH-nah SAIR-rah
Good night Buona notte BWOH-nah NOTE-tay
Goodbye Arrivederci ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee
Excuse me (to get attention) Scusi SKOO-zee
thank you grazie GRAT-tzee-yay
please per favore pair fa-VOHR-ray
yes si see
no no no
Do you speak English? Parla Inglese? PAR-la een-GLAY-zay
I don't understand Non capisco non ka-PEESK-koh
I'm sorry Mi dispiace mee dees-pee-YAT-chay
     
Where is? Dov'é doh-VAY
...a hotel un albergo oon al-BEAR-go
...a B&B un bed-and-breakfast oon bet hand BREK-fust
...a rental room un'affittacamera oon ah-feet-ah-CAH-mair-ra
...an apartment for rent un appartamento oon ah-part-tah-MENT-toh
...a farm stay un agriturismo oon ah-gree-tour-EES-moh
...a hostel un ostello oon oh-STEHL-loh
     
How much is...? Quanto costa? KWAN-toh COST-ah
a single room una singola OO-nah SEEN-go-la
double room for single use [will often be offered if singles are unavailable] doppia uso singola DOPE-pee-ya OO-so SEEN-go-la
a double room with two beds una doppia con due letti OO-nah DOPE-pee-ya cone DOO-way LET-tee
a double room with one big bed una matrimoniale OO-nah mat-tree-moan-nee-YAAL-lay
triple room una tripla OO-nah TREE-plah
with private bathroom con bagno cone BAHN-yoh
without private bathroom senza bagno [they might say con bagno in comune—"with a communal bath"] SEN-zah BAHN-yoh
for one night per una notte pair OO-nah NOH-tay
for two nights per due notti pair DOO-way NOH-tee
for three nights per tre notti pair tray NOH-tee
Is breakfast included? É incluso la prima colazione? ay in-CLOO-soh lah PREE-mah coal-laht-zee-YOAN-nay
Is there WiFi? C'é WiFi? chay WHY-fy?
May I see the room? Posso vedere la camera? POH-soh veh-DAIR-eh lah CAH-mair-rah
That's too much É troppo ay TROH-po
Is there a cheaper one? C'é una più economica? chay OO-nah pew eh-ko-NO-mee-kah
Rome's hotel tax

In January, 2011, Rome began charging a hotel bed tax. This is the city's doing, and sadly it is not a scam.

The following tax rates are per person, per night for all guests over the age of 10 and can be charged for stays of up to 10 days:

  • 1–3 star hotels: €2
  • 4–5 star hotels: €3
  • B&Bs: €2
  • Apartments: €2
  • Rental rooms: €2
  • Agriturismi: €2
  • Campsites: €1 (up to 5 days)

So a couple staying three nights in a four-star room would pay an extra €18.

Some hotels have begun folding this tax into their quoted rates; others tack it on when you go to check out, so be prepared.

How long does Rome take?

Planning your day: Rome wasn't built in a day, and you'd be hard-pressed to see it in that brief a time as well. Still, you can cram a lot into just a day or three.

To help you get the most out of your limited time in the Eternal City, here are some perfect itineraries, whether you have one, two, three, or four days to spend in Rome. » Rome itineraries

Rome tours

Share this page

Intrepid Travel 25% off

Search ReidsItaly.com

Hotel Colors

Via Boezio 31 (Vatican) - Two blocks south of Via Cola di Rienzo, at the corner with Via Terenzio—which changes named to Via Fabio Massimo starting one block north
tel. +39-6880-6505
www.colorshotel.com

» book

Bus: 81; 49, 492, 990
Metro: Ottaviano (A)
Hop-on/hop-off: Vaticano

Train tix

Shortcuts to popular planning sections:

Airfares, Cars, Trains, Tours, Packages, Cruises, Lodging, Itineraries, Info, Packing, Prep, Comm

Follow ReidsItaly
Follow ReidsItaly on Twitter  Join the ReidsItaly fan page  Follow Reids Italy Adventures blog