Hotel Columbus

This hotel has what I would like to call… a lot of charm. The building is beautiful with lots of original artwork and friendly staff. It is in a prime location — literally a few steps from St. Peter’s Basilica.
With that said the elevator is really slow and can fit maybe three people at most. The wifi is spotty, I keep getting kicked off. Since it’s an old building everything creaks: O The rooms are old with a tiny air conditioning unit. Use it though! I regret not using it and opted for opening the window. Big mistake. Some mosquito flew in and made a buffet out of me :(The TV is probably older then me and there are only limited outlets in the whole room — One in the bathroom and two in the living space which are both plugged into floor lamps.
Overall for $ 120 (not including country tax — add another 25 per night on that, it’s «well priced» for the location, just don’t expect any special amenities.

Arrive to Rome Int. Airport. Took the train to the Termini, took the Metro to one of the stations close to the Vatican, and arrive extremely tired.
Great surprise on the location of the hotel, better than I thought, great rooms, great service.
Will be back soon

The Hotel Columbus was an absolute charm of a find. Like other reviewers stated, the location is prime and is reasonably priced given it’s proximity to the Vatican. The staff was friendly, eager to help, and accommodating to our needs. The hotel is tastefully decorated with high ceilings, archways, and artwork to adorn hallways and rooms.
We arrived late, took a quick city tour on a bus that was recommended by the concierge, and arrived back at the hotel very tired. We decided to give the restaurant a try. Without much expectation other than paying a lot for dinner, we sat down to have one of our finest meals in Italy. Everything was delicious.
Parking is free and located directly behind the hotel. It is safe and secure. This hotel was recommended to us by a friend and we are forever grateful. It was excellent.

Really loved this hotel, but have to knock it down a few stars due to staff issues.
Location, location, location! The Hotel Columbia is located just steps from St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican. It’s a historical building with frescos on the ceilings. Interesting hallways, rooms, adorned with classical art and statues. When you walk through the doors, you’re swept away into the past, and can almost see and hear the dancers in the ballroom, the clinking of champagne glasses and the romance of yesteryear. Don’t be surprised if you see clerics in long robes, adding to the mysterious vibration of this hotel.
We had a large room #252 (we think trying to remember now) facing the main street of Via Della Concilazione. Lots of storage for clothes. No ironing board or iron. Hair dryer.
Queen size bed, very comfy. The bathroom came with a bidet. The shower was small, but water pressure excellent. The shower floor is very slippery, and next time I’ll bring a shower mat or wear shower shoes. Warning that the water is not regulated and if you’re not careful you can scald yourself.
Good cleaning service, very friendly, but under the bed is dirty and dusty. They don’t offer extra pillows or blankets and we used our travel pillows and blankets, and towels (I pilfered from a closet they forgot to lock – they never forgot again) to shore up our heads. When asked for more pillows and blankets, the front desk didn’t fill the request, only glared at us. The beds clothes are not covered with sheets like most hotels these days, and the silky blue cover was exposed. No idea if they wash this between guests. Only a black light might reveal it’s history.
There is street noise but closing the window blocked this out all but one night when the road was closed and construction commenced, preparing for an event the following day. Any idea what metal poles being dropped between solid brick buildings at 3 AM sounds like? Anyways, the day of the event was pure pandemonium! Thousands of people descended on Via Della Concillazione all wearing team colors to participate.
On another day, the entire police force was being blessed by the Pope and, again, crowds!!!
Our taxi’s could not get near the hotel during the sporting event, so we had to walk 2 LONG blocks to get a taxi or return home after LONG and hot tours.
Keys are heavy metal things and we lost ours, then was berated by front desk for not leaving keys before our journeys into Rome. We didn’t know we were supposed to do this… And it took an entire day to get a new key. I mean, this was some major upset – they got PISSED. However, this was the day of the road block, and our cab driver freaked out when the police wouldn’t let him turn down our street, and he screamed at us to «get out,» and we lost the key when we had to tumble out of the car, trying to grab our things.
Homeless sleeping on the steps next to St. Peter’s! (meaning this hotel) And plenty of disturbingly deformed beggars slithering on the roads on hands and knees in prayer for your money. Unfortunately there are traveling vendors along this street, too, and they beg you to buy from them. They know you have money because you’re at the hotel.
There was one person at the front desk, Stephania, who was the most helpful and she resolved our key problem, and gave us kind words about the loss. The rest of the staff was intimidating. They speak English but, dole it out only when necessary.
The wifi is free BUT you have to log in with a new password every 24 hours. The wifi isn’t good. I had a lot of trouble with my Gallaxy 3.
They have a courtyard restaurant, but we assumed in an area off to one side we could sit. The seats were dirty, old fabric patio lounge furniture that hadn’t been cleaned since EVER, so we thought it was fine to relax here. We found out that we were not supposed to sit here. They didn’t force us to leave but made it clear we weren’t welcome. What is the point of the courtyard?
Breakfast was the same everyday, yogurt, pastries, hard boiled eggs, coco puffs (seriously), and Italian coffee that you HAD to mix with hot milk or it would knock you over. They didn’t offer coffee varieties, but I did hear one man order cappuccino. I don’t know if he paid extra for this. No one working here smiled. they seemed like inmates.
The elevator is big enough for 2 people, slow, and just weird. I couldn’t use the stairs due to a hip injury and the elevator seemed to have a mind of it’s own.
I’d totally stay here again… but check event schedules. (Provided the hotel will tell you… they denied knowing anything about the event that blocked their main access.)

This is a fine hotel in Rome, with some considerable advantages, but some things to consider.
The pros — it’s just near the Vatican — I mean you walk out the front door, look left, and St. Peter’s Basilica dominates your view. And the hop-​on, hop-​off tour buses all stop right across the street, so you can use them for transportation purposes most of the time you’re there. As for the hotel, the building is amazing. This is no corporate chain-​style hotel. This is an older European-​style hotel, a converted administration building, with some marble floors and stairwells, great original-​looking art on the walls, and nice places to sit and chat and take it all in, on every floor. There’s a great garden in the back, with a bar, and places to lounge while having a drink, or after breakfast. The breakfast was always very enjoyable.
The cons — for one of our party, the air conditioning didn’t work, and we were there during some hot weather. It was very uncomfortable, and the staff were not able to deal with this problem in a satisfactory manner. It became apparent that they were overwhelmed with the situation, but were just «riding it out.» You had the sense that they were just seeing how far you’d push them before they’d send someone to look at it, twiddle a few dials, go away to see if it’d work (it didn’t) then finally acquiese when you requested a different room. The next rooms’ cooling didn’t work either — we finally ended up in a third after considerable hassle repacking, unpacking and moving bags around.
Another issue to mention is that at certain times they block the outdoor area without notice, for a «private party.» People are just asked to leave, with a touch of insider attitude. There is never any mention of when this may happen, and the marketing literature mentions the space as part of the hotel offering, with no mention of restrictions. The front staff were apologetic, and the travel agent too, but it still left a bad taste.
Also, you should be aware that the street out front can be quite noisy at times, but it almost feels churlish to mention this, as it’s Rome!

I stayed here during Holy Week that the location is great. You walk outside and the Vatican is right in front of you. In addition, the tour buses are located right across the street.
The hotel is safe, easy to get to and from and is neat (clean rooms are a must for me). If you are looking for a safe, clean place and don’t want to shell out an extensive amount of money, stay here. Just know, it’s no frills but honestly, safety and ease of travel were more important for me.

perfekte Lage, ruhige, für Rom grosse, aber eher dunkle Zimmer. Es handelt sich um einen alten Kardinalspalast, daher die Zimmerarchitektur. Der Speisesaal und der Innenhof sind wunderschön, wie man es von Rom erwartet. Im Vergleich zu vielen teuren und kleinen Zimmer anderer Hotels durchaus empfehlenswert!

Wir waren nur zum Lunch im Restaurant — der Garten ist ein Traum, das Lokal: ein wunderschöner offener Raum mit alten Fresken. Leider war das Essen ziemlich mittelmässig, nur lauwarm und der Service ziemlich uninteressiert.
Zu den Toiletten geht es durch das alte Treppenhaus runter, eins für jedes Geschlecht, mit gefiel das Kirchen-​Warte-​Bänkchen im Vorraum besonders gut. Zum Anschauen und Kaffeetrinken wohl besser als zum lunchen.

Das Hotel Columbus macht sich vor allem durch seine unmittelbare Nachbarschaft zum Vatikan zu DER Location für Sightseeing und Besichtigungen in Rom. Das Gebäude ist ein ehemaliger Kardinalspalast und dementsprechend beeindruckend sind auch Architektur und Einrichtung des Gebäudes. Das Restaurant und der Speisesaal sind wunderschöné Räume und auch die Küce entspricht dem noblen Ambiente dieses Hotels. In der Lobby gibt es W-​Lan und 2 Macs als Internet Terminal. Außerdem eine kleine Bar für den Espresso zwischendurch. Leider sind die Räume ebenfalls sehr authentisch und der damaligen Zeit entsprechend eher klein und dunkel. Der Service dagegen ist sehr zufriedenstellend.
In dieser Preisklasse gibt es für Übernachtungen sicher komfortablere Hotels. Wer viel Wert auf die Lage und ein angenehmes Ambiente legt ist hier richtig.