Useful Tricks

Check-in is one of the most important things to know before booking. Because Rome Central Inn is a guest house (Affittacamere) and not a big hotel with 24-hour concierge service, reception also has limited hours-most places close in the evening. You MUST-TELL THEM YOUR ARRIVAL TIME IN ADVANCE, particularly if you are arriving late at night or on Sunday. Otherwise, likely waiting outside the building for someone to let you in OR being charged a hefty late check-in fee! Keep their WhatsApp number handy for real-time communication on your travel day so that somebody should be there to let you inside.

The building is historic. This adds to its charm, as well as to some of the logistical quirks regarding the elevator. The lift is an old-fashioned retrofitted model and very small — perhaps fitting one person and a suitcase at a time. In certain cases, these older lifts require a specific coin (like 10 or 20 cents) to operate, or a special key provided by the staff. Be mentally prepared to possibly climb a flight of stairs if the lift is out of order or occupied — which is a common occurrence in Rome's heritage buildings.

The last, but by no means the least important factor in securing a good night's sleep here is noise. Rome has never been known as a quiet city and Via del Viminale hums with traffic of buses and scooters. Light sleepers should make an explicit request for one of the rooms facing the internal courtyard-yes, these may be darker, have no voyeur's view on city life-but they are much quieter! More light in street-facing rooms must be traded off against using earplugs. Remember to bring cash for paying 'City Tax'(tassa di soggiorno)-in most cases this will be asked at arrival because not always possible to pay it by credit card.