Hotel Aphrodite

The hotel is on the Via Marsala, opposite the Termini station building (trains to the airports and an underground station).
Fiumicino airport is 16 mi away; Ciampino airport 9 mi away. Allow 45 minutes to reach Fiumicino and 30 minutes for Ciampino.

The Aphrodite hotel was renovated in 2006. This is certainly an advantage as far as the rooms are concerned (new bedding and furniture). The entire hotel is non-smoking (communal areas and rooms). However, you can smoke on the top-floor terrace. You won't wish to spend longer than it takes to smoke a cigarette on the terrace though, because it overlooks the Termini station building and is fully exposed to all the traffic noise of Via Marsala.
Accommodation advice
Ask for a room overlooking the courtyard: the view is nicer (coloured building façades), and there is no traffic noise.

The Aphrodite is a small, well-maintained hotel (it was most recently renovated in 2006). Located opposite Termini station, it provides easy accommodation in Rome (good for late arrivals, morning departures) without costing too much. The communal areas consist of a reception counter looking over a lounge area furnished with Chesterfield-style sofas. The rooms are accessible via a lift (a welcome facility, given that the hotel covers 5 floors). On the top floor is the breakfast room, which leads out onto a terrace open all year round. It's handy for a bit of fresh air, even in summer: indeed it's better than going for some fresh air on the main road, you will hardly want to hang around by the traffic on via Marsala, across the road from Termini station.

Twelve of the hotel's 60 rooms are singles. The others are either double, triple or quadruple rooms. As in all entry-level town hotels, the rooms are not large: the biggest ones measure approximately 22m². With regards to the furnishing, the comfort of parquet flooring (in all the rooms), simple pale-coloured wood furniture, and floral cloth stretched between two sticks on the wall, like a canvas, add up to quite a stylish ensemble. The bathrooms too are stylish, decorated with mosaic tiling. When you see the price of a double room in low season (from about £61.50 per night), you will see there is very little to complain about! As far as the facilities are concerned, the essentials are all there but there are no extras. Having a bath in the bathroom is a rarity (only 2 rooms have one, the rest have showers). However, every room has a hair-dryer, a liquid soap dispenser, air conditioning, a telephone, and a (free) safe. The rooms either overlook via Marsala or the hotel courtyard (the latter is less noisy).

The Aphrodite hotel only serves breakfast (included in the room price). Breakfast is a buffet in the top-floor room with adjoining terrace. The inside tables are for eating, and those outside are for smokers. A selection of cereals, yoghurts, cheese, cold cuts, bread rolls, croissants and fresh fruits is laid out in the morning. Filter coffee, espresso and cappuccino come at no extra charge. For the rest of the day you will have to eat and drink elsewhere. The Aphrodite does not even have a bar. But don't let this put you off, as the district is full of cheap places to eat. Opt for a trattoria over an international fast-food joint any day; some places, like the Trattoria dell Omo, on via Vicenza, offers pasta for £5.30.