Useful Tricks

The key tip to enjoying your stay here is in managing expectations regarding noise. Via Giolitti is as famous for its tram tracks as any other feature; old trams of Rome make that characteristic metallic screech and rumble when turning and braking, almost continuously from early morning until midnight. A light sleeper should specifically request a room with windows facing the internal courtyard (corte interna). It will be dark there, looking out at walls-but quiet. If you happen to get a room facing the street-earplugs are mandatory, even with double-glazed windows shut tight.

The other big important thing is Check-in. There’s no 24-hour reception at these small places. The front doors are locked, and finding the right buzzer among a dozen buttons for other offices and apartments can be tricky. You need to WhatsApp your host one day before arrival-and-reporting-intended time-by-train-or-plane-of-arrival-later- that- same -day . Often they will send you access codes for both entrance-and-room doors (very convenient) but this does mean having internet access on your phone when you arrive.

And be ready for specifics both of payment and of daily life. Rome’s tourist tax (tassa di soggiorno) is hefty, often requested in cash upon arrival—small bills handy would work best here—and climbs its way up the floors on what must surely be one of the city’s last standing antique “caged” elevators that moves at a determinedly slow pace and might need 10 or 20 cents to get started (hotel provides coins but better have your own just in case). And do not drink tap water if you are unsure; although Roman water is clean, in the old pipes of such buildings it can acquire a taste, so the supermarket inside the station will become your best friend for buying water.