Palazzo Olivia Rooms & Apartments

A four star hotel, this isn't, but Palazzo Olivia couldn't be more in the center of Rome if it tried. Piazza Navona, Campo Fiori, the Pantheon and Largo Argentina are in the surrounding area. The little street behind Palazzo Olivia is full of shops, restaurants and gelato places. My room in the Palazzo itself was fine, it had two beds, which they push together for couples. The only quirks were that it was a little dark in the room, even after they replaced a bulb or two, and the beds have just a loose duvet on top, not tucked in or anything, which means your duvet tend to slide off in the night. Palazzo Olivia works best for people who are looking for comfort over glamour. There's a fine little elevator so no dragging suitcases up the stairs, and the entrance is on a very small street, nearly an alleyway, which was a bit off putting at first, but that means the street noise is minimal. In Rome, that's big. I was there for a week, and I found it to be entirely satisfactory as a base. The staff were exceedingly helpful and gracious, setting up my transfer to the airport and addressing a few small problems with the room promptly.

If you looking for a place to sleep in the center, this is it. The location is great, we walk to all the places and attraction (Vatican, Coliseum, Spanish sters).

Overall, this worked out very well for us. However, if you stay there you should be aware it is not a standard hotel. There is no reception desk. Indeed, since we arrived after 7pm we had to call a number and have someone buzz us in the front door. Once inside, we found our keys on a hall table. We never actually saw anyone who worked at this hotel. Lots of pluses: There is an elevator so that made bringing our luggage up to the 4th floor easy. The room was very clean, and it had daily maid service. Considering how large Rome is, this is centrally located. We could walk to almost every site and tour in 20 minutes. (Borghese is a 40 min walk.) A bonus was finding a taxi stand a block away. (FYI: Taxis are MUCH less expensive than Uber in Rome - less than half the price.) And despite the neighborhood being active and noisy, the room was quiet. The apartment is laid out somewhat oddly. There is one bedroom with the large bed and opened sofa bed filling the room. The second room is a combined small kitchen / living room, with a 2nd sofa bed. The shower had plenty of hot water. The Wi-Fi was weak. The air conditioning was also weak, but it cooled the room if left running.

The room had not enough lighting in it at all i had to use my phone to find the safe in the room. The room had a damp smell and zero wifi at all. Staff are great location is great but realy needs a update in room 3 and towels dirty on first day. No staff on site at all apart from cleaner call or email only.

This apartment exceeded our expectations! A quick walk to Piazza Navona. Convenient bus stop around the corner to get to Termini Station, St Peter’s Basilica, or Colosseum/Formum. The street behind had amazing restaurants, gelaterias, and a supermarket.