A Casa a Testaccio

What People are saying

Just like being home, but right in central Rome!

Andrea Aon 25/09/2016 15:11

As stated by other reviewers, strictly speaking this is not a hotel. Rather, Gianlorenzo (who by the way is lovely!) rents two of the rooms in his spacious apartments to guests willing to experience the real Rome. Breakfast is not included and the bathroom is shared with the other room, but you will have a quaint little kitchen at your disposal, space in the fridge and a whole plethora of restaurants, patisseries, shops and coffee shops at your disposal a few steps away from the flat. You will also be given your keys, so you can come and go whenever you prefer.
Renting a room is fairly cheap by Rome standards and I do recommend you have a look outside the balcony - the rooms have a large balcony and the kitchen has another one, both with gorgeous views on the neighbourhood.
You are only 10 minutes away from the Ostiense train station (direct trains to Fiumicino airport) and the Piramide metro station. Testaccio (this neighbourhood) is quite close to the city centre. In 45 minutes you can get to Castel S. Angelo or the Vatican, but if you feel you need to rely on public transport (walk through Rome, you won't regret it) there are plenty of buses you can take just round the corner.
Gianlorenzo is always available to help and have a friendly chat. He also lives in the apartment, but as other reviewers have said you hardly notice his presence. Highly recommended!

Home, sweet home in Rome

Ekaterina Son 01/08/2016 00:08

I love Rome and go there once per year. Last four times I stayed in Gianlorenzo's BnB.
The BnB part is pretty small. There are only two rooms that are rented to guests. You will also have access to a (shared with another room) bathroom and balcony, and a kitchen (also shared with the host). The bathroom has a bathtube. You get the warm water instantly. There is no breakfast, but in the kitchen you may use the fridge and cooking facilities. I higly recommend you not to miss the great view from the kitchen balcony. Yes, you can see the pyramid from there, for example, as a background for your breakfast (there is a table and two chairs). Ask Gianlorenzo, and he will explain you how to get to Testaccio market some 10 minutes away for georgeous fresh fruits, vegetables, and other splendid Italian food for your breakfast :)
The rooms are medium-size and have a double bed, wardrobe, bench, table, and a chair inside. I find the beds comfortable. There is an airconditioner in each room.
Gianlorenzo lives in the same apartment, though you barely notice his presence. However, it also means, you may expect a high degree of flexibility on the check-in time, as well as good advice on the restaurants/monuments/etc during all of your stay.
Testaccio itself is a great area. It is full of nice restaurants. It has some exhibitions ares. It is well-connected to the rest of the city with help of metro and busses. You also can walk, and in less than an hour reach Vatican. The area also feels safe. If you want to go to the seaside or Ostia Antica, the train station is 7 minutes away. Some 15 minutes away there is an another train station that connects the area to the Fiumicino airport (8 euro ticket).

Excellent!

Emilie Lon 22/04/2016 13:22

The B and B is very well located: it's calm and clean. You can walk to the Colosseum and the center of Rome or take the underground. There are only 2 bedrooms with a balcony and the kitchen as well as the bathroom are in common. But no problem: there are very clean and that's the point: it's not expensive. It's an excellent choice! Finally the owner is very nice!

Enjoyable stay

Eva Kon 11/11/2014 19:48

Everything mentioned in previous reviews is true, so this place can be a hit or miss, depending how demanding you are.
Yes, the place is someone's apartment rather than B&B, yet is was a hit for me and my husband. We stayed in a room with shared bathroom (the walls are rather thin, so you can hear when some else is there), but this wasnt an issue for us.
The location is great, close to the train, underground and bus station. The Colosseum and the old part of Rome are 20 minutes by feet. The Testaccio neighborhood has also something to offer, especially lovely restaurants close to the apartment.
The owner is a nice person who explained us everything. The whole place is clean, you can use the kitchen when needed, our room was spacious and cozy. Last but not least, the price was reasonable :-)

Avoid the central tourist area, stay in the Testaccio neighbourhood

Shaun Ron 25/09/2014 18:27

We were very happy with our 5 night stay at Casa A Testaccio, as it allowed us to experience a true Roma neighborhood, as opposed to the central area which is so highly tourist occupied.

We had the room with private bathroom and it was excellent but we also used the shared kitchen a couple of nights which was very handy when you are on a long trip and fancy some home cooking and lower costs.

The Testaccio neighborhood while not great on the eye is an excellent little community beside the river and includes the Testaccio market down the road. It is a great little place to do some shopping and there are also a number of restaurants also in that area on Via Galvani.

What I liked most about the area was between about 5pm and 8pm the whole place comes alive, especially the area around the park a few blocks North when everyone comes out for a chat and walk around the block, plus a visit to their local for an aperitif or espresso.

It really is not far from the main attraction - about 20 minutes of relatively quick walking to the Colosseum. To get to vatican city, we walked about 500m in order to get the metro.

Please note that the B&B is a converted apartment rather than an actual hotel of any description so please be aware of this. I would certainly recommend staying there but be sure to arrange meeting Lorenzo in order to checkin.

Also please note that the building showed up in a different location in google maps, so we were walking around for ages trying to find it. the building is on the Southern side of the street next to the school. It is on the fourth floor but there is an elevator and the security is good.

Wifi was the best we have had in ages.