Caravaggio

Nice paintings, but kind of weird

OK, so it is not like we stayed in a Motel 6, so even bad cheap hotels in Rome are better than any of the cheap inns or motels you might have stayed in throughout the United States. After all, you're in ROME for Pete’s sake.....at least that's what I told myself while staying a couple of days at Caravaggio. The first room we were shown was like a closet with no windows, so we did get another room. This one was bigger and had a nice window looking out the street. Great.

So we happened to be in Rome during the worst heat wave in 40 years. With 105F/40C degree temperatures, people were dying all across Europe, the street vendors were charging 2-3 Euros for bottled water, and our hotel manager wanted to charge us an extra 10 euro a night to turn on the air conditioner.
Fabulous.

I suppose my problem was this was my first experience with some of the Italian's way of running a business, and I was not used to the unspoken "rules" of Italian business.

When we checked out, the manager claimed that he could not figure out how to use the credit card machine and wanted us to pay cash. Ha ha ha....in other words, he did not have to report the income. My boyfriend, a native Italian, handled the situation perfectly and worked the credit card machine himself. It was quite a farce, and as I look back on it now, it was just one of the many crazy experiences that made me fall in love Italy. I know, I must be crazy too. So, if you're not traveling with a savvy Italian, you might want to beware of this "under the table" custom of business, or at least don't be surprised if the credit card machine is "not working."

Unique Quality: The old building and huge doorway does have its charms. I've stayed in places in the USA where I did not want to sleep on the sheets, and this was not nearly anything like that. It was very clean, but it is a low budget place for sure. It is in a good central location of the city, and you do have your own (small) bathroom.

If you're used to low budget, and usually only use the hotel for sleeping and showering, then you'll be just fine. If you like finer lodging places, over 3 stars, you will probably want to look elsewhere.