Albergo Hotel American Palace

Went on a trip with a group of people (about 20) to this particular hotel in late March 2014. I’ve got to say that it did live up to expectations of being quite poor, however it did have some benefits.
Good:
— Close to Laurentina Metro Station with a 15min ride to Termini which is great to connect to the rest of the city.
— Cheap (however, see below…)
— Food was alright with a breakfast buffet, but don’t expect a full-​on breakfast, just some fruit and cereal.
Bad:
— Right next to the via Laurentina which is an EXTREMELY busy road, even after midnight. Ambulances whizzing past, constant horns from crazy motorists and shouting from outside was the dawn chorus so DON’T expect a peaceful night’s sleep.
— The hotel seems to be rife with schoolkids. Mainly Spanish kids who stay up all night shouting and running about. They even cornered several of our party in the corridors to ask who we were and where we’ve come from and generally being quite nosy. Rude as well with swearing echoing through the paperthin walls and phones ringing all through the night.
— The bedrooms were VERY small! 3 of us in what could only be described as a clothes cupboard along with a balcony and bathroom. My particular bed was a put-​up bed so was very unstable and uncomfortable. It often slipped and I ended up several metres away from where I started the night. This however was rectified by a suitcase trestle keeping the bed in place. Random hairs were also found everywhere which most definitely were NOT mine… On the bright side, the bathroom was well equipped (all but hand soap) and even included a bidet! I did though not venture to use the shower…
— The hotel staff were also very abrupt and didn’t understand much English and would much rather converse with fellow Italians than any paying foreign guests. One of the simplest things I thought they would have understood its that I wanted to buy a bottle of water. I went to the restaurant in which I used my minimal Italian skills — una bottiglia d’aqua per favore — to only be waved away to the front desk, at which I was told to go to the restaurant. After telling them I’d already been there, I was told to use a rather seedy looking dump known as the ‘bar’ behind the hotel. I gave up at that point as I got fed up of being the victim of a wild goose chase.
Recommend:
— Bring a phrasebook (to actually converse to the staff)
— Bring a Spanish phrasebook (to converse with the noisy schoolkids)
— BRING SOME EARPLUGS!!!
Wifi costs € 3 a day in room or free in lobby — personally I would go and find an internet café…

Great hotel. Truly a 4 star hotel for the price of a 2 star hotel. Free wifi, free breakfast, across the street from the metro, awesome staff. The only down is parking is 15 euro but hey remember it’s Rome city.
Got a room on the corner with a balcony and a decent size bed for two for only 65 euro.