The Inn At The Roman Forum

The Inn At The Roman Forum

Beneath The Inn At The Roman Forum runs a Roman cryptoportico, two vaulted galleries built between 50 BC and 14 AD and only excavated in 1887, and that alone separates it from every other small hotel clustered around the Forum. Seventeen rooms are spread across four floors, reached by a short walk from Trajan's Forum and Villa di Massenzio, close enough that the ruins are a stroll rather than a taxi ride. Rooms carry minibars, bathrobes, slippers and cable TV, though fittings vary by category, and none of the four room types list a floor size, so ask before booking if space matters to you. A rooftop terrace and garden give somewhere to sit with a coffee or a glass of wine above the rooftops, and the bar and cafe cover the rest of the day without leaving the building. Breakfast is available, staff speak English, Italian, French, Spanish and Arabic, and the concierge will arrange transfers, tours and dry cleaning. There is no parking and pets are not allowed, so this suits a couple or solo traveller on foot rather than anyone arriving by car or bringing a dog. An extra bed runs 200 EUR a night, a cleaning tax is billed separately at the hotel, and some Rome properties add a mandatory gala dinner fee, worth confirming directly before you book. What sets this address apart is not the rooftop or the location, both common enough in this part of Rome, but the fact that its own basement is an archaeological site guests can see rather than read about elsewhere. Built over an excavated Roman cryptoportico steps from the Forum, this 17-room hotel suits travellers on foot who want ruins underfoot rather than views of them. No parking, no pets, and check ahead for the mandatory gala dinner fee some Rome hotels add.