We liked the Roma's central location, it's faded beauty, its 24-hour hot water, and the delicious coffee. The breakfast itself was not good value. The rooms have transoms to let in air from the unroofed corridors, but they are dark and sparsely furnished, and if you want to sit and read, there is really no good place. The wifi works only in the lobby area, but you have to sit on a bench away from any plug to go on line. Towels are not provided, and the sheets kept slipping off the mattress. The walls of our room and bathroom were definitely dirty, but floors were clean. It got really noisy with people socializing outside our room just around bedtime. We did not find the people there to be friendly or helpful.

Hostal Roma is located in central Lima so if you are looking for this location it is a good, basic choice. For the cheap price, you get what you pay for. The courtyard was cute (opens to the sky, lots of plants) but the rooms were very basic. We had enough space and the bathroom was clean, but the beds were (honestly) disgusting. My sister slept fully clothed as to not touch the sheets and I slept in a sleeping sack.

If Hostal Roma got new bedding I would give it another star. Also, the night we stayed there it was VERY loud (noise echos in the hallways) and there was quite a lot of racket in the neighborhood that kept us up.

However, it gets a positive rating for friendly service and a reliable airport pickup/transfer service and a good basic stay for the price.

(As far as staying in Lima, I would choose Miraflores over central Lima)

I picked this place because of its central location. Due to the low price I wasn't expecting much, but the place managed to disappoint even the lowest expectations. I understand the concept of "basic" rooms, but how anyone could describe this place as clean (Lonely Planet) is beyond me. There was hair of what appeared to be 2 different people in the bathroom (I had a single room). Also, when I got to the room at night after going out I was too tired to check carefully, but in the morning I realized there was actually hair on my pillow (definitely wasn't mine - wrong color and length). The bed felt damp (might be due to the humid climate) at night and there is no insulation - rooms get seriously cold at night and blankets are skimpy. After all that, I thought maybe the supposedly great coffee would compensate a little bit, only to learn the next morning that breakfast is only served Mon-Fri. Really, stay away from this place if you can. There must be 100 places in Lima that are better.

I booked this hostal via email prior to my stay and they arranged to have me picked up from the airport on a late night arrival. Errol Branca was there on time and waiting. The rooms are rather basic and as noted in a prior review, there was no windows only a large skylight. Central Lima is in walking distance, but closes up early at night as all the nightlife action is in Miraflores.

The breakfast was good for the price. Errol arranged a plane ticket to Cuzco and offered any other assistance that was needed. Overall, I was satisfied with my stay. It's about what you expect for budget travel.