Occidental Aran Park

Hotel Description

You know what? The Occidental Aran Park is one of those places that surprises you – not because it’s flashy or trying too hard, but because it just gets the basics right in a way that makes you actually relax. I mean, when you’re staying in the Giuliano-Dalmata area (which honestly, most tourists have never heard of), you’re already off the beaten path, but that’s exactly what makes this spot work.

The hotel sits on Via Riccardo Forster, which is this quiet residential street that feels more like you’re staying in a Roman neighborhood than a tourist zone. And honestly, that’s the whole appeal – you can walk to the EUR district in about ten minutes if you’re into that Mussolini-era architecture thing, or hop on the metro at Garbatella (maybe a 15-minute walk) to get into the city center. The front desk staff actually knows the bus schedules, which sounds basic but you’d be surprised how rare that is. They’ll tell you the 714 bus is your friend for getting around locally, and they’re right.

The rooms are… well, they’re proper 4-star without being stuffy about it. Clean lines, decent space, and – this matters more than you think – really good blackout curtains. The air conditioning actually works (not a given in Rome in August, trust me), and the bathrooms have that rainfall shower head that doesn’t just drizzle pathetically like in some places. I noticed they’ve got these little touches that show someone cares – the toiletries don’t smell like industrial soap, and there’s actually enough outlets near the bed for your phone and laptop. The Wi-Fi is solid throughout the building, which is clutch if you’re working remotely or just trying to figure out dinner plans.

What I really appreciate is how the place handles the morning routine. The breakfast setup isn’t some massive tourist feeding frenzy – it’s more civilized, with decent coffee (important in Italy, obviously) and local pastries that taste like they came from an actual bakery. You can sit outside on the terrace when the weather’s nice, and it’s quiet enough that you can actually think. The whole vibe is more business travelers and people who know Rome well, rather than tour groups with matching backpacks.

The neighborhood itself is residential Rome at its most authentic – there’s a great little trattoria called Da Checco about five minutes away that locals actually eat at, and a morning market on Saturdays where you can grab real fruit instead of hotel minibar snacks. It’s not glamorous, but it’s real, and after a few days of fighting crowds at the Colosseum, that realness starts to feel pretty valuable. The 7.8 rating makes sense – it’s not trying to be the fanciest place in Rome, but it delivers on what it promises without any unpleasant surprises.

Rooms

• Estimated price from: $95. Superior Double or Twin Room with Balcony with 2 single beds and 1 large double bed for Max persons: 2
• Estimated price from: $106. Executive Room with Balcony with 2 single beds and 1 extra-large double bed for Max persons: 2
• Estimated price from: $126. Junior Suite with Balcony with 1 sofa bed and 1 large double bed for Max persons: 2
• Estimated price from: $136. Triple Room with Balcony with 2 single beds and 1 sofa bed for Max persons: 2
• Estimated price from: $217. Family Room with Balcony with 2 single beds and 1 large double bed for Max persons: 2

Reviews

• Superb – John from United Kingdom – 10 June 2025 (9/10)

  Nice balcony

• Superb – Gabriel from Slovakia – 24 February 2025 (9/10)

  What could be improved: I prefer carpets on the floor in a hotel.

• Nice, comfortable hotel with large rooms and excellent breakfast offerings. – Deirdre from United States – 19 February 2025 (8/10)

  Nice room, large breakfast and tasty selections, comfortable bed.
  
  What could be improved: More scrupulous screening of guests. There were some very rowdy, drunken people on my floor who kept everyone awake in the middle of the night.

• Superb – Deirdre from United States – 11 February 2025 (9/10)

  Great breakfast, comfortable bed, nice room with a big balcony.

• Superb – Semih from Italy – 5 December 2024 (9/10)

  Very comfortable room and bed with nice decoration. Quite and calm.
  The staff is nice and the front desk is open for 24 hours, which was very important to me as I checked in after midnight.
  Nearby there are bus stops where you can take buses to reach metro station and then to Rome downtown within 45/50 mins in day time.
  
  What could be improved: The isolation between the rooms are not so good. Sometimes I heared the cigarette smell or noises coming from the other rooms or balconies.

• Very good location and stay – Ugo from Italy – 20 September 2024 (9/10)

  Gorgeous view from balcony. Air conditioning efficient and not noisy. Good level of cleaniness
  
  What could be improved: A labyrinth 😅 spent 15 minutes to find my room. TV set could be bigger. The water from the shower hit my face when I opened the tap 🤬

• Superb – Efe from Turkey – 5 July 2024 (9/10)

  Rooms are very clean and staff are very nice and helpful. We also tried their dining one time and it was pretty good too. There also services like bar and such and they were nice too.
  
  What could be improved: We had only two problems with the place. First is the location because you have to wait up to 30-40 mins for a bus to reach the metro station every morning. Of course you can find it much quicker but we had to wait these times twice in a 3 day stay. Second thing is its very hard to acquire water, there are not many places (or non as long as we found) near that you can get water for cheap especially at night times and the water is very expensive at the reception. I would suggest buying some water before returning to the hotel.

• Very good – Vasilii from Russia – 16 May 2024 (8/10)

  Location was good enough, 50 minutes to the center by public transport

• Superb – Dávid from Slovakia – 7 May 2024 (9/10)

  Really excellent breakfast. Nice staff.
  
  What could be improved: Slightly worse location.
  I missed here EU plug, phone-OK but the problem was with recharging the laptop.

• Very good – Jessica from Slovakia – 13 April 2024 (8/10)

  Clean and nice room, good roomservice 👍
  
  What could be improved: The city center is far from the hotel, we had to take the bus and then metro. It is situated in the quiet area but other hotel quests were very noisy at night..

SURROUNDINGS

Facilities