On a recent trip to Rome, I stayed at the Quality Hotel Nova Domus near the Vatican. To book the hotel I transferred points from my Membership Rewards account to Choice Hotels and booked the room using Choice Privilege points. Choice Privilege points tend to me my favorite hotel currency when traveling Europe as the Hotel brand in Europe tends to offer better ran and nicer hotels than their North America counterpart. This hotel was no exception to the rule and I booked 1 double room for three nights at 10,000 points night.
When I checked in to the hotel around 11am, my room was not ready by the clerk offered to store my luggage so my friend and I could explore the city. We left our bags and ran around the Vatican and the area of town until around 4pm and when we returned our room was ready for us. Despite having no status with Choice and using points I was given one of their nicer rooms on the top floor which included a balcony overlooking the local area and a view of the Vatican along with a Jacuzzi tub. The room was very basic yet comfortable and exceeded my expectation. The room was furnished with a large wardrobe, a desk, a small early 90s TV, a mini fridge, and a hard double bed. The highlight of the room though was the views from the balcony, both during the day and night of the Rome Skyline.
(Oddly the only picture I took of the room, and then two pictures below from the balcony)
The hotel is very basic, but very comfortable for solo travelers or families traveling to Rome or the Vatican. Its about a 10 minute walk to the Vatican, and only 5 minutes to either the subway or street car. In addition, the hotel has a decent complimentary breakfast buffet in the morning with all the fixings including eggs, meats, pastries, yogurts, fresh fruit, and more.
If you’re looking for a cheap point redemption, or a decent hotel near the Vatican, look no further than this Quality Inn, because award bookings for only 10,000 points do not happen often and is a true steal, or as what I like to call a #DoubleWideDelight! And remember, Choice Privledge is an American Express Membership Reward partner and the no annual fee Choice Priviledge Visa 32,000 point bonus offer can equate to 4 free nights at Choice Hotels around the world!