From the outside the Arcadia looks like a cross between an office building and a parking garage. Sliding glass doors open onto a large lobby, with leather armchairs and plants lined up against a wall. There's a well-lit breakfast area with a terra-cotta floor and tables for two. The Arcadia is clean and spartan, but its style, or lack of it, recalls the early 1980s.

There is nothing charming about the Arcadia’s surroundings, but the area is quiet and safe. A supermarket and pizzeria are a few minutes' walk away. The nearest metro stop -- Anagnina -- is at least a 20-minute walk (although the hotel provides an irregular free shuttle service), and the ride to the center of Rome -- the Colosseum, Spanish Steps, and Vatican City -- takes another 20 minutes. The Ciampino Airport is a 10-minute drive away. The hotel is a short drive from the Roman ruins at Via Appia Antica, and the pope’s Castel Gondolfo summer retreat.

The rooms, decorated in green upholstery, sleep two to four people, and some of the rooms have balconies. Standard Double Rooms are on the small side but the Quadruple Room offers more space (thankfully).There are thick flat-screen TVs but no Wi-Fi. While the rooms could use some updating, they are clean and offer desks, mini-fridges, safes, seating areas with green wicker chairs, and air-conditioning. Bathrooms have tubs with a hand-held shower wand. There are single sinks and an ancient looking hairdryer mounted to the wall. Windows overlook the street and parking lot.

The features at Arcadia Hotel are almost non-existent. Wi-Fi is available only in public areas, and for a fee. A breakfast of coffee, cold cereal, and toast is included in the room rate. There's a small fitness center with a treadmill and a couple of weight machines.