2 Best Hotels in The Vatican, Rome

The first Italian outpost of the French brand Mama Shelter, this hip hotel features a funky design with lots of colors and patterns and playful touches like graphic ceilings painted by French street artist Beniloys and vintage pinball machines you can play. Rooms have comfy beds, flat-screen TVs with free movies (including adult movies), and bathrooms with colorful tiles and organic toiletries. The main restaurant, Giardino d'Inverno, draws a trendy local crowd for classic Italian dishes with creative twists, plus live music and DJs from Thursday through Sunday. There's also a pizzeria and, in the warmer seasons, a rooftop terrace and a ground-floor garden restaurant with a cabana bar. The shop in the lobby sells branded merch, as well as handcuffs and other sex toys.

This simple budget hotel on the third floor of a 19th-century palazzo offers rock-bottom rates and is just a five-minute walk from the Vatican. You won't find frills, but you will find clean rooms with air-conditioning and free Wi-Fi. There's no bar, but there is a breakfast buffet and a vending machine that you can use 24 hours a day.