Drop off rental car in Rome or…?

It would certainly be easier
We dropped car in Spoleto then took train to Rome
Hertz is just a few steps to station

Agreed that returning the car to Termini is an unnecessary headache. I’ve done it. Much easier to drop car at Tiburtina, taking the SR5.

I returned a rental car to Termini once and will never do it again. A major hassle getting there -traffic, ZTL etc. I tried to return one to Autoeurope’s Via Sardegna location and the staff were beyond rude and not helpful. So much so that we actually got back in the car and drove to another location (Via Cipro near the Vatican, very nice experience). I recommend picking a location easily accessible from the ring road and then taking a taxi to your destination. Or return at another city as suggested, but then you’ve paid for the car that day and have to pay for a train ride as well.

We were in Umbria last fall and dropped off our rental car in Terni, then took a train to Rome. We could have walked to the train station from the rental place, but the guy very nicely drove us there.

Drop off car at Rome FCO. Train or taxi into city.

Return it in the city of Rome then taxi to hotel. Why pay more on train or taxi charges?
If returning at Termini, all car rental returns for all companies are at the Giolitti parking structure below. Save it in your Google Maps in your phone and follow the navigator. It’s not that hard and the rental car return is not in the ZTL.
Park Giolitti
https://goo.gl/maps/uBsSgNJtzNDgVmnJ8
The Tiburtina train station is even easier to reach from the ring beltway, but the rental return location varies depending on the rental company you use.