Logistics for Hilton Rome airport

What time is your flight? We stayed at the Barcelo Aran Blu hotel in Ostia for our last night and then drove to the airport to return our car before our our 1 pm flight. We're so glad we made this decision. The hotel is right on the water (near a marina) and was very quite with a balcony. It was so nice to walk along the beach and eat at a local restaurant for our last night in Italy. The ride to the airport was only about 30 minutes and there is a place to by gas (to refill the tank) close to the airport. The car return is centrally located with easy walks to all terminals.

Thanks...but the Hilton has been prepaid, non refundable...

If you are talking about the Rome Airport Hilton, it right at the airport, connected by a covered walkway. You could also take the local train into Rome for the evening.

Very short walk from rental cars to Hilton FCO,
recommend you check in, put bags in room, and drive to nearby Ostia Antica. Return car, walk to Hilton.

Coach,

If I remember right, the rental car returns are in the "horse-shoe" area which is surrounded by the terminals and terminal drive. There is a long corridor on the 2nd level which connects the rental car lots and short-term/close-in covered parking with the terminals. At the very end of this corridor is the Hilton. (Go down the elevator and follow the sidewalk to the Hilton.)

Keeping the car overnight will just cost you more money in order to park it. The Hilton its self does not have parking so you must park it in the airport parking lot.

Here's what I would do... I would turn in the car in Florence when I'm done using it to explore Tuscany and take the train from Florence to Rome. I would spend an afternoon/evening roaming around Rome - have a nice supper, see the sights of Rome all lighted for the evening, then take the Leonardo Express to the airport and check into the hotel. There is a luggage-drop in Termini and at least a couple others just outside the station.

I've was put up by my airline in the Hilton Rome Airport and it wasn't the most pleasant/memorable experience. Definitely have your supper in Rome and only use the Hotel for sleeping. And if cigarette smoke bothers you, make sure you ask for a non-smoking room...

Coach,
We stayed at the Hilton FCO the night before we flew home.

We drove down from Tuscany in the morning, reaching FCO around 1:00 pm. We checked in, my wife went to our room and I returned our Hertz car. We then took the free shuttle from the Hilton to downtown Rome. You're dropped off next to the "Wedding Cake" (Victor Emmanuel II Monument). We had reserved a Walks of Italy Twilight Stroll that started at the Piazza Navona. It was an easy walk from the drop off point to the Piazza. We arrived in plenty of time to have a nice dinner outside at one of the cafes. We then met up with the tour and had a wonderful walk to the Pantheon, Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain.

Our tour ended in plenty of time to walk back and catch the 10:30 bus back to the hotel. The next morning we took the free shuttle to our terminal. Since I'm a Hilton Honors member, we got upgraded to the Executive floor which had a lounge with free breakfast.

Free shuttles leave every hour so if you get in later in the afternoon, you can still ride into town and have a nice dinner.

Thank you all....very helpful as always.

The restaurants in the Hilton FCO don't stay open too late, if you need a full meal. It's correct to say that it is one of the most "ON Airport" hotels around, with it's own (outdoor) elevator to the pedestrian passageway connecting the terminals. I'm not sure why you'd need a "shuttle" in the morning. We rolled our bags to the international check-in area. No close, but not bad for an airport.

We experienced lines to check into the Hilton front desk. And our room backed up on a noisy elevator shaft. That could happen in any hotel. It was very convenient to return the car while my wife started the hotel checkin. But don't count on a room at 1PM.

Edit: The summer we were there, the Hilton shuttle bus was using an alternate Rome location, probably due to construction downtown. But they still ran every departure on the signboard. Beware of rush hour surface traffic, of course.

I'm not sure why you'd need a "shuttle" in the morning. We rolled our bags to the international check-in area. No close, but not bad for an airport.

But don't count on a room at 1PM.

We flew out of T3 on Delta. We checked in at T3. We could have walked, but the shuttle was just leaving as we were heading for the terminal.

I agree, we were lucky our room was ready when we got there. We anticipated having to get them to hold our bags, but when we went to check in, they told us our room was ready. Maybe they service the Executive floor first.

Hilton is walking distance to the airport. You can return your car that afternoon. There is a complimentary bus from the Hilton to the center of Rome. And back. Or you can take a train from the airport (not complimentary).