We stayed at Arches in the Prati district of North-West Rome recently and found it to be spacious, well appointed and clean. Fabio and his staff were very friendly and helpful.

Our only problems were that some noisy building work was being carried out during our stay (should be finished by now) and that there was a lot of late night street noise, but this seems pretty typical of most of Rome. However the free and unlimited air conditioning meant that we could shut the windows and stay comfortable all night.

The location is surprisingly convenient despite its suburban postion because it is close to the Ottaviano Metro station and several main bus routes into the city. It is only about a 10 minute walk north of the Vatican and is on the second floor of an apartment block set amid shops, businesses and a lively street market which sells just about everything. This is a quite respectable area and at no time did we feel at all unsafe whilst walking the mile or so back from the city late at night; most of the time this was a very relaxing way to end the evening.

In fact there are many local bars and restaurants nearby which offer better food and value than many city centre establishments. In particular the family run "La Tavernetta" about 5 minutes walk away on Via Giulio Cesare was about the nicest restaurant we visited offering simple rustic cuisine in a very friendly atmosphere.

We would definitely stay here again. Check out the Metro map for line A. You will see that it runs from Ottaviano station (nearby) all the way to Anagnina station at the end of the line which is only about 4 miles away from Ciampino Airport. The short taxi ride should be quite cheap and the Metro fare would be only 1 Euro.