This was our first visit to this hotel and Rome - 5 days in the first week of August. Previous reviews on the hotel are both fair and accurate. The mundane exterior of the hotel hides inner opulence in the public areas and to some extent in the bedrooms. We found the conceige service slightly indifferent with no-one really willing to go out of their way more than they had to. Our hotel bedroom was large, very comfortable with excellent air conditioning. Though the bathroom had a bath with shower over and was otherwise well equipped it was pretty pokey in size measuring no more than 6ft x 12ft. Our advice would be to ask for a bedroom overlooking the swimming pool/garden which offers views across Borghese Gardens towards the Vatican and was in sunshire throughout the day. We were notified by the travel company pre arrival that the indoor pool and spa were closed from August to November but as is often the case basically had to go with it! We were however more concerned on arrival to find the hotel shuttle bus had been suspended given comments by others about the 20 minute walk into the city and potential incurring of taxi fares. Again it was very matter of fact - the hotel shuttle isnt working as the driver is on holiday so tough. The town was a 20-25 minute trudge each way to get into the town and with August temperatures of 30c + you were basically lathered with persperation before you even got into the town centre. It may be the time of the year and temperatures but the Borghese Gardens didnt live up to expectation - basically acres of woodland with threadbare grass and huge amounts of graffitti and damage. The park was frequented by more police than tourists probably due to a recent initiative (reported in Sunday Telegraph 10/08/08) to stamp out crime by vagrant communites following a recent murder. Breakfast in the hotel was fairly average with little variety and included standard fare of cold meats/cheeses/fresh fruit salad/fresh fruit. The only hot fare available was scrambled eggs and bacon pre prepared in large metal tureens. Regrettably as we were on half board we were disappointed and surprised that the evening meal menu remained static throughout our stay. Whilst there were options for starter, main course and dessert it soon became pretty repetitive though the quantity and quality was very good. If you are there for only one or two nights or try it as an alternative to eating outside the hotel it would be pretty good albeit quite expensive. Each evening we were given complimentary flutes of Cava to start the meal, and complimentary glasses of dessert wine to end the meal, additionally the waiters provided olive oil from different italian regions to savour with your bread which was a really nice touch especially for someone like us on only their second visit to Italy. In closing quite a good hotel especially if you want a pool and to be away from the chaos of the city in a relatively quite suburb. But be prepared to either hike into town or pay for a taxi if the shuttle isnt running.

As far as Rome is concerned I would highly recommend it though be aware of the high temperatures and humidity in August. The Vatican is a must. We travelled from the city centre via Metro (one euro each way) and found the trains very easy to use, quick and clean although as you would expect quite congested at peak times. Separately we took an open top red bus tour having used similar in Paris, but found the Rome version no-where near as good. Though it tours the sights it does so at speed presenting no photo opportunities. We found some difficulty in trying to co-ordinate the audio guide with the sites that you were looking at and more importantly found that once we had got off at a stop we had to walk some 20 minutes to a less popular tourist sites to get back on as they were all full. The red bus clearly feels no obligation to get you back on a bus once they have taken your money and it was only at the 3rd attempt that we got on a bus. Finally for any cat lovers - you MUST visit the cat sanctuary at Torre Argentine situated on the corner of Via Florida and Via Arenula. Free admission between noon and 6pm where you will see the fantastic work of Silvia Viviani and her supporters in caring for the homeless cats of Rome. A good experience in itself.