I was in Italy for a leisure/business trip inspecting hotels and securing partnerships for my luxury wine and culinary travel company (CORK & FORK). As such, I stayed in several five-star hotels (others to the North) and inspected a number of others including some of the grande dames in Rome such as the Hassler, the Splendide (sister property to this one), the Eden, the Majestic, etc. In my view, Parco dei Principi holds up very well to these other luxury properties. Let me address the location issue first. Instead of viewing this as an out of the way location, I actually view the hotel as sitting in an oasis in an otherwise very busy city. The hotel certainly is not located in the center, but the very upscale residential area that it is in is quite peaceful. The view from our rooms over the Villa Borghese to the dome of St. Peter's was memorable. The peace and quiet is a marked contract to what one might encounter walking out of the front door of the Hassler (where one is greeted with a throng of tourists at the top of the Spanish Steps). There are no other hotels in the immediate area, which I prefer. Compare this to the Via Veneto, which is one hotel after the other and a very touristy area (albeit, upscale). Parco dei Principi does offer a free shuttle to the Via Veneto from 10-7 (starting at 9 would be nicer!) and indeed it is a 20 minute walk to Trinite dei Monti at the top of the Spanish Steps. The park is quiet nice. We took about 5 cabs from the center and it was always 10 Euros or less and quick. The exterior of the property is contemporary and a bit ugly. The interior is completely in the classical style. The lobby is quite large and we found the reception staff and the concierge to be quite helpful (realizing that Italians can be rather vague with directions!). The breakfast buffet, included in our rate, was great and one can sit on the ground floor terrace overlooking the gardens and some sort of ruins/old wall. The peace and quiet of this spot was quite enjoyable. Our room was quite nice..no issue with climate control, size, or anything else. I might wish for a bit more color in the decor as it was dominated by gold and green, but that's really a minor comment. The pool was about to open and is quite nice as it is set in the hotel's large garden. The fitness center is much larger than what I saw in any other five-star hotel. Other than emabassies and other residences, there is little to speak of in terms of retail in the area. There are a couple ATMs within 2-3 blocks, which was helpful. On the last night, we actually wanted a local restaurant. We were referred to Casa Mia, an informal Osteria-type spot which actually was one of our finest meals in Rome. While the view was quiet nice, the view from the Eden, the Hassler and the Splendide was better, but one will pay for that. Net, net: I definitely believe this is a five-star property (to counter a couple posts I read). Even if you are only in Rome for 1 night, the cab ride to the center really is quite short and certainly won't break the bank and you will be rewarded with peace and quiet.

Okay... I am writing this review a couple of years after staying here but from what I have read of the recent reviews, I think it's safe to say that this is still relevant. My wife (at that time, my fiance) and I stayed at the hotel for 3 nights in November of 2006 on the way back to Sicily from the US. Found a good price on a travel website and we were content considering that it was a 5 star in Rome. The hotel is elegant in a certain way but definitely could use some type of renovation. I can certainly understand the desire to keep a classical feel to the place, but there is classical done well and then classical that is just old, and some features of the hotel - especially the rooms - were just old (i.e. furniture). The pool was out of use being November, so I guess we missed out on one of the best parts of the hotel (considering other reviews). The breakfast buffet was included in the price and was adequate but nothing impressive; certainly not indicative of a 5 star hotel.

I gave this hotel an overall rating of 3 stars but was debating whether to give it 2. The service was subpar for anywhere and especially for a 5 star place (I know that I continue to harp upon the 5 star rating, but if you pay for 5 stars, you expect 5 stars and you paragon to hotels of similar ratings, right?). There was one young man there from Sardegna who was extremely kind and considerate but some of the others seemed like they were doing you a favor if they provided you with assistance. I am certainly not the typical naive American traveler (I live in Italy, am married to an Italian, speak fluent Italian, etc.), but you wouldn't have been able to tell from the treatment. There was one man in particular behind the front desk who was extremely rude (foreign name; was not Italian). I recall on one occasion that I had just worked out in their small gym and was sweating a little as I crossed through the lobby to go back to my room (there was no shower or changing facility in the gym), and this guy began to criticize me for doing this. I made sure to get in his face about it and he quickly backed down (I am 6'4" and weight 230 of muscle), but the audacity to even address me about this was ridiculous. Even the recommendations from some of the staff for dinner and that kind of stuff was less than adequate (with the exception of one evening).

Bottom line is that this is a 3 star hotel disguised as a 5 star. I would not recommend spending 300 euro a night or whatever it was to stay here. There are better hotels in Rome for 100/night and you can spend the money on other things.

This grand dame has been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Pros:
- Beautiful hotel, opulent bedroom (heavy curtains, nice paintings, warm towel rack)
- Very knowledgeable staff, spoke many languages, knew the area.
- Balcony had table, chairs, and beautiful view of Villa Borhese.
- Wifi in room (but 27 Euros / day)
- Good closet space (but skimpy on drawers)

Cons:
- Room temerature was very high, thermostat could not reduce temp (many guests noted this)
- No alarm clock in room, didn't get wake up call one day (other days OK)
- Workout room is detached from hotel, has only one treadmill.
- No iron / ironing board in room. None available from housekeeping.
- Cleaning 3 shirts + 2 pants = 60 Euros
- Wifi roaming partners are BT, Orange, and Swisscom.
- Had to crawl under desk to find power outlets
- Tub drain was slow
- Shower curtain rod was cheap round rod, curtain rings got stuck in middle (OK, that's nit-picking)...

The hotel itself is nice and the bathroom was much larger than typical European hotels (which is why I rated it three stars). The location is east of the Villa Borghese (one of Rome's nicest outdoor parklands). It's a solid 10-15 minute walk to reach the old city walls (and another 10 minutes walk to the Spanish Steps). Probably the nicest thing I can say is that it's an old-fashioned hotel - right down to the decor. Said in a bit less flattering way, it's a bit stuffy and stogy and probably a place your grandparents would be quite happy. For 'young and hip' people, it's very overpriced, poorly located, and not much fun. The workout room was not very impressive (it looks much nicer in the photos). On the positive, most of ther hotel employees seemed very nice.

If you are traveling in warmer months, it has an Olympic sized outdoor pool - which I'm sure is a big hit when warm enough to swim. Our room also had a small balcony. Unfortunately, we weren't able to enjoy either due to the cold November weather. My wife thinks it's a 4 star...but...

Bottom line: you can do much better for your money (unless you have a ton of extra cash and want to meet other grandparents).