This was the first trip to Europe for my wife and I and although we had read plenty of reviews about how hotel room sizes and amenities differ overseas we were not quite prepared for what we saw when we arrived at the Hotel Patria after a day of flying in from California.

We purchased our standard, double room in advance and we were, of course, extremely tired by the time we arrived at the hotel. Our double room was only a few feet wider and longer than the double bed that we were to sleep on. Quite a shock considering what we were used to with hotels in the states. And even though we thought we were prepared for the smaller size we had no clue that we would barely be able to squeeze our bags into the room (and we traveled pretty light).

However, to the benefit of the hotel they were kind enough to switch us to a larger room (although the bed was the same size) at no additional cost and even moved our bags to the new room while we were out discovering the city.

The bathroom was small but updated and we passed on the free continental breakfast as it consisted mostly of pastries, fruit cocktail and assorted cereals. Plus, the breakfast room was always full with other hotel patrons when we did decide to eat at the hotel so we just stopped going in. There are several bakeries and small food stands nearby if you need some fuel to start your day.

As others have posted, it is a great starting location for just about any trip that you are planning for the day. We quickly educated ourselves on the subway (which is right around the corner from the hotel) and found that a highly effective way to get to a majority of the sites we wanted to see.

We also found that many of the restaurants and pizzerias in the area around the hotel seem to cater to the tourists and they have no trouble with speaking English if your Italian is rusty.

If possible, I would suggested that you try to book a room that is away from the street as the folks in Rome seem to have a love affair with their car horns regardless of the time of day.

Although the hotel worked to make our stay enjoyable it is doubtful that I would return on a future trip as my wife and I would probably seek a larger living space and quieter surroundings.

We've just returned from 4 wonderful days in Rome. Our stay at the Patria was very good. It's clean, friendly and near everything. As we wanted to cram as much as we could in, we ordered breakfast in our room every morning, which is no extra charge and saves having to queue for the quite small breakfast room. The staff were very friendly and helpful.

If you don't mind walking, you can do it all on foot from the Hotel Patria. You are a 45 minute walk from the Vatican (and you see all the wonderful buildings on the way), you are about 15-20 minutes from the Spanish steps, 30 minutes from Piazza Navona and Trevi fountain and 35 minutes from the colliseum.

We found a good pizzeria, which is 2 minutes from the hotel. Turn right out of the hotel, down to Via Nazionale, straight over the road and its on the left on the corner. We had 2 good meals in there with wine, brandy and coffee for 48 euros for the 2 of us. Their pizzas are very good.

We'd certainly recommend the Hotel Patria and if we should be so lucky as to return to Rome we will definitely stay there again.

Just a quick tip if you have a sweet tooth. As you come out of the hotel, turn left and about 30 yards on the right is a small shopping arcade with a coffee shop/restaurant called Dagnino. The cakes and pastries are out of this world and the amount of walking you do in Rome you can eat as many as you like!! Enjoy!

We were booking into this hotel only to find when we arrived we were moved to a hotel around the corner called Hotel Augustea.
It had air con which did not work. Location was OK not far from the train station. It was clean enough but the entry into the hotel was quite ordinary almost a little disturbing. If I had have been travelling with a girlfriend and not my husband I would have perhaps been a little frightened as it was quite derelict looking. The staff were friendly.

I stayed here four nights in mid-April. The hotel is easy to get to from Piazza della Repubblica metro station, a bit of a hike from Termini station if you have luggage.

The single room I had was "cozy" - small but there was a closet large enough for me and a desk. Flat screen TVs had CNN/BBC, that was nice - just realize that you have to turn it on from the top of the screen. Remote only works to change channels, volume.

Bathroom was marble, very nice, but the weirdest layout. They crammed sink, bidet, toilet and tub into a tiny room. Use caution taking a shower - water easily gets allover the floor (so THAT's why there's a drain in the middle of the marble floor!) and it is SLICK when wet.

Housekeeping was excellent. Room was very clean.

Even though the reception staff wasn't very friendly, I'd stay here again.