We had a great time in Rome and we did enjoy our stay. We are only giving the Polo 3 out of 5 for a few reasons. First, our experience with the staff was different than some other people's. We found them pleasant, helpful and they seemed sincerely happy to see us in the morning as we left for the day's excursions or in the evening when we returned home. The entire staff - from housekeeping, to the restaurant, to the people at the front desk - went out of their way to make us feel welcome and to be helpful. There was a small supermarket around the corner and the people were used to tourists from the hotel and they also helped to make our stay a pleasant one. (I hope this doesn't come across as arrogant, but after having travelled a bit, I find that simply asking someone their name, telling them yours and then trying to say please and thank you in their language will usually end up getting you better service - wherever you are).
Is this hotel out of the way? Definitely yes, but it depends a little on your perspective. I was able to jog from the hotel to the coliseum in about 35 minutes. The closest metro is Flaminio which is fifteen minutes away, but the train station, Euclide, is only 5 minutes away and it is one stop away from Flaminio and the rest of the metro system - and it uses the same 1 euro ticket which is good for 75 minutes throughout the network of trains, buses and metros. The trains run every fifteen minutes during the day. A taxi from the hotel to the Coliseum at 4:30 in the afternoon cost me exactly 8.40 euros. You can walk from the hotel to even the farthest tourist site in the city in 45 minutes if you so choose, otherwise there are metro stops at most of the important sites. We walked everywhere we went and we used to enjoy our walks home at night long the Tevere (Tiber) river. I am 58 with arthritis in the knees and after walking up and down hills in Rome for two weeks, I actually lost a little weight and my knees were better for having had the exercise. It might, however, be harder for a senior or someone with small children because of the distances.
This was my first trip to Europe and I found the room exceptionally small even though I had been warned. We had ants in our room, but in all fairness, the front desk did eventually send someone to deal with the problem once they had been informed. Later, however, while sitting in the armchair in the lobby, I suddenly felt three or four on my arms.
The breakfast was adequate (the coffee was great), but they served the exact same limited, mediocre menu every day for two weeks which grew very tiresome. As I said, I have never been to Europe before, but I have stayed in 4 star hotels in Cuba, Japan, the US, the Philippines, and in Canada and when I do an overall comparison to the Polo Hotel, it just doesn't measure up as well. Even though Cuba is still under an embargo the breakfasts are generally more interesting, better prepared and more varied. There was great inexpensive fruit at the supermarket near the Polo, especially the gigantic seedless Italian grapes, but the fruit at breakfast was a little old and unappetizing.
The TV had only about 10 channels, most of which were Italian with 2 or 3 Russian stations, one Spanish and CNN International in English. There were no films available to watch, not even for rental. The view from our room looked out on a junky area behind the hotel. The shower stall was a tight fit for one person, I wouldn't suggest trying to fit two. The hotel might be better off eliminating the biday and increasing the size of the shower. The internet service was reasonable priced and fairly reliable for WIFI.

Bottom line: would I go back? Maybe yes, because of the staff and because all the walking caused me to see things I wouldn't have had I been staying at a downtown hotel. Would I recommend the hotel? Not at the prices we paid. This is simply not a 4 star hotel.