We really liked the location. All we had to do was jump on the tram to Argentina, from there you could walk to all of the cool piazza's and tourist spots. The restaurants just off the piazza's offered the best food we had in italy. would stay again!

I stayed here despite some warnings about being out of the way. But I loved my room, it was one of the biggest I have had in Europe for the price. It had a good shower, balcony, living room, small kitchen. The staff was nice and helpful.
The location was not too bad. Easy walk to Trastevere with tons of good restaurants and bars, and a nice old world feel to it. One block away from a tram stop. Quick taxi pick ups too and nice arrangements for taxis. I didn't eat the free breakfast as I was in too much of a hurry to have a coffee at an outdoor cafe

Having just returned from Rome (and oh, how I miss it!), I was surprised to see the most recent review of this hotel. I thought it was good value. I think we paid about £115 a night and I certainly remember it being one of the cheaper options in Rome (whilst still in a nice area). We had a huge room which was separated into a bedroom and a kitchenette/dinner/lounge. There was also a balcony and a decent sized bathroom with a bath.

The service was great - even the cleaners would smile and say hello to you. The room was clean, and our toiletries were topped up every day. I thought that the bed was comfortable and the towels were soft and clean smelling (i.e. not stinking of bleach!). There were some repair issues, for example a wonky shower rail, a bashed in cupboard door. I get the impression that the hotel is being updated bit by bit as I know that there are nicer rooms, but I don't know that for certain. Presumably there wouldn't be any point in making any unnecessary repairs if the whole lot is going to get pulled out at some point.

My criticisms are that the breakfasts were really not good. The coffee came from a machine and just was not right. We were in Italy it was wrong! Thankfully, they did have earl grey!! The food wasn't up to much either, but there were lots of bars around where we could pick something up, so it wasn't a problem. In fact, wherever we stay, we generally end up having breakfast out. There are still the repair issues as mentioned before.

Essentially this is in a great location - Trastervere is a great place to stay, the hotel is clean, the staff are really friendly and helpful, it's good value and you get a decent size room.

We will return.

I stayed three nights at the Ripa recently and had two very different experiences based on the room I was given. As a background, I booked my stay via hotels.com at an incredibly low $120 a night (Rome in September tends to be rather expensive).

Upon checking in, I was given room 119, which is on the first floor and looked like a 1970 East German idea of a cool room. Weird IKEA type decor in a very oddly set-up room. Large enough, but not very functional and rather dark and dingy. Not the kind of carpet I would want to walk on with bare feet. The bed was worst, since I was able to feel each worn out spring. The room was also really close to the elevator and service room, so it got loud very early in the morning. I believe this room is reserved for low-rate bookings via discount sites. Based on this room, it would be a two star rating at best.

Upon speaking to the front desk, I was eventually given a different room (#218), which turned out to be 100% better. Much larger (pretty much a junior suite) with a small balcony and a foam mattress bed which was very comfortable. The room even had a small kitchen and the bathroom had better fixtures. It was also very quite. I felt as though I had checked into a different hotel. This was more like a 3.5 star room.

Overall, the hotel is in a perfect location right in the middle of Trastevere, which is probably one of the more beautiful areas in Rome. The trolley is a few minutes from the hotel and goes straight into Rome. It also goes to the Trastevere rail station, which will take you to the airport in about 25 minutes for 5.50 Euros. Great deal and very convenient.

The rooms have tiny TVs with lots of international stations. Both rooms had safes and desks with two chairs.

The breakfast was included and decent enough, though mainly low quality prefab pastries and such. Internet was not included and is extremely expensive (about 25 Euros a day). All hotel services seemed outrageously priced and should be avoided.

All in all, your experience will greatly depend on the type room you get. I would try to avoid the first floor altogether and request a room with balcony. If you get a decent room, it's a perfect place to explore beautiful Rome.