First let me begin by saying I have stayed at the Melia in Cancun..which was GREAT! This compared to that was a rundown...used to be nice resort...with faded carpets, 80's bedspreads and a mildewed smelling sink...not even close to a 5 star...the staff however were wonderful and they do have a bus that shuttles you in to the Metro to get into Rome..but it is an absolute frenzy trying to get on the bus on the return trip people pushing and puting their arms up so as to let their wives etc on before another person, it was shameful to be a part of the process...all that had to happen was the bus driver to tell everyone to stand back and form a line..I am assuming he got some ammusment from watching the "adults" act like children at a one swing playground..not good at all.

My wife and I stayed at the Melia for four nights from the 15th April. Our check in was very efficient and our room was a good size with flat screen TV, mini bar, electronic safe and a small seating area.

We did not eat or drink at the hotel although the menu for the restaurant looked good and was priced reasonably when compared with eating out in Rome itself. The bar prices were a bit steep but there was a nice outside seating area just opposite.

The hotel shuttle bus was a necessity for us. The journey took between 15 and 25 minutes depending on traffic and dropped off at the Ottaviano metro stop. For three of the four days we stayed the bus was a plain white 34 seater with the hotel name on a piece of A4 paper in the windscreen which filled up very quickly. On the fourth day a much larger 57 seater single decker coach was operating which had the hotel branding displayed all over! I did not ask but I presume the larger bus was being serviced or something meaning the smaller bus was only a temporary stand-in. I would advise you turn up at least 20 to 30 minutes before the bus you want to get (in either direction) as a lot of people were using the service and throughout our stay there were almost always people left behind to wait on the next bus. The hotel's no standing rule was very striclty enforced by the drivers. If the larger bus is always used this is unlikey to be such a problem.

For the price I paid for the hotel I could not be happier. I booked through Tiscali Travel (powered by Expedia) who gave me a voucher code (now expired) which meant my four nights stay only cost £205.97 - far cheaper that most hotels in Rome.

In conclusion, if you get a good price and you are prepared to wait on the shuttle bus you should not be disappointed by staying at this hotel.

I booked this as a sleeping spot prior to going home to dallas the next night. It was in the middle of nowhere. I got a cab and it cost 20 Euro from the subway. There is no walking anywhere but a bus stop is close by. The hotel does offer a suttle service to town. The rooms were nice but my room was so hot that I could not sleep in it! the hotel has a nice gift shop and nice resturants and bar. The hotel only has beverages at bar and resturant but not in gift shop. strange I thought. Overall, it was not a bad hotel just ok.

I've stayed in the Melia 10 or so times over the last 5 years. I've always enjoyed it. It is clean, it has nice staff, and is definitely a 4-star hotel. Back a bunch of years ago my family came along, and they loved the pool. I recommend this to anyone, but I'll be cautious with tourists. I think if you want to see Rome, you're better off paying a little more (maybe) for a 3-star downtown, even if you do have a car. This great hotel is not in a great place, and I gather from other posters that the bus service to downtown is not a lot of fun. One the other hand, if you are "passing through" -- going from the North to Naples and you'd like to break up the day, or you are either coming or going to Fiumicino and you'd like a night to unwind AND you have a car, then this place is ideal!

A nice thing is the restaurant, I've always found their food much better than one would expect from a hotel restaurant. (Perhaps American hotels' restaurants have lowered my expectations.)

An annoying thing is their internet, which is rather expensive and seems to come with gigabyte limits. I didn't spring for that. I also think that the hotel needs to spruce things up a little: I've seen it getting just a little shaggier (paint, etc.) since I started coming to it.

A hint is to park around back, by the Conference Center. Almost everyone does, anyway. The hotel unwisely seems to have instituted a parking fee - first 45 minutes free - so now apparently no one uses the hotel's parking.