Because it was August and in preparation for the heat, we wanted a hotel in Rome with a pool. The Aldrovandi Hotel has a small but elegant pool and poolside dining except we were sightseeing so much we never used it!
Located at the top of the Borghese Gardens, it is a 15 minute walk to the Spanish Steps. Wonderful room- great bed, marble bath. $$$$ but you can get a deal through a travel agent. Loved the hotel, location OK for tourists.

I stayed at the Aldrovandi for four nights at the end of July with my boyfriend. We got a great deal with Expedia and only paid £450 for the four nights.

The hotel rooms have been recently refurbished and our room was fantastic! The bathroom was marble, the bed huge and comfortable and everything was extremely clean and very stylish.

I am surprised at previous reviews mentioning unfriendly staff. We couldn't have found the staff any friendlier! All the staff we met were smiling, helpful and attentive with excellent English. One of the bar men even recommended places to eat outside of the hotel and we ended up having one of our best meals out based on his recommendations.

The "extras" at the hotel are expensive. The mini bar is highly priced, as in any hotel I've stayed in, and the food at the poolside bar is also quite expensive - 20 Euros for a club sandwich, but we ordered a side of french fries and were not charged any extra for it.

We didn't eat in the "Baby" restaurant but I am not surprised it is very expensive - it is Michelin starred. We chose to eat at the Cavlieri Hilton restaurant one night, which has two Michelin stars, and that cost £317!

The pool was great - the use of the pool is now free for guests, with sun loungers and towels also provided free. It was fantastic to get back to the hotel after a hot day sight-seeing and relax by the pool for a couple of hours.

One small word of warning, and the only negative thing about the hotel, was that a few small items of mine were stolen from our room on the first day. These were not expensive - they left my jewellery and everything with sentimental value, but took a tube of foundation and a trial size perfume!? I have alerted the hotel to this so hopefully the culprit will not be working there much longer. Otherwise I would thoroughly recommend the Aldrovandi and would not hesitate to stay there again when I next return to Rome.

If money is no object, then this is a good hotel. However, if you are looking for any sort of value whatsoever, avoid this hotel at all costs.

I have been fortunate enough to stay in some high end hotels and resorts in some notoriously expensive destinations including Tahiti, Fiji, and Singapore, and I have never experienced anything close to this hotel's food costs.

Some examples, $10 US for a 12 oz. can of soda from the minibar. $10 US for a bag of peanuts the size you get in coach class on US airlines. $80 US for a buffet breakfast with a very small selection of very small portions. Our dinner in the hotel's restaurant, "Baby", costed us $300 US for two of us, for two glasses of wine each, an appetizer, an entree, and dessert. The unfortunate thing about this was I think they named the restaurant for the size if their portions.

That's fine for some I suppose, but not this 220 pound American.

Also, the hotel is far removed from any sort of shopping or commerce so expect a very long walk or cab ride if you plan to circumvent this hotel's extremely high food costs.

We stayed here at the end of a holiday in Italy and chose it specifically for its small-but-effective pool, gym and gardens. We found the reception and most other staff to be very helpful and pleasant and were delighted to be upgraded to a beautiful deluxe suite. This was a very spacious living room with adjoining bedroom, bathroom and walk-in wardrobe/dressing area, all furnished and serviced to a high standard.

The breakfast, garden restaurant and room service were expensive, but this is par for the course in Rome and indeed most European capitals, and the service and quality were good. The new "baby" restaurant (at which we did not eat, although we had intended to as its chef has an excellent reputation) and separate garden restaurant were immaculately designed in a very fresh and elegant style.

The hotel is not located in the centre but in a lovely residential area beside the Villa Borghese Gardens, so it is an oasis of tranquillity to return to, particularly if you are travelling during the Summer months. A shuttle bus is available at certain times of day although we did not use this. Taxis were obtained for us almost immediately and the costs were reasonable for a European capital (e.g. 5 Euros to Via Veneto in daytime, 10 Euros back from the more distant Colosseum at night).

All in all and very pleasant and comfortable stay.

One hint about Rome generally - the Summer months are far from ideal for serious amounts of sightseeing. Take it very easy and don't plan to do too much. This hotel offers particular advantages in the Summer due to its garden and pool.