The Hotel Donatello is in the "lower-priced tourist" area of Rome but we found the staff to be wonderful and very helpful. The first night the hotel was full so we were escorted by the owner over to another hotel. Once we returned to the Donatello the next day we were upgraded for our "trouble" to a beautiful double room. The bathroom was covered in marble, we had very nice bedding and drapes, and the ceiling was covered in stone. Very nice. Every morning the owner would offer an itinerary for us with a map and walking/metro tips. We loved this hotel and would stay here again. It is a great deal for the money.

Stayed at the Donatello on a weekend break with my husband. Very easy to find from the Termini Rail Station - Catch the 105 bus and it's 4 stops from there, just across the road. First impressions were 'iffy', like the real thing doesn't match any web photos! Area is a little run down, lots of graffiti but that's true of many areas of Rome. But, we were given a lovely little room with a nice bare brickwork ceiling, and all mod cons. Room was a little small but spotlessly clean. Breakfast however is a big let down. Just Croissants, french toast and honey or jam, in a rather non-atmospheric room in the basement. There is no restaurant or bar at the hotel.

Location wise, it's not too bad as you can walk to the Colosseum in around 10 mins. Not much in the way of restaurants and bars close to the hotel so maybe not a good choice for lively guests. Saying that, the buses are very easy to use if you wish to travel to other parts of the city (and cheap or even free...nobody checks whether you validate your ticket on the machine in the bus).

Would I return - maybe.... if they sorted their breakfast out and provided a bar! Overall, its good value for money.

We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights as part of a "build your own" vacation from Gate 1. The hotel was "as expected". Not in the city center, but not far from the metro station "Manzoni". It was very easy to get there from termini, we just had a hard time finding the hotel on th street. The location itself is not bad. Its about a 1mi walk to the Colusseum. There is a grocery store closeby, as well as a good resturant recommended by the staff called "the crazy sheep". Its calabrese food and very, very good! The staff was very friendly although we did not have much interaction with them. The complementary breakfast is kind of bleh...coffee and a roll, typical italian braskfast, just not what were used to! The rooms are very small but there was a huge closet. The beds were very hard, but not the worst Ive slept on in Europe. We had a small terrace right off our room which was nice but we didnt really use it. When youre sitting down you cant see the street anyway. I saw a few other posts mentioned road noise-we had no problem with this whatsoever. If youre on a budget this hotel is fine!

Traveling on a budget, this hotel met our needs for price and reviews. The staff is absolutely fantastic and the rooms are cozy and clean (note the shower is very, very small). I loved the hotel but the location left much to be desired. It's about a 20 minute walk from Termini station but not the the nicest of areas. You can easily walk to the station from the hotel and have the train drop you off at the Vatican and make your way down to the hotel--all in 1 day. Honestly, you can walk the entire city of Rome as my travel buddy and I did to save money. Just make sure you wear comfortable shoes. The closest major attraction is the Colosseum at about 20-30 minute walk away. Again, for the price, it was fine for our stay.