Arrived on a Friday night- welcomed by a very friendly gentleman. Once all our details were taken he proceeded to tell us that they had a problem with their water and that we had to stay in a hotel accross the road- Hotel Porta Maggiora. In exchange for us spending the night in a different hotel he said he would give us an extra nice room! The Hotel Porta Maggiora was clean however not up to the standard of Hotel Donatello-single beds with lots of noise early in the morning.

We quickly got over the mix up of the first night and checked in to our originally booked room on the Saturday morning. Our room was ready by 10 and we were shown directly to our room by a very friendly lady.

Overall the hotel seemed newly re-docerated with a very modern but Italian, fresh clean feel to it. Our room was small however this was the only complaint- it was perfectly clean with nice new bathroom facilities, we had a lovely balcony and a very comfortable double bed. The room had its own safe and provided water in the mini-bar. It had shutters and big balcony doors which were double glazed so all noise and light was blocked out.

There was little choice for breakfast (croissant and bread roll) but again staff extremely friendly and restaurant very clean and new.

Its location for us was perfect-within walking distance from the colosseum and 5 min walk from Manzoni metre station.

Be warned we got a taxi from Termini on the 1st night (15 min walk) and it cost us 20 euro- 8.50 for us and the rest for our 2 small bags!!

On the last day we checked out however they kept our bags for the day.

It did not have any area to relax in other than your hotel room at night- however we ventured back to the bar at hotel portamaggiora.

Overall Hotel Donatello a very friendly, clean and nicely decorated hotel.

I would definitely return.

Where to begin? Just got back from a 4-nite stay above, read all the reviews & thought I made a smart choice--I was wrong. I'm writing this to assist others who are considering options as I did. Would be OK for a nite or two for single traveler, otherwise I'd stay elsewhere. First, location is at least a 10-15min walk from Termini, seedy crowd, homeless sleeping on the streets after hours or early morning please note. The pics of the front entrance shown are decieving, there's only a 2x2' sign w/ the hotel name, underneath is the sliding glass door entrance. Safe, secure, but as mentioned w/ a few other posts, not located in the nicest of areas, a couple of decent restaurants & made use of the Supermarket at Manzoni which has anything you need, this is a plus, much cheaper than buying a soda at the restaurants (.65eu compared to 1.50-3.00eu). As for the staff, I'd say it depends on who you are lucky enough to have at the front desk. I booked & prepaid thru the web & upon check in was handed a map, male scribbled in pen for 30secs to show the highlites & was escorted to my room. (Asked a female working the desk 1 day prior to leaving to arrange a taxi for me, said the hotel taxi was 50eu, otherwise I would have to call my own. Later, asked a male the same question, he said no problem, will call you a taxi upon checkout (early a.m) will be here in 5mins (took me to the airport for 40 eu)..While the rooms are nice & generally clean/comfortable, size is small as are the double beds (I'm 5-8 & feet hung over the edge, tried to push them together, but everytime I turned, the bed moved & made noise on the marble floor. Walls are thin, could hear next room's conversation. A nearby couple was cking out early one morning & decided to roll their luggage down the marble stairs (waking everyone else)..Shower (no tub) is at most 2x2' (everytime I moved, my elbow hit & turned off the water). No washcloths, just a small towel for shower. My TV was a 12" w/10 channels (satellite?), obviously made in the '70s w/ a button missing. There is a small minibar-fridge. No fan or air conditioning, couldn't change the temperature, which led to opening the bathroom window (bars on the outside luckily), which in turn let in the noise from the street. As mentioned in other posts, Italians honk car horns at every opportunity, so not sure there's really a "quiet" hotel room in the city..Never tried the breakfast here..saw the seating area outside for use as patio, but no one ever sat there. While the trolley & bus run in front of the hotel, good luck trying to use either one. Maybe early morning or late nite, otherwise packed. Just as well, walking is best of course. Like others, spent most of my time enjoying the sites, really just a place to lay my head at nite which served the purpose this trip. Plan to go back, but would choose another hotel in the future, closer to the city center w/ more restaurant choices, activities, options.

My girlfriend and I spent six nights at this Hotel.

We found from the moment we arrived that the man on the desk was delightful and very helpful. He also apologized he could not escort us to our rooms, although this was not necessary anyway as it was located just on the left on the top floor (4th) and we aren't infirm or anything. Our room was quite small, (with twin beds-we would have preferred a double but this wasn't much hassle). It was ornately decorated and the bathroom was beautifully made in clean marble with a fantastic steam shower! we had access to a safe which was great for my laptop and some travel documents when we went out. We also had a small terrace overlooking the street below which suited us as we are both smokers. The beds were clean as was the rest of the room, and were cleaned daily when we left the apartment.
The location was out of the city centre, however still within a resonable walking distance from the Colosseum. Around only 10minutes or so. We used very little public transport, none in fact, but that's because we enjoy to walk everywhere, so as not to miss a thing. The bus and tram system are located nearby, as is the Manzoni metro station which is really very cheap. These are all less than 5mins walk, in fact buses and trams leave from just outside, across the street.
Breakfast was simple, just a roll, crossiant and melba toast with jams etc and either Tea or coffee. This suited us fine as we were usually up early at 6.30 to get a full day and didn't feel like having a huge greasy breakfast. The staff at breakfast were lovely and, who I presume to be the owners were usually present and extremely welcoming!
All in all this hotel satisfied our needs, we would have preferred a bit more nightlife in the area but Rome is like that generally anyway. Also there was no residents bar which was a bit of a disappointment so we spent a few of our nights drinking our own wine and relaxing on the terrace or watching a good movie. But we managed to find some great spots for play on Sat and Sun night all within walking distance of an hour, even under the affulence of inkyhol! :P
On our last day it took us only one hour to reach the Vatican Museums on foot and it is located at the other side of the centre. So even though some may think it is slightly too far out, Rome is easily scaled on walking distances and the public transport, if you so choose is readily and widely accessible.
If I came back to Rome I would stay here again, it was good value for money for what treatment we received and how the rooms were kitted out and cared for.

Fantastic staff who were exceedingly helpful. Gave us great suggestions for walking tours of the area and good maps. Hotel is about a 10 minute walk from Termini or near trolley and bus routes. A little far from the Vatican but convenient to the Colosseum. Nice churches to tour nearby. Great little restaurant Tavola Calda in the circle nearby with a very friendly staff and great food at a reasonable price. Hotel was clean and nicely appointed. Walked all around the area all hours of the day and night with absolutely no problems. Don't let the appearance of graffiti scare you.