We stayed here for four nights, booked through British Airways, (much cheaper rates) Very clean and in good decor. The rooms are very spacious with a large double bed. Breakfast was buffet style, plenty to choose from, pastries, cooked, cereal, fruit, breads. Helpful and willing staff. We ordered room service on the morning of my birthday which didn't arrive but after a phone call it soon arrived with sincere apologies and free of charge. We were also left a bottle of Champagne on ice in the room on our return from a day out site seeing. The hotel is within walking distance (20-30mins depending on your pace!!) of the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. Also the metro station is a short walk away.

General Manager Gabriele Selci and his staff run a very nice, smart and affable establishment. The staff is very friendly yet professional. The hotel is not stuffy/haughty; rather it is very comfortable - intimate - more informal with good amenities and good food. The location just off the Via Veneto (and next to the American Embassy) makes it quiet, safe yet convenient to shopping and mass transit. You can walk 1 minute to the Westin Hotel taxi stand and the Via Veneto, 5 minutes to the Underground and 15 minutes to the Villa Bourghese and its park. The taxi's know where the hotel is too so you don't have to work hard at explaining where you want to go at midnight...And since it isn't on the Via Veneto itself it is a better value.

All-in-all, we can recommend this hotel to those who want a smaller more intimate hotel with friendly but professional service and a good location at a more reasonable value.

I feel like we really lucked out with this hotel - a 5 star experience at a 4 star price. It's a beautiful hotel in a great, high-end location (just off Via Veneto). And the service is better than many 5 star hotels - very responsive and with a friendly and pleasant attitude - including the staff in the bar and restaurant, as well as the reception clerks.

We booked the Rose Garden after reading the many glorious reviews on this site, and I must admit we were slightly disappointed. Maybe we got our hopes up too much, maybe the poor euro/pound exchange rate tainted our stay, or maybe we are just a little unfamiliar with high Rome prices - either way we didn't feel this hotel was as reasonable as others had made out.

We shopped around before booking and found a rate of about €175 per room per night (about £175 per night due to the current exchange rate). It pays to shop around as some sites were charging double this. However, this did not include breakfast which, had we wanted, would have been an additional €15 per person per night. Many of the hotels and cafes within walking distance offered breakfast for a similar rate; a 15 minute walk towards the city centre took us to a variety of cafes serving cappuccinos and croissants for a fraction of the price.

We found the reception staff friendly enough, although the hotel seemed deserted! Maybe it was the time of year - the weekend before Christmas - but throughout our four night stay we only saw two other guests!

The pool area was lovely, though very small and intimate if you happen to turn up the same time as anyone else, as there are only two loungers. But just to have an indoor pool & sauna in the centre of Rome was a luxury in itself.

The rooms were fairly spacious and very clean, though some items of furniture were looking rather tired. And the bathroom was lovely despite the heavily chipped marble around the tub. Being six months pregnant and a true tea-drinking Brit I was a bit disappointed that there were no tea/coffee making facilities in the room - returning to our room for a hot drink, feet up, at the end of a tiring day would have been nice. I know we could have asked room service, but at €12/£12 for two hot drinks it was one expense too many!

Oh yes - and the 'free' mini bar. Not so free, actually. Ours wasn't even switched on, so all the drinks were warm and they weren't free at all! From what I recall I think a small 500ml bottle of water was €5, and a Coke was €6! There was a Spar right around the corner selling chilled 1.5l water for 0.20€ - much better!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a cheapskate. Over the years we have stayed in various places - from 2 star budget Travelodges to 5 star hotels and we like to treat ourselves when we go on holiday. However, we didn't feel like this was the bargain everyone seemed to make out - even though overall it is a nice hotel and I would consider staying there again, should we return to Rome. Next time though, I'll definitely pack a travel kettle!