I just came from my first trip to Italy and I stayed in Rome as my take-off point to the other cities. I booked Domus Aurea because of the proximity to the train station and was not disappointed - very convenient, prob just 3 - 4 blocks away. The area towards the hotel was well-lighted and busy, not scary at all as I thought it would be. The staff speak good English and are very helpful. The entire hotel looks recently renovated and the rooms and the lobby are very clean. The only problem, though, is the size of the rooms - probably the smallest hotel rooms I've ever seen. You can not lay out your luggage without it obstructing your way! If you have plenty of luggage, just leave the bulk at the train station. Overall, it was good value - for the price and convenience.

My wife and I stayed here for a week in September, 2007. The food was excellent and the hotel is well situated to travel easily around Rome. The staff were always hardworking, polite and courteous. The room was always kept clean and tidy. The only complaint I have is with the size of the room which was small - particularly the shower.

This hotel is situated very near to the rail and bus station so is an excellent choice for easy access to Rome.
The area is a little run down. There were a couple of drunks sleeping on the pavements but I never felt unsafe.
The hotel rooms are small and the shower would be unsuitable for any larger customers. On the plus side the hotel was very clean and the breakfasts included an excellent range of food.
The air conditioning was very effective and the rooms had shutters and heavy drapes so there was very little outside noise.
If you just want a base to explore Rome at a very reasonable price this hotel is an excellent choice.

1. The bathroom was the size of a postage stamp. I wouldn't recommend this hotel just based on that alone. If a customer has ANY special needs that require room to move in the bathroom, you should let the customer know that space does not exist in these bathrooms!!!
2. The hotel front desk staff were rude. Examples:
- My husband called the front desk for an extra pillow. First they told him there weren't any extra pillows and when my husband said he found it hard to believe that there wasn't one extra pillow in the entire hotel, the person at the desk huffed and puffed and told my husband to go to the lobby to get one. It was 10:30pm.
- We asked if they could arrange for a van to take us to our hotel near the airport. They told us to make the call ourselves "they speak english".
- When my room key was demagnetized (twice), the person at the desk acted like it was the end of the world to put it through their machine again.

This was NOT a 3 star hotel if the staff is factored into the rating!!!!