We had the most wonderful 5 day stay at Casa Della Palma. Our previous holiday was in a luxurious 5 star hotel in Geneva, but our holiday in Italy needed to be more budget than luxury. Casa Della Palma may be exceptional value for money for Rome and well suited to the traveller on a budget, but it is really a beautiful, luxury B&B with real character and charm. I had a good feeling about the place when I booked it because any correspondence I received from Alessandro, the owner, was always so helpful and friendly. He gave detailed advice on the best ways to reach Casa Della Palma from Ciampino airport and was keen to make sure we weren't ripped off by the local Italian taxi drivers (as usually happens to me when I go to Rome). On our arrival we had a 30 minute sitdown with the lovely, friendly Anouk who made sure we knew where everything was, where to eat, where to visit, which places were closed which days, which restaurants were nice.. etc. etc.. She could not have been more helpful. Casa Della Palma may be 2 miles from the historic centre, but it is extremely easy to get to. We love walking, so we would combine walking with taking the bus to all the interesting places to see - this took no time at all. On the first two nights we stayed in a lovely airy room, complete with sparkling marble bathroom, then on the last three nights we moved to the beautiful 'Winter Garden' room. It was right at the top of the building with its own private terrace. The room itself was just beautiful, so tastefully furnished with its gorgeous Indian furniture and king sized sleigh bed. It was large and entirely made out of wood, rather like a Swiss chalet. The windows all around gave us wonderful views over the tops of the Roman houses. We just loved our bathroom; entirely marble once again, beautiful large shower and trendy glass wash basin. I have travelled extensively throughout Italy and you just don't get this standard unless you pay through the nose. You would usually get a dark, old fashioned room with shower over the bath and dirty shower curtain, if you're lucky! This really is amazing value for money. Everywhere was spotless (again something I don't usually associate with Italian hotels at the cheaper end of the scale), a real credit to the very friendly in-house cleaner. On our second night there, my boyfriend proposed to me by the Trevi Fountain. The staff at Casa Della Palma left a bottle of champagne in our room to congratulate us. It was a lovely touch. We sat on our private terrace and drank it under the stars. A truly romantic evening. We cannot wax lyrical enough about this lovely B&B and have to completely disagree with the other two negative reviews on this page. Casa Della Palma is not miles from anywhere; it is in the safe university district where there are supermarkets, bakeries and lovely restaurants on your doorstep. The people who couldn't find any restaurants there must not have been looking. We ate at 3 lovely restaurants which were less than a 5 minute walk away. One of the meals we had was outdoors under a pretty awning with candlelit tables, great service, lovely pasta and fantastic value. We knew it would be good because it was where the locals eat. These restaurants were all highlighted to us by our lovely hosts. I have stayed in historical Rome before and paid double the cost for a smokey, dark, dreary tiny room. After a day of siteseeing and non stop walking, we were happy to escape back to Casa Della Palma where we could share a bottle of wine in the picturesque courtyard there before eating at one of the local restaurants nearby. I have eaten amazing food in the centre of Rome, but I have also eaten bad food there. The worst meal we had was by the Spanish Steps where the pasta must have been about a week old and the service was horrendous. So don't always be fooled into thinking that 'central is best'. We would definitely go back to Casa Della Palma to stay at what we class to be a 5 star B&B. Alessandro has chosen fabulous decor for each room (the website photos don't do the rooms justice) and he has accounted for every single need of the weary traveller, including a computer and internet access in each room. This was a wonderful bonus and enabled us to email our friends and family about our recent engagement. We will stay here every time we go to Rome from now on. Thank you Alessandro and the rest of the gang for creating such a luxurious oasis for the traveller who is on a budget.