This is a reasonably pleasant place. However, although advertised as kosher, for Orthodox Jews, there is no sense in which it is "kosher" except that one can walk to the main synagogue. There is no eruv in Rome, but there is no one to let you in at night (unless you break Shabbat by ringing the buzzer!) so you need to carry your key or figure out how to devise a Shabbat belt. The staff know nothing about kashrut or kosher establishments around, so I would not trust the platta. The "kosher breakfast" next door, again, requires that you carry a coupon over (or ask the one at the desk to do so" -- and although they serve coffee in disposable cups, there is no kosher food included!

My wife, I, and our five-year-old son have been staying at the Hotel Carmel for years. My wife and I are academics who do research in Rome. I have been doing work in Rome since 1983. So we have a reasonably good idea of options in the city. The location is great; the people who run the hotel are competent, friendly, and helpful; the prices are competitive; the rooms are clean and comfortable; there is a beautiful little terrace; the hotel is constantly being upgraded; and the bar next door, which offers a reasonable "tourist" breakfast in conjunction with the hotel, is extremely welcoming. The days of inexpensive but pleasant "pensioni" in Rome are pretty much if not entirely over. (In 1983, I stayed in one for $8 Canadian a night; it is now a hotel that costs 130 euros per night!) Hotel Carmel is not a five or four star hotel, nor does it pretend to be. But if offers the best price/quality/location combination for old pensione dwellers such as myself that I have been able to find. I/We highly recommend it.

We planned to stay at this hotel for four nights...and found after the first night there was no hot water and no one to complain to (other than the algerian cleaning staff that spoke no english or italian). We left after one night and were charged for the full four night stay. We are now in the long process of disputing the charge and attempting to get back $1000 of money charged to our account. We tried to resolve our dispute with this merchant by calling, sending an email in both english and italian, calling again and told to call back after 9 pm, calling after 9 and being told to call a person only available on Fridays....really this is ridiculous.

DO NOT STAY HERE>>>>>

There are much better options in Trastevere with decent accommodations and respectful operators.

The Mechini's from NJ

Hotel Carmel was great for what we needed, i.e. a cheap but comfortable and clean place to rest our heads.

Our double room was adequate size, as was the bathroom (shower, basin, toilet) which we shared with one other twin room. It's not a five star luxury affair but you won't spend much time in the Hotel as there's so much to see and do in Rome!

Beds were made up every day and towels were changed every other day.

We overlooked the sun terrace but it was too cold to take advantage of it. The lounge filled conservatory was comfortable but it is the access route to a few rooms so in high season it may become a bit of a thoroughfare. The one night we were going to stay in with a bottle of wine it was being used by a choir group so we had to go out (no hardship!). The point being that you can't 'book' it for your own use.

Its location is great, a 10 min walk from the main bars and restaurants in Trastevere so not far to walk back after a night out. It's about 30 mins walk from the main attractions over the river which isn't a problem so long as you bring trainers. A walk in the sunshine is a great way to see the hidden gems of the city.

Having seen some of the other areas in Rome we were glad to stay in Hotel Carmel as you get away from some of the more obvious tourist areas that are noisy and expensive.