My 17 year old daughter and I stayed at the Domus Aventina over Thanksgiving 2008 for a quick trip to Rome. We found the hotel to be friendly, clean, and convenient. Rates were good at about $110/night US. We found that the walk to the subway and common bus stops were easy and short - about 5 minutes. The hotel is located in a nice residential neighborhood so it is quiet but there isn't a lot going on. We walked 5 - 10 minutes to some restaurants but we were always on the go and rarely were close to the hotel at mealtime. The exception of course was breakfast. The hotel has a nice dining area in the basement with VERY basic continental breakfasts. Good pastry, boiled eggs, and basic cereal. They also have fruit, juice, packaged meat spreads, and packaged "toast" similar to Melba toast. So the breakfast food was adequate. They did have a very friendly attendant who made us delicious espresso each morning.

The front desk staff were helpful and fortunately spoke good English (since our Italian was so bad). They were very cordial and helpful corresponding with me via email in advance to answer my questions and to arrange to have a car pickup us up at the airport.

The room was small with barely enough space to push two twin beds apart by a couple of feet but that was enough. The bathroom was very clean and nice with a very small shower stall but we found it to be adequate.

Overall it was a very nice stay and I would recommend it to others but if I had the chance to go back I would probably prefer to stay in either the central part of Rome, or in a neighborhood that had a little more character such as Trastevere or Testaccio. Nothing wrong with the Aventina neighborhood - it is a nice residential area that was convenient for seeing the sites of Rome - but I think I would have preferred to be someplace a little funkier.

* First time in ROMA, and this hotel was great! Everything as I expected. Smotth check in, clean rooms, great continental breakfast. Great little balcony. No complaints (for a price of CAD$175/night, that's amazing).
* The hotel itself is situated in Aventino Hill which is a beautiful walk in itself. After dinner, just walk off the meal around the neighborhood.
* From FCO airport, the easiest is the shuttle service (available at the Tourist Info centre by the train station (which is connected to the Airport). Costs $15EUR/person. Compare with finding the hotel yourself ($5.50EUR train ride + $1.00EUR bus ride). Shuttle is more than double, but I think it's reasonable if it's your first time there. We used the shuttle back to the airport also.
* Once at the hotel, remember bus #175! That will be your key to the city!
* Maybe different for everyone, but I think buying the $1EUR for 75 mins of bus/subway is better because in Rome, I found I did a lot of walking anyways. You use the public transit for longer hauls, but that is not too often! It's $4EUR for day pass, and I think $11EUR for 3 days, etc..
* Potential drawbacks:
* Hotel is in between subway stations (Circo Massimo and Paramide stations.
* Shower is really small, but managable.
* Bed is actually two doubles stuck together, but not a big problem.

This was my first trip abroad without my wife and was worried about how I would be treated as a single person. There was no problem.
I would agree with all the positive comments about the Domus Aventina. The single room was quite adequate for my needs and thank-goodness for the air-con and plenty of cool water in the shower.
I found the restaurant "da Rino" near Circus Maximus very good and Taverna Cestia near the Piramide excellent.
Would recommend the hotel to anyone wanting a quiet stay but within easy reach of all the "sites"

This hotel is the perfect escape from the heat and intensity of summer in Rome. A tranquil, peaceful place to recharge your batteries. The rooms are quite spacious (for a euro hotel), have an AC system that works very well, bed was very comfortable, although the bathroom is small (but was fine for my tastes). Best of all, the rooms have wonderful balconies, overlooking a church courtyard. Perfect place to unwind. The staff are excellent-- friendly and helpful (and speak good english). Breakfast emphasizes the functional over the flashy, but was perfect start for my busy days here.