I was very disappointed in the Hotel Fontana. Maybe I was expecting more but apart from the view of the Trevi which is outstanding, the Hotel itself is definitely not a 4 star. My husband and I stayed in room 109 which was very very small. I booked this hotel about 8 months prior and felt that for the money we paid it was no more than a pensione. The bed took up most of the room and the floor sloped downwards so that we kept on slipping off the bed during the night. We thought we were seeing things when we looked at the clothes cupboard and it sat at an angle against the wall. The bathroom needed an update and was cramped to say the least. No bar fridge in our room, no robes, no safe deposit box, it was very basic. Others may have had a better room than ours I don't know. We did ask for a Trevi fountain view, but I have to say that for the 4 nights we were there we didn't sleep more than 3 hours each night. Even with the windows closed the noise was dreadful as crowds hung around until 3 - 4am in the morning. Then the garbage trucks would come round. The windows are not sound proof even with the shutters closed. Breakfast is ok but the breakfast room is small and claustrophobic. The tables are small and the wrought iron chairs sit much higher than the tables and you have to bend over the table to eat your food. Very uncomfortable and not very practical. We didn't ask for another room perhaps we should have. All in all it wasn't the way I wanted to say goodbye to Rome which I love and we certainly will never stay there again.

We stayed in this hotel in March 2007 and we couldnt have asked for anything more. Our room directly overlooked the fountain (106) and it was perfectly fine. We loved openning up the old shutters and leaning out of the window on an evening people watching!! As soon as we saw our room with a view we couldnt believe it - perfect! It definately has the wow factor. It is very old hotel with creaky floorboards and dark wood everywhere. Its definately not for you if you like modern spacious hotels. But it definately is old italy which for us was perfect.
it is located down cobbled streets and is surrounded by little shops and restraunts. From the outside you can hardley see that the hotel is there - its right next to a shoe shop and just looks like a locals appartment entrance!!
We loved it!

This hotel is quaint and old-style, a welcome relief to chain hotels and makes you feel like you are in Rome not a Travelodge! However the experience will depend much on which room you get - we booked a 'deluxe' room and were offered a top floor box (I think this is described as the prison cell in some other reviews which I can understand!). Needless to say we complained and from the second night were changed to a much nicer large room with 2 double beds and a high beamed ceiling and antique furniture. This experience was unecessarily annoying - why can't they just provide the room you have booked, to avoid the hassle on arrival? If you want a fountain view you need to stipulate this when booking or get lucky (unlikely in peak season)- however you may prefer a room away from the noise of the crowds, which can go on until the early hours, you can always use the breakfast room to see the view.

Location excellent, immediately opposite the Trevi Fountain, and walking distance to all the major sights via Pedestrian areas & side streets, including the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Colosseum, Piazza Navona (all about 5 - 15 mins). We even walked to the Vataican. Otherwise there is a taxi stopping point next to the fountain. By the way since Sep 2006 there is a fixed taxi price of 40euros to/from the airport, this is listed in the back of the cabs.

I was planning on spending a night in Rome with my wife en-route to somewhere else and we decided to book at the Hotel Fontana at the Trevi Fountain.
The website offers no phone number, just an email address. I found the number via Italy's Yellow Pages and rang - was told by an uninterested staff member the hotel only takes bookings by email, and please include my credit card details. But yes, they had a room facing the fountain for the date I wanted.
Not an ideal situation, given I didn't know what sort of room or price I was going to get, let alone what else my card details might be used for.
Never heard back from them so emailed again. Still no response. Rang and got no answer. Finally rang again and got through to someone who said they hadn't received my email, and the hotel was fully booked. Sorry.
Of course I was a little angry, but take this as a warning: always get confirmation of a booking, especially from an establishment that seems to take the oxymoron "Italian organisation" to new lows!