Our experience with Hotel Fontana was ok with some plusses and minuses.
One of the primary advantages of this hotel was location, location, location. Fontanta is RIGHT in front of the gorgeous Trevi fountain, easy to walk to major sites in Rome, easy to find, etc.

We liked the top floor terrace where breakfast was served. It overlooked the fountain and was very nice in the morning, and in the evenings we would take a bottle of wine up there before going out. The breakfast was good for us: hard boiled eggs, olives, yummy fresh baked pastries, tomatoes, cereal, juice, fruit, cheese. The ladies were friendly and accommodating.

I would say our room was adequate. It was located just over the entrance facing the fountain--fantastic sight! However the din of the ever present people visiting the fountain is quite loud and the lights are very bright. We had to close the windows and drapes every night and turn on the fans in the room and even then we could still hear occasional drunks jumping into the fountain, getting arrested, etc. At times that was entertaining, at other times it was exhausting. If it had been a hot night (no a/c) and needed to open the window it would have been a major problem.
The furnishings in our room were minimal and "antiquey"--meaning they were not really useable. We couldn't use the built in closet because the door would not close unless it was locked with an old key and the key would not easily unlock the closet so we just gave up. The other piece in the room was a large...uh antique something...with drawers. Too cumbersome to be useful!

Our bathroom was small but clean and modern. Shower and plumbing were good.

Our friends were given a microscopic room on the top floor--couldn't even fit 2 night stands in it. Actually it was a prison cell with small windows across the top. They arrived late and were too tired to complain until the next day. If it had been me I think I would have considered not paying, it was that bad. Anyway, they got moved the next day ("no problem") but it soured our first impression of the place because our friends were so uncomfortable.

Frankly I think the staff was worn out from the season by the time we got there. They always started their conversation with a smile but seemed to shut down mid-sentence. It seemed to me that there was a level of irritation towards the guests. Perhaps this is due to the location of the hotel. If you are standing at the front desk there are always fountain visitors stopping in, asking questions (where's the nearest bathroom, looking to exchange money which they do as a service) so that it is difficult to have an uninterrupted conversation with the front desk person. Our luggage was lost by the airlines but was located fairly quickly. We knew where it was but needed help communicating with the airline transport to bring it out to us. Each morning and afternoon we asked for help to make a follow up call (this went on for 2 days) we were met with a level of annoyance. My sense was they would go through the motions of trying to make a call but that was it--not their problem. And it wasn't. But it was frustrating because we had no other recourse, we did not speak italian.

If you like to lock your room and keep the key this is a problem as well. They got angry if you take your key with you, they want you to leave it at the front desk. If you forget or don't there is a key showdown. My husband took the key and I came back early. We had the key showdown and the front desk person scowled at me as if I were very, very bad. Wow, back to elementary school. So then time is take out to call the "helper" (Big Sigh and Major Glare) to come down from wherever, walk me to my room , unlock the door, glare at me, then leave. This is not what I want to experience when I am on vacation. Just give me the key!

We stayed for three nights at Fontana Hotel. Fontain of Trevi is a wonderful place, animated and pleasant. Fontana Hotel is just in front of the fontain. We stayed in three rooms on the other side, more quite. I would say that the price is over rated regarding the furniture and the service. Rooms are small and bathrooms are for lilipucians. If you are, like me, a big man (190 cm), you are not comfortable on toilets and shower.
Finally I asked for another room for my mother because the bed was a too narrow and the room was like a cell or prison.
The best moment was the breakfast at the top of the hotel over the fontain. Take your camera. It's wonderful

We stayed at the Hotel Fontana in Rome from 5th until 10th September. We stayed in room 206 which directly overlooks the Trevi Fountain. The view from the window is truly awesome, you almost feel you are in the fountain, the atmosphere and the noise of the fountain is mesmerising. Having said that, we were able to sleep soundly with the window closed to dampen the noise, as there was a ceiling fan in the room it felt quite cool.
The room itself wasn't large but certainly adequate and nicely furnished with a monster bed, fine for a 5 day stay and the bathroom was fine with a powerful shower and bath to rest your weary bones from all the walking!
The front desk staff were polite and friendly and the 2 ladies serving tea and coffee at breakfast were helpful and welcoming. The breakfast itself was varied and plentiful although the water for tea and coffee was never very hot, which seemed to be the fashion everywhere we went!
The hotel is in a great location for most major sights and we walked to the Pantheon, the Vatican, the Forum and Colesseum the Palantine hill and many other areas each day. It is also right in the middle of a great area for restaurants and shops. We tended to come back to the hotel for a rest most days at about 5pm before venturing out for dinner and although the area around the Trevi Fountain was always packed solid with people, we usually managed to sleep for an hour despite the busy location.
We would recommend the hotel unreservedly to anyone who enjoys staying somewhere with character and charm. One thing to watch is that we asked reception to book us a taxi to Campiano airport on the 10th and they told us it would be 65 euros. They had forgotten to do this as we checked out so they rang for a taxi for us which cost just 31euros! I would suggest to do the same as that seems an awfully big difference in price.

My husband and I stayed at the Hotel Fontana on the last night of our glorious Italian vacation. I had originally read about the hotel in a book about charming small hotels. After reading all the negative reviews, I almost cancelled. I am glad that I didn't, because our night at the hotel was a wonderful way to end our vacation. For those expecting the Hoilday Inn, this hotel is not for you. If you are interested in a small and intimate place with lovely marble staircases, quirky hallways and charming antiques, this is the place for you.

Our room was on the third floor and overlooked the Trevi Fountain. We could open our window and experience the beauty of the fountain (day and night) without the crowds. Our room was bright, simple and elegantly furnished with antiques. During our vacation in Italy, we stayed at three hotels in Rome. Our room at the Hotel Fontana was small, yet it was not the smallest room we had stayed in. The high ceiling made the room feel larger. We had ample space for our belongings and could walk about the room comfortably. The bathroom was small yet workable for the two of us. The towels and toiletries were lovely. We never ran out of hot water. The air conditioning in our room worked very well.

The hotel staff were very friendly and extremely helpful. They helped us make phone calls within Italy and abroad, arranged for a private driver to take us to the airport, gave us a map of Rome and helped with directions to places that we wanted to see. The cleaning staff all smiled and said buongiorno to us when we passed in the hall. My husband and I both found the breakfast woman very friendly. I did speak Italian to her, while my husband spoke English. I agree with a fellow reviewer that the breakfast woman probably only speaks Italian and therefore can come across as unfriendly. The breakfast spread consisted of pastries, croissants, cold meats, cheese, cereal, juices and hard boiled eggs. The hotel had a toaster (!) so I could have toast for breakfast. This may seem like a trivial thing, but of the approximately 11 hotels we stayed in during our Italian vacation, only three had toasters.

The area around the fountain is crowded from approximately 9:00 a.m. to well into the wee hours of the morning. With our window closed, the only sound we could hear was the sound of the fountain. This did not disturb us at all. The location is excellent and we were able to walk to the Pantheon, Colosseum and the Bocca de la Verita (mouth of truth).

When we checked into the hotel, we were each given a tiny envelope with a coin in it. This was a coin to throw into the fountain to ensure that we would return to Rome one day. On our last morning in Rome (before heading out to the airport) we woke up early and went to the fountain. It was 7:00 a.m. and we had the whole piazza and fountain to ourselves! How many people can say that? The only people we saw walking through were Romans on their way to work. We threw our coins in and hope to return to Rome and the beautiful Hotel Fontana again one day. Don't be put off by the horrible reviews, the Hotel Fontana is truly a gem in the heart of Rome!