I inquired about a reservation for myself and two friends, and after never receiving a response, assumed that no rooms were available and made other accommodation arrangements. After returning home from a lovely holiday in rome and florence, I noticed that I had been charged a nights stay at this hotel. They insisted to my credit card company that I was a 'no show'. I NEVER received any sort of confirmation of a reservation with this hotel. They were unwilling to address the matter with me. I did not contact the hotel directly initially, so maybe they just have listings with some shady intermediaries, but I do not feel I was treated properly in the end. Would HIGHLY recommend Hotel Alimandi Vaticano in Rome. Would stay there again in a hearbeat!!

This little hotel of some 12 units is located off a small noisy alleyway about a 10-15 minute brisk walk from St. Peters. Although I am sure there are far worse, this is not a hotel we would return to or recommend.

To be fair the room was clean and the bed comfortable - and although the mildew smell from the bathroom permeated the room there was no visible sign of it.

As noted in the photos, the common areas are appealing enough, however the furnishings of the individual rooms are somewhat worn and tired.

The biggest problem was one I had not even anticipated. To air and cool the room we opened our window; however since there were no window-screens, we were swarmed with mosquitoes. When I explained the problem and requested the use of the advertised air conditioner so we could sleep, I was told it was “not possible” and so we sweltered, aggravating the many, many hot, red welts across our arms and legs.

In a similar vein, we were told the Hotel had Internet access. Unfortunately this turned out to be capricious permission to use a Hotel computer rather than Wi-Fi etc. I was variously told access was “not possible” (even though it was fully functional) whether late one night to contact a US colleague, or early in the morning to check on airline information.

As for directions, don’t bother asking the desk, just bring a map, or wander about. We consistently found the staff to be unhelpful, patronizing and condescending.

Aside from our frustration, overall we do not believe the Hotel represented value for money.

We are staying at the hotel this week. I emailed for directions
but got no reply. Fortunately we met a guide on the train from the airport and he was able to provide directions. Take the 64 bus. Get off at the first stop past the river. Cross the wide road. Look for their sign over the alley heading uphill.

When we checked in, we asked if our room was on the quiet side of the hotel. The answer was an enthusiastic yes, but the room is the ill fated 205, above the street. I asked to use the internet. They said it was broke but would be fixed the next day. I asked the next day and again was told it would be fixed the next day. Yesterday, I had them show me the router and cables. No wireless router, even though they said they did have one. The cabling to the computer is exposed and runs along a power line. This causes the router to fail.

I showed them how to power down and power up the router. It fixed the problem for now. The computer is running an old version of the browser. The keyboard is Italian. No way to type the "at" sign in an email address.

Very friendly people though. They just do not want to give you an answer that you might disagree with.

The hotel is up an alley. The alley seems to be a pissing ground for the locals. It is out of the way, and it is better than pissing in the river.

St Peters is close, but not 100 meters unless you swim the river upstream.

I say maybe a 2 star given the location and lack of competence, but very friendly with a good breakfast.

I stayed for a week at Hotel La Rovere earlier this month.

The hotel is located an easy walk to the Vatican, as well as near several major bus routes. It was neat as a pin, had helpful staff (who all spoke some English; no difficulty with communications), and I very much enjoyed my stay.

The breakfast was simple but quite adequate - croissants, cheese, ham, cereals, fruits, yogurts, as well as a cappuccino made for each person who wanted one. And the breakfast room and hotel in general were pleasantly decorated.

I had one of the three rooms with a very spacious balcony/terrace. My view was toward a lovely church (Chiesa Nuova), across the Tiber River. I enjoyed having a glass of wine on the balcony in the evening or a glass of juice in early morning, relaxing at the table there.

The room was impeccably clean. The small TV had a satellite feed, including one English station, CNN. The bathroom radiator was also the towel rack (thus the "heated towel rack" that some people refer to), and the bathroom was completely modern, with usual facilities, incl. a shower with plentiful hot water.

I do wish that the very firm bed was slightly softer, but that's a small point. I enjoyed the fridge (altho' I didn't buy anything from the mini-bar), the safe, and the lovely, large windows that let in such great light but which could be completely covered and darkened for a quick afternoon nap.

In addition to the hotel itself, I enjoyed its location - on a tiny, quiet street, but just steps faway rom a more major road that had a small grocery, internet shop, pizza shop, and nearby trattoria, as well as good bus service.

If I go back to Rome, I definitely will stay here again.