Fantastic location, accommodation is good, bedrooms in Piano Nobile, terraces and views excellent. The gardens are exceptional and it's in Central Rome. If you don't encounter any problems you will have a great time in this villa. We wish we had not had problems.

We were very cold, we asked for heating to be turned on, and it was, on one occasion. Despite asking for heating on three other occasions, our spokesperson was very rudely told (by the owner) it wouldn't be and we were advised to buy and wear socks. There were eight of us and we were very cold. This is a large old house, we rented five bedrooms, three in the Piano Nobile and one in each Tower. We had two portable heaters in the main apartment but after a powercut (which we were accused of causing) the portable heaters were removed from the very cold tower rooms. We opened the windows to let the heat in to the rooms each morning.

We have extracted word for word the details regarding heating from the owners extensive information pack.

"Heating in Rome is permitted from Nov 1st until March 15th for in our case nine hours per day. This is found by the great majority of our guests to be amply sufficient, four in the morning, and five in the afternoon/evening.

However, sometimes the odd person, especially elderly family members do prefer warmer surroundings. We can usually work our way around the rules – after all who would not risk a fine and possible imprisonment if it means a happy guest? And indeed we are quite happy to expose ourselves to both."

We arrived on the 27th Feb and left on the 3rd March we had a mere 4 hours heating on the 28th in the evening and "happy guests" we were not. We are not elderly and nine hours heating per day would have been amply sufficient for all.

I would like to state that we stayed in this owners apartment in Venice in May 2005, we had no reason to call the owner, we complied with all the instructions (as we did in Rome) and we had a great time. We were so sure that we would have the same experience in Rome, it was not to be.

The owner is well organised, and can be very charming, our airport transfers were of an exceptionally high standard, the accommodation in Venice and Rome is very good value and impeccable but if you do have a problem, be warned, this charning lady can be extremely abusive.

We don't mind wearing socks outside but to be advised to wear them in the villa and to put up with these very cold conditions indoors really is a miserable experience.

We fully expect to be featured in the next edition of the owners information pack, pity we won't read it.

Our advise if you decide to book. Go in Summer (take extra socks) look after your keys, abide by the rules and don't all get ready to go out at the same time or you may have a powercut and at no time ask for the heating to be switched on.

This ruined our well researched, well planned and much looked forward to holiday.

My husband & I and my parents recently spend 6 nights at an old villa on the Aurelian Wall at Porto Metronia in Rome. The apartments are about 6 blocks from the Coliseum & very close to the Bath’s of Caracole and St John Lateran. Rome is a very expensive city & I really wanted to rent an apartment so we could cook some meals on our own plus be part of a neighborhood. I also wanted a place where we could gather in private & have lots of room as well. This apartment met all those criteria & then some.

The apartments consist of several units all owned by a private party who is quite knowledgeable and helpful though she does not live on the premises. The apartments are situated on one of the glorious Seven Hills of Rome and overlook much of the city. These apartments were once part of a great estate and there is still a large garden and manicured green lawn. Something you will not find in the rest of Rome. The ancient Aurelian wall forms the garden wall & walk way up to the apartments. We rented the Piano Nobile Apartment which consisted of 3 big bedrooms, a large dining/living room, two bathrooms, 3 balconies, and a large fully equipped kitchen. We truly felt like we had a home in Rome, not just a hotel room. The apartment was old by American standards but clean and full of antique furniture. For the first hour we were there we wandered around in disbelief everything was so lovely and truly unique. We found a major grocery store nearby but the local morning market was more fun & an excellent bakery and fruit stand were also about 2 blocks away. Though the apartments seem isolated, they are actually in a very vibrant part of Rome. We quickly discovered the ambulance route is nearby and like always, we were glad we had our earplugs.

Valley Castle arranged for a driver to pick us up at Castel Gandolfo to take us to Rome. Not only did he drive us into the city but took us in & explained the apartment to us. This cost us only 60 Euro. We had easy access to the bus system which dropped us off near our gate and the subway stop was at the Coliseum. We walked a lot too but I was surprised at how easily we negotiated the Roman transportation system. We rented a car at Termini Train station to leave Rome & I expected to get hopelessly lost in the city. Our landlady emailed easy to follow instructions and we simply followed the signs to the airport which is on the GRA (Rome circular road). We zipped out of the city, a real Roman miracle.

We have been to Rome 3 times and these were by far our best accommodations. I dream of bringing my family back and renting the entire villa. It certainly would be suitable for a family reunion or great place for friends to gather and stay in Rome. I will say it was a pain to make the payment. You cannot just call in the credit card number. I had to go down to our bank and send off a bank draft in British Sterling to pay for the entire stay. There is also no cancellation policy, you would be totally out of your money if you cannot utilize the apartment. So I got trip insurance at the same time. The owner will send you detailed instructions via email and slow mail. Read them and take them along. They were very very helpful.

I know that we were very fortunate to be able to stay in this unique and beautiful place while we were in Rome. I could not find a review on tripadvisor so I really took a chance. Our week in Rome was wonderful. I am so glad I made the extra effort to thoughtfully plan our accommodations. This was a big part of a successful trip. If you plan on going to Rome I would definitely search the web to find out how to make reservations for and stay at Porto Metronia in the valley castle apartments

A few words about our stay at Villa Habsburg during the Xmas holidays 2004; We loved the place.
Unique in its architecture and location we couldn´t have found a better place or a better deal.
During the initial booking procedure I found Odile to be both articulate and charming.
The weather could have been better, but warm recommendations anyway!

For our anniversary and our first trip to Rome, we wanted somewhere atmospheric and quirky, a little different from those identikit hotels. This (we stayed in the East Tower) was a unique place which was the perfect backdrop to falling in love all over again. Truly stunning views window, very secluded, very special.

The management couldn't have been more helpful with the arrangements, and the famous twin beds had been pushed together for our arrival and a double sheet put on, which ensured it was effectively a double bed.

Only drawbacks? 1. Taxis seem to pass through the Piazza rarely, so book one by phone rather than hope to hail one on the street - alternatively walk into town, or learn to use the good bus service! 2. The East Tower is not equipped for self-catering (no fridge), but who wants coffee or breakfast at home when there's so many piazza cafes to hang out in!