We stayed here for 3 nights at (thurs to Sun) just before the bank holiday.

The hotel arranged for a taxi to pick us up from the airport (called Angelo), he was brilliant. Everyone in Rome drives fast and he was no exception!! If you mail the hotel direct, they will give you a fixed price. Angelo drove out of his way to show us where to queue for the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, he also told us to get there by 8 in the morning , and are we glad we did. Some people queued for 4 hours due to getting there later. We arrived at 8.15am, the chapel opened at 8.45am and we were in by 9.20am. Allow yourself a day in vatican City as there is loads to see.

Back to the hotel, I have read the previous reports, we found no problems with the safe and the reception staff spoke perfect English and couldn't have been more helpful. However, I do agree with the bar closing early. The info at the hotel states 11 o'clock, but it was shut long before this when we stayed. The Terrace Restaurant doesn't open until June 01.

The rooms were clean and of a good size, as was the bathroom. The maids cleaned every day and always to a high standard.

The walk to Vatican City was fine, but consider the Metro for anywhere futher, the Metro takes you straight to the Colliseum. The hotel is a good 20 minute walk to Trevi Fountain etc, but quite a scenic walk

I stayed at this hotel for 4 nights in April 2005. It is located on a busy road but set back a little so the noise was not excessive. It is close enough to the Vatican but not much else (sightseeing wise)
We found the staff very unfriendly. We returned one evening from a long day of sightseeing only to be told at 10.00pm that the bar was closed! I asked the guy behind reception for a box or card of matches. He did look in a drawer and announced he had none. I asked him, had they no matches in the entire hotel and he said no they hadn't!!!
We found the room very very small and the bathroom was tiny and the air conditioning didn't work. I was glad I wasn't there at the height of the summer.
Having said the above, it was a day after the new Pope was announced and I guess hotel rooms were at a premium in Rome.
It served our purpose in the end as we left the hotel every morning after breakfast and did not return until very late each evening.
The choice of breakfast was good enough apart from the coffee and the room was clean and tidy.
But, would I go back? Not a chance. I think there is better value to be had elsewhere.

I read all the reviews and they're all pretty accurate. With one exception. Well two, but one is waaaaay more important!

The less important one is regarding staff at the reception: not very friendly or helpful and at times acting as if they've never spoken english before.

The other one is regarding the SAFE in the room!!! Don't trust it! Use it to keep your socks or something else but not your money if you have cash!

After one day in the city we came back to the room to find the safe not accepting the PIN code. I called the reception and 2 minutes later a guy came with a key. The keys bypassed the PIN code, invalidating it. Obviously I became a little concerned and I counted the money: there was 100E missing (out of the 1500E I had counted in the morning).
The reception had no explanation for this and no measure was taken from their part. Being on our honeymoon we refused to go any further with our investigation but you can imagine our rage!
The travel agency also tried to solve the issue but without any luck.

I won't go into more details but u get the picture.

In a nutshell: NO, I WOULDN'T GO THERE AGAIN!

We stayed at the Donna Lauren Palace during the first part of OCtober 2005. Initially we wanted a reasonably priced hotel which was in the area of Rome reasonably close to the Vatican. The hotel was just under $200 a night.

The hotel is located on a busy street used by commuters. It is set back from the street and the soundproofing is good. As long as you do not open the windows the noise is not noticed. The grounds are nicely landscaped. The lobby is small and the dining room is located on floor "-1" -- or "in the basement" for Americans. The is a small breakfast room also used for dinner on the main floor.

Our room, a double, faced the front courtyard. It was nicely sized. The bed was 2 twins pushed together but made up as one bed. The mattress was firm and to our liking. The room contained a small refrigerator and a safe. The storage was good.

The bath was very nicely decorated in marble. It contained all amentities including a bidet. The only issue was that the shower curtain could not keep the water from seeping over the front edge of the tub when a shower was taken. This resulted in a wet floor.

The restaurant was OK. The food average and a bit overpriced. We found better food and better prices at "local' non tourist restaurants.

The Hotel is about a 20 minute brisk walk from the Vatican proper. The walk to the Borghesia park takes you over the Tiber River. It is about a 20 minute brisk walk to the park or to the Piazza del Popolo. From the Piazza del Popolo you can wander down the the Via del Corso as far as the Colosseum. This can take you all day as you see the shops, churches stop for a coffee and see the many interesting side streets.