we stayed in the Cristina in June 2003, I loved the room. I did not find it too far- it was actually really handy for us- we came in and out by train and the station is 10 mins away, it is difficult to find though. The location is good as it is quiet and away from soem of the hassles you can get in the more touristy areas.
Our room looked out over the courtyard and was really pretty- had the cool ceiling and a compact, but clean bathroom. The aircon was not very good- and it was very warm in the night. Free internet accessin the lobby area and the coolest elevator in the building.
It is clean, safe and an excellent bargain for the location in central Rome-but don't expect the hilton.

I loved the Breakfast- you give a nod to the guy on reception and 10 mins later he brings you cappucinno and a croissant to your room- room service for free!!!!

I was expecting the worst after reading some reviews of the Cristina Hotel but was very pleasantly surprised. It may not be slap bang next to your major tourist destinations but it has a metro station around 200 metres away and Rome's main train station (Termini) is a 10 minute walk away. You can get direct tubes to the Colliseum, the Roman Forum, the vatican, the Trevi Fountain and several other places from the metro stop. If you are going on holiday for lavish buffet breakfasts, it is not the place for you as breakfast comprises of a croissant and a cup of tea or coffee but why eat breakfast in the hotel when you can easily nip to a nearby cafe and people watch for an hour or so. The staff were very friendly and very helpful when asked questions about places we wanted to go. The rooms were clean and nice enough for a holiday. If you desire to be on the doorstep of any major tourist attraction you can pay over triple what you would pay at Cristina but if can spare a 5 minute tube journey and plan to spend time outside of your hotel room, you'll save a lot of cash. I would recommend the Cristina to anyone who is on holiday to see Rome rather than marvel at the folding of the loo roll in the hotel bathroom.

We were there in May and the location is poor (almost off the tourist map) and the service was terrible! We left early. The rooms are cute but they also had ants.