This is a four star hotel suited towards business travellers. The beds were very comfortable, the rooms were large, and it had all the amenities such as chocolates at night, nice shampoo, etc. The shower was really excellent.

Breakfast is a buffet offering a large assortment of cereals, yogurt, fruit, pastries, juices, and scrambled eggs large sun room. It was all very nice.

We found the staff to be reasonably friendly and had a pleasant stay at this hotel. Others in our party found the staff rude and the hotel not up to the standards of a 4 star.

Having to open the windows meant the rooms were noisy at night, and they were on the hot side, but this was the only negative we experienced. It was a short walk to the bus stop, but the subway was further. We found the buses were a very convenient way to travel around the city. Buy your bus pass at the tobacconist around the corner from the hotel. There's a grocery store next door to the hotel - a convenient place to buy wine or bread and cheese for a picnic lunch.

I wouldn't stay here if I had a choice, simply because of the price, but overall it was very adequate.

The interior design was certainly different but appreciations of 'art' vary...

Positives:
Good shower, pretty clean place.
Negatives:
The soulless reception/bar area was matched by the staff who were almost uniformly disinterested and unfriendly. The breakfast was distinctly average (they must have looked hard to find such bad coffee in a place like Italy) and lots of items 'out of stock' for later risers. The location is not where portrayed - it is some way from the main attractions by metro/cab and located on a busy road in a pretty seedy area. Rooms on the small side, overheated and not well sound-insulated from neighbouring rooms. Avoid rooms at the front - very noisy. 50 Euro deposit required to use the room safe.

All in all, I was just glad that my firm was paying not me. Pretty grim and I certainly wouldn't stay there at my own cost/for pleasure.

I'm giving this place a 2* based solely because they offered us a free dinner in recompense for not honouring our booking. If not, it would have got one only.

We booked some time ago via internet, got a confirmation and we also reconfirmed. When we arrived in Rome, our friends who had also booked a room told us that they had no rooms for us, and had also turned other people away. The alternative hotel they sent our friends to was dingy and horrible, so they returned and waited for us. My husband and the other guy then went to argue it out. Being Italian this was easier for them - other people just got turned away.

FINALLY, we were offered 2 rooms in a hotel in another part of Rome, and a dinner on the house (for 6 of us). The hotel we were sent to - River Chateau in Flaminio area - turned out to be very nice so in the end we got an OK deal. At the time it wasn't amusing and I'm sure we only got this because we mentioned the word 'avvocato'. Again, perhaps the fact the hotel knew that we were Italian meant that we could actually put our money where our mouths were.

It's a shame we didn't get to stay there. The lobby area was fantastic and very modern. The restaurant was excellent - food very good - and great loos. Made us wish we were staying there.

I don't know what happened at the Abitart to make all these rooms unavailable, but I do know that having to argue with hotel reception was very tiring. I wouldn't risk booking there again.

We stayed at the Hotel Abitart March 3-6, 2006.
Hotel - Nice rooms, but hot, very noisey area - if you're not on the back side of the hotel - you won't sleep. Good bathrooms, hard beds and pillows.
Breakfast was good.
Restaurant attached: expensive, need reservations, rude staff
Front desk: spoke English, not very friendly
Location: BAD....if you're in the city to as a tourist - very bad location. 20 euro taxi to the Vatican Musuem.