Let's get down to basics first.

When booking Martina House there is no guarantee that you will stay there.

We booked three nights at Martina House. On arrival, we were brought to a nearby location on Via Marche. But don't let that put you off.

If our room was a gauge of the quality on offer, then Martina House should be fine.

If you are travelling on a budget, and want to stay in a central location which minimises long hikes, and don't require the finer luxuries then - Martina House/the other gaff is the place for you.

We stayed there on a long weekend from Friday November 21 to Monday November 24. We got a good discount deal on the web. Three nights cost us £200.

One of the really annoying things about reading reviews on Trip Advisor is that you continually come across budget travellers who expect five-star standards.
If you can only afford to buy a Fiat Panda don't expect it to perform like a Mazzerati.

We were perfectly satisfied with our stay. The room was clean. There was adequate storage facilities. The shower was excellent. The fridge offered a selection of drinks that weren't charged at rip-off prices. And there was an flat-screen TV on the wall. Furthermore, they didn't skimp back on the heating, which is appreciated after a day spent walking in chilly November conditions. So it's not bad for £70 a night in central Rome.

More significantly, the location is the strongest selling point.
It's within walking distance of the Barberini Metro, which is linked to the main train station, and to the Octavio stop for the Vatican Museum.

The Trevi Fountain can be reached in 10 minutes, the Pantheon in 20. The Spanish Steps are also just 10 minutes away and that is linked to the main shopping streets of Via Corso.

The actual location is in Via Veneto, an area which enjoyed its heyday some years ago when it was the location for La Dolca Vita. The remnants of that opulant past are visible through the raft of luxury hotels.

Perhaps the biggest warning that needs to be given to prospective travellers regards identifying Martina House. The taxi dropped us off on Via Lazio and we spent a good 20 minutes searching for a building with a visible Martina House sign. This was a total waste of time.

Martina House is not a house. It's an apartment contained in a building. When you're on Via Lazio follow the numbers, and you'll come to an apartment block with a pad of numbers at the door. Martina House is no 9. That's important advice as it was quite a worrying experience looking for a place that doesn't seem to exist.

(The cheapest way to get to the location is to take the Express train from the airport to Termini Train Station. At Termini go to the underground. A 1 euro ticket will take you from Termini to Barberini Metro. The excellent maps on the Eyewitness Guide will show you the five-minute walk from Barberini to Via Lazio).

Overall, I'd thoroughly recommend Martina House. The host is a lady - kind and warm, who takes a genuine pride in the service she provides.
The location is excellent and the rooms can't be faulted for what is essentially a budget location.

Martina House,Lazio,Rome,Italy.
Date:September 2008
Reviewer:Family trip with friend, from Scotland.
I have seen some dodgy reviews about Martina House and wanted to say to prospective travellers to please ignore them. Five of us have just returned from a four day break in Rome where we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Martina House. Not only were we met by the lovely Martina herself,they arranged very reasonable transport for us from the airport directly to Martina House. The place itself is stunning-the pictures cannot do it justice. The location is perfect for sightseeing-by foot to many places,but is handy for two metro stations. Martina made us so welcome and offered handy tips for places to go to and to eat at. She also made us lovely breakfasts-including chocolate cake,much to my daughter and son's delight!
We were made so welcome and were able to leave our luggage there after checking out as our flight was in the evening and we had more sight-seeing to do!
We are sure that we will return and would highly recommend Martina House to anybody.

really don't bother unless nothing else is available. We arrived about 9pm after travelling since 4pm to a grumpy lady who was not impressed she was having to wait for us as she lived elsewhere. Only thing she was interested in was getting cash payment up front, 'we can do the paperwork tomorrow as it's late'. The card machine wasn't working so it had to be cash. The next morning the machine was and balance had to be paid as she was not going to be around the following morning for check out. When I asked for a receipt for the cash she offered a hand written receipt and accused me of calling her dishonest when I said I wanted a proper business one. The hotel was in a great location, the room was a good size and had a large couch, although we were supplied with half a roll of toilet paper, no soap and old, thin towels. As other travellers have said the breakfast is less than satisfactory and the kitchen was appallingly dirty. Perfectly acceptable if you don't market yourself as a 4 star B&B and charge like one. We don't recommend.

Surpassed expectations, excellent value, perfect location and the friendliest hosts.

The period decor makes this room something very special (original 18th century doors etc). And the 800 channel satellite was pretty cool too (if you speak German or Arabic). The iron gated lift is the quaintest of features (though if you've more than a couple of large cases you'll need more than one trip!).

The room has no internet, tea or coffee making facilities and no phone. But this is a minor inconvenience when there's plenty of great Italian coffee right outside your door (and who wants to be stuck inside on the internet/phone when there's all of Rome on your doorstep?).

The breakfast is pretty small. But what you lack in food you more than make up for with the excellent company of your host/hostess.

Would definitely recommend to friends and family and if we're lucky enough to get back to Rome - would be really dissapointed if we didn't get to stay here again.