There are so many great things to say about this castle hotel. First of all, it's a castle and it is in great shape. We requested rooms with views of the mountains which was beautiful. The food was great but yes a tad expensive. The hotel had so many unique characteristics and was fun to explore.
The shuttle says it's at fixed times but we found out you have to let them know when to pick you up at the station or they don't come. You must check the time tables at the stations in the city to see when the trains come because they are not as often as you would like. The whole transportation system in rome is slow in general so plan on a lot of extra travel time.
Overall I thought it was worth it and wish i could get married in this magical place.
The staff was very helpful. Would recommend not staying on a weekend if you want to avoid weddings because there was one when we were there and they got quite noisy late at night.
The best hotel we stayed at while in Italy

Yes this castle is far from Rome central but it is quiet, surrounded by countryside and trees.(We knew that a cab from Rome would cost 60 Euros each way.) We arrived June 8th after a long flight from the U.S. Since the airline lost my luggage, we arrived frazzled and upset. The staff was helpful, most tried to speak English with us when our Italian failed miserably. There were a few weddings during our stay, but the festive atmosphere added to the romance. The room was small but clean. The 4 poster bed had sheer curtains hung around it, which made it very romantic. Breakfast is simple Continental. Room service breakfast was a tasty hot omelette and warm croissants. Very delicious and that cost extra.
Dinner at the castle was not our favorite, but the service was fantastic. One day we ate an early dinner in Rome before we headed back to the castle, which was less expensive and gave us more selection. We loved Rome and can't wait to return in the future.(Bring a dual wattage blow dryer, the one there is very light and it took a long time to dry my hair, also the shower in that room was tricky but always had a full supply of hot water)

On the whole we enjoyed out weekend stay at the Castello. I have visited Rome many times on business and have usually stayed in a city centre hotel. As this trip was mainly holiday, I deliberately chose the Castello as I wanted a relaxing break away from the noise and crowds in the centre. The idea of a castle also appealed and the hotel website had some very attractive pictures of the place.

The drive in our hire car from Fiumicino airport to the hotel should have taken less than 30 minutes, but even though I had programmed the hotel address carefully into the memory, we were still not adequately prepared for he chaotic (i.e. typically Roman) road network approaching the hotel. The first thing to note is that the hotel can only be approached from the North, any maps showing direct vehicle access from the southeast of La Giustiniana village are wrong, you will just end up back on the GRA!!! After two phone calls to the hotel and lots of driving around in the dark, we eventaully found the hotel access road.

Driving hints: continue driving northwest of La Giustiniana on Via Cassia for approx 1.5km. DO NOT be tempted to turn off Via Cassia into La Giustiniana centre. If you are sharp-eyed you will then see a small yellow hotel sign indicating a left turn off Via Cassia. So, turn left, go straight ahead at the small roundabout and under the railway bridge. Then turn left at the T-junction and follow what can best be described as a pot-holed farm track (!) for approx 1.5km, turning towards the left at a small restaurant, then climbing slightly uphill. The hotel is at the end of the final 300m straight section.

The hour wasted trying to find the hotel in the dark with inadequate directions from the hotel was stressful, completely avoidable if the hotel were to add the above information to their website (and put up a bigger sign), and did not get the trip off to a good start.

Check-in was fine, and the Castello does look very impressive floodlit at night. We were allocated a small "attic" room with exposed beams. Not a particularly bad room, but were were expecting something with a "wow" factor after seeing the pictures on the website. We were also dissatisfied with having a skylight as the only window and a very small bathroom.

I raised these issues with the front desk the following morning and we were transferred to a more pleasant room with a great view out of the window and a larger bathroom with bath.

We ate two dinners in the hotel, the first was excellent and reasonably priced for the quality of food and the atmospheric dining room. The second meal was definitely inferior - one of our orders came out wrong and my tuna steak was overcooked. Pity, as a hotel in this price bracket with such an atmospheric dining room really needs to deliver the highest food standards. Our other dinner was taken at the Antica restaurant round the corner from the railway station in La Giustiniana, a typical local restaurant with pleasant Italian staples and cosy atmosphere. I was glad to have the car though as it was raining.

Some other reviewers have mentiomed walking from the hotel to La Giustiniana but I would not advise this at all unless you are a fit, determined walker and have plenty of time on your hands. A hire car is virtually essential for the Castello. I also noticed that there was no taxi rank visible in the villagem and it would be unwise to rely on the hotel shuttle which is very infrequent and can be late if the rush hour traffic is bad (happened to us the one time we used this service).

On balance we enjoyed our short stay at this hotel, but I would rate it more highly had it not been for the accessibility problems oin the first night and the patchy service in the restaurant. Both these issues could easily be tackled by the hotel management if they chose to do so. So, recommended but watch out for the issues mentioned.

After seeing the website and reading other traveller reviews my expectations were high for this hotel, and although aesthetically it was as beautiful as advertised, I encountered several small disappointments which lowered my overall opinion of the hotel. On arrival, the staff were very friendly. The room we were allocated was not as grand as those shown on the website, but considering we had booked through last minute we had expected to be given a small room so this was not an issue. Whilst some staff were happy to help with enquiries we came across two or three individuals who were downright rude.

As mentioned by some other guests (both in reviews and whilst actually at the hotel) there is a major problem with the transport to and from the local train station. Although this is only about 2 km away, there is no recognised footpath (although we did manage to find our way on foot one morning after missing the bus) and the staff were unaccommodating if when we found ourselves stuck at the station one night after missing the last bus back to the hotel.

The castle is beautiful and very remote, but I would imagine that if you are going to the area you are planning to visit Rome and as such I would recommend you stay in the city.