I stumbled upon this little hotel that is what it is - a safe, clean, basic hotel of 9 rooms located in a convenient non-touristy part of town. It is run by a family who takes special care of you, from the moment you arrive. Neither speaks English, but they communicate very well. Their son speaks many languages, and conducts much of the business part, offering assistance even before you get there.

Each morning you are greeted by breakfast in the lower level common room. You have a rolls, a slice of cheese, slice of salumi, butter, jams, a small sweet roll if you wish, and freshly made coffee and steamed milk. Mama holds court, and seats you with people who speak your language if possible. Nice start to the day. If you ask about a certain site, you'll get a map with drawn directions, including bus or tram numbers. You are equidistant between Vittorio Emanuele and Manzoni stops on the metro, just a 4 minute ride from Termini. It is described to be in the Termini area, and I guess it is, but not close to the main entrance. It's within walking distance to the Colloseum, San Giovanni Laterno, and really near all kinds of transportation.

My room was small and spartan, but I had all I needed, including a TV with local channels. I had a private bath, dresser, closet, phone, and a place for luggage. I also had the only room with a small balcony which was nice to keep wine and soda on in Feb. The rooms are cleaned every day, and the sheets were clean and crisp. If you are of the school that believes you spend most of your time in your room with your eyes closed, this is place could be for you. I booked first on Venere.com, then found a better price on Priceline. Finally, the best price was on their website, and they promptly verified that rate by email. The only caution is that you should check the floor you are on. The building has three rooms on each of three floors, and you should be in good shape if you have a top floor room (and don't forget anything you have to go back for).

Over breakfast conversation, other guests and I noted the neighborhood looks dicier than it actually is. I walked around the area on my own every evening, and had absolutely no problems. It is an area in change, and now many asian stores and signs. It is very close to the Vittorio Emanuele market, which has moved from the park to 2 covered buildings a block away. Talk about a trip around the world!

As you leave the hotel, you turn in your heavy key and fob, and you get it back when you return and ring the bell. And what a treat I had every night, taking the metro to Vittorio Emanuele stop and on the way back finding the famous gelateria "Fassi" literally right around the corner from home! The gelato is great, and try the truffle! "Papa" usually has night duty, and when opening the door for me was concerned when he did not see the usual cone (and it wasn't Monday, when Fassi is closed). I pulled the cup of truffle from my bag, and all was right with the world.