Stayed at the Romano for a 1 week vacation in mid-July with my husband. Chose the hotel based on the excellent reviews on Tripadvisor, the location, and the price. Based on the reviews we were expecting a clean, basic hotel with exceptional service.
I will start with the pros. Yes, the location of the hotel is very good. Around the corner and down the road is the Colosseum, and most other major sites are within walking distance...15-30 minutes depending on where you are going. About the only site I wouldn't have considered walking to was the Vatican...it's a bit far. Location becomes a big factor as the buses stop running at midnight and the metro (subway) stops running at 8:00pm...AND the taxis were all on strike the entire week we were there (just something to consider). The room itself was clean and the bed was comfortable. Water temperature and pressure in the shower was very good. The hotel was on and close to the major bus stops and close to the subway (nearest stop is at the Colosseum). The hotel has a very small elevator, but it works...although to access most of the rooms you still have to walk down (or up?) several steps and some narrow hallways to get to your room...which is pretty much a pain when you have heavy luggage. I think this is probably typical of many European hotels (if you want creature comforts such as ice and strong air-conditioning, I would strongly suggest staying at an American chain type of hotel). Yes, you do have to leave your key at the desk when you leave the hotel...but we considered this a plus as it was cumbersome (it has a paperweight in the shape of a bell attached to it) and we didn't have to worry about losing it. The front door of the hotel is locked after a certain time and you have to knock/buzz the front desk to get in...which made us feel safer. I considered the area of the hotel to be safe and there was a great restaurant, Angelino Ai Fori, just a few steps to the left of the hotel. The breakfast (which was included in the price) was nice - a pastry, some fruit juice, and out-of-this world cappucino.
Now the cons. The shower in the bathroom was really not all that clean. There was mold visible on both the walls and covering the emergency call string located in the shower - it was actually quite disgusting. Because the shower was very small, I spent a great deal of time while I was showering trying not to touch the walls or the string. One word - GROSS. Also, on about day 2 of our stay, the shower started clogging up and we would frequently stand in about 2-3 inches of standing water as we were showering because it didn't drain as fast as the water would come out. The shower doors were also broken and difficult to open and shut.
Second, though it is advertised as air-conditioned, I would really call it more like "pseudo-air conditioning." Had there not been a very strong ceiling fan in the room to accompany the "air-conditioning," it would not have been tolerable at all. I'm not sure if all the rooms have ceiling fans or not, but I would definitely inquire about this is you are seriously considering staying here during the summer. It is EXTREMELY hot and humid in Rome in July, and we will definitely NOT return to Italy during this month.
Third, the t.v. was advertised as being "satellite," but we could only get about five channels, and all in Italian. Some of them also had snowy white lines through them. This is probably not a big deal as you do a lot of sightseeing in Rome, but there are times when you come back to your room late night and just want to relax and hear some native tongue.
Fourth, when we booked our hotel on the hotel website, it said you could request a room with a view of the Imperial Ruins, which we thought would be charming and so we did. When we arrived we eagerly looked out our window and pretty much saw the buildings across the street and the scooters zooming by. SOME VIEW. IF I stood on my head and craned my neck, I could sort of see the ruins in the distance. When my husband inquired about this at the front desk, they told him that we had been given a room with a view, and that they remembered our request and thus had given us a room with TWO windows.
Which brings me to my biggest complaint, the service. Based on the reviews of previous visitors, I expected that the service would be hospitable, accomodating, and basically, outstanding. This was not our experience. When we asked for directions and restaurant recommendations, we were told to go to an area (like the Spanish Steps) and we would find "someplace good to eat." Additionally, the airline lost one of my bags and I didn't get it until about 3 or 4 days into my trip...not the fault of the hotel, but they weren't exactly helpful in helping us navigate the language/country to retrieve it. My husband spent many hours racking up expensive cell phone minutes trying to call the airlines to speak with someone about the bag...all to no avail. Many times he was hung up on because the person on the other end only spoke Italian. When he asked the front desk for help, he was basically told to use our room phone to call. The room phone had a horrible wire connection so he had to sit there holding it in place while he talked, and half the time the person on the other end couldn't hear him...and they hung up. Finally, after practically begging the desk for assistance, they called the airline for us and navigated the system in Italian. We were still charged for the room calls, despite the fact that the phone was basically inoperable and that the big boast of this place is hospitality.
We would definitely NOT stay here again. It's worth the extra money to stay at some place nicer...the Via Veneto area is beautiful and charming (near the Hard Rock Cafe, which is nice because there might just be a point in your trip when you need a really cold drink with unlimited ice and a nice juicy hamburger). Our last night in Rome we stayed at the Airport Hilton, which was fantastic (expensive, but fantastic).
