Spent the entire month of September and the first week of October in Italy, Tuscany, and Rome.
I am a painter, so i like small places to stay, with character and accessible rates.
Friends had recommended some accommodations to me, from their trip to europe a year ago, so I took their advice, and mostly booked the same, except in San Gimignano where the hotel they had recommended was fully booked.
In Rome i stayed at The Secret Garden which was in fact as my friends had described it to me: clean rooms, breakfast on the roof(garden), public transport around the corner.
A special word of thanks to Luciano, the manager, who got me a private tour of the Catacombs.

having read excellent reviews on Tripadvisor I made a booking for October which was confirmed in July. 4 days before we were due to leave I received an email saying that they could not accommodate us after all and offering a very cheap apartment with one bedroom and a bed settee in the kitchen. My requests for the address were ignored which worried us - as a female only party we were keen to avoid staying in the unsalubrious area around the station. As the email ended with an offer of other choices I asked for these immediately. We were due to travel first thing on Wednesday but by Monday evening i had heard nothing further so i telephoned the hotel/agency and was met by a torrent of abuse from a woman who said that of course everything was in hand and if I was too stupid to understand this she could do nothing to help me. I sent an email giving my office contact details and requesting urgent attention on Tuesday morning. At lunchtime I discovered that they had telephoned and emailed using my home contact details. I was offered two hotels both of which had very poor reviews on Tripadvisor. Whilst researching these and contacting my fellow travellers i received a final email saying that as i had not responded to any of their emails they could do nothing further since the office was closing. My friend tried to telephone but they refused to speak to her. i would recommend anyone to think carefully before making a booking at the Secret Garden. I thought I was booking directly with the hotel but was clearly dealing with an agency - I wonder why this is not made clear from the outset. I have been booking hotels on the net for years and have never experienced a problem like this before. i am horrified at the truly appalling level of service and will willingly provide copies of all the emails if required.

The Secret Garden is a lovely place very clean and modern and in a very central area. Our room was lovely however we did have to close the window at night as it was noisy outside (but that was only a minor issue). The staff were very helpful. On our return journey to Rome we stayed in a studio apartment run by the Secret Garden. It was in a residential area, around the corner from the metro. It really was wonderful. I would definitley recommend speaking to the staff that run the Secret Garden as they will be able to find you great accomm.

I enjoyed very much my stay at Rome...this cozy family run hotel is very quiet and neat! Having breakfast with my wife at a garden terrace was lovely! Good location, very close to the colosseum...and great, it's a low price hotel...it surely was an important part of my unforgettable trip to Rome.