As stated in so many other reviews, the location of the Sunset is ideal for traveling around Rome on foot. The Colosseum was visible from the window in our room, and every other major attraction was within easy walking distance, although I would recommend taking the #64 bus to the Vatican (just to get there early in the morning to avoid all the people), then walking back.
There are a number of fantastic restaurants in the area, and if you're looking for a change from Italian-style food, the Mother India restaurant just down the road is HIGHLY recommended! We were in Rome for seven nights, and ate there for dinner once, and lunch a number of times.
We did have a number of concerns with the hotel itself though:
1. Unwelcome visitors:
A friend happened to be traveling in Rome at the same time, so we planned to meet at the Sunset for a couple of drinks, then go out for dinner. We were told that only the guests were allowed in the rooms, and there seemed to be veiled threats that the police would be called if we tried to bring him up. There is no lobby, no meeting place in the hotel, so even just to meet our friend, we would have had to wait out on the street.
2. Transportation recommendations from the staff:
The Sunset Hotel website boasts that the hotel is easy walking distance from the train station. The train runs directly from the Termini station to the departures area at Fuimicino Airport. Upon checkout, the staff asked us how we planned to travel to the airport. We had researched costs, and decided that the train would be easiest/cheapest. Hearing this, the staff recommended that we take a taxi to the airport, and more than double the cost. He then tried to get us to take a taxi to the Termini station, making us wonder if he was getting kickbacks from the cab company.
RECOMMENDATION: walk from the hotel to the Termini station (it took us 10minutes even with our suitcases)
3. Restaurant recommendations from the staff:
The one restaurant recommended to us was the worst food we had during our entire stay. We are very adventurous eaters, not picky at all, but the food was bland, greasy and not up to our expectations based on other restaurants in the area. Eat at Mother India instead - fantastic food and wonderful service.
If we are able to return to Rome, we will stay at the Sunset again, but ONLY because of it's ideal location for a reasonable cost.