I chose Ares Rooms because it was supposed to be a reasonably priced, centrally located gay rooming house. Where to begin. The room was modest, a bit cramped, no A/C. Bathroom was one towel only, no face cloths, etc. So you get the point - no frills. But that isn't the issue. The hallways were a bit dark, and you never saw other guests, so you never get the sense of its being "gay". In fact, the only indication of its being a gay friendly hotel was that they had those maps of gay bars in town...that's it. The staff sit at a desk and by turns either spoke minimal English or, even worse, were unfamiliar with restaurants in the area, and were overall not too helpful. When I was trying to find Ares by car and called them, the guy at the desk was curt and unpleasant. This was confirmed when we got there and I sent my partner to ask a question of him, and my partner returned saying "I see what you mean". The kind of person who, when you ask a follow up question because you are confused, just repeats the same information more loudly and forcefully, as though that makes it more clear. Breakfast is a coupon for a cup of coffee and a pastry at a nearby tiny "bar" (there was no seating - you ate at a small counter) so it's very "on the go". To be fair, the 3rd day, they had a bit of seating outside, but it was all taken, so we still ate at the small counter. As for location, it is located reasonably well to the colosseum, but frankly, there are so many attractions in Rome that almost any hotel can claim to be well located, so as long as you are in the central Rome area, you can't go too wrong on location. And on my last evening, my partner and I were going out for dinner, so I left 2 50-euro bills on the desktop, to avoid taking too much cash with me. When I returned, one was missing. I can't prove the staff took it, but since you have to turn in your key to them when you are out, and you have to ring the doorbell for entry, I think we can safely assume that they had plenty of opportunity to enter the room unseen and take the cash. Why not all of it? I am not a conspiracy theorist by nature, but I suspect that is the M.O. of the perpetrator, so that he can say you must have miscounted. My suggestion to you is that in Rome, splurge just a bit more for your hotel room, and if the gay thing is important to you, do not for one second think that Ares will fulfill that desire.