We were on a budget and chose the Principe because it was affordable for Rome. You get what you pay for. The breakfast was easily the worst of the 4 hotels we were at in Italy. The entry was unique, with a fair amount of stairs, no lift and buzzing from outside to be let in. There was however a fantastic gelato store and a grocer across the street which were nice. Would I stay there again? Probably not.

If you're a budget traveller with no great expectations about the place you stay in, then I'm sure this hotel would suffice. It's certainly close enough to Termini and a metro station and, although basic, it's clean enough. However, we were very disappointed - and it still cost E115 per night. But breakfast. Really, there's no excuse for packet toast, Nescafe coffee, and what can only be described as dilute juice (not fresh), and hard rolls. God, you don't expect much, but in Italy some good coffee and a couple of croissants would be easy and welcome. Hunt online further and you will find much more decent places that are still close to Termini (if this is what you're after) but in a much, much nicer neighbourhood. This hotel's neighbourhood, while OK if you're a city dweller and used to very urban areas, could be unsettling, but frankly it's not that - it's just not the kind of locale you want to be in, and could be in, when you're holidaying in Rome. I thought we were being clever saving a few bucks on our last two nights, but having had two nights in Rome on the way over, we didn't pay that much more and had a fabulous stay in the Hotel Raffaello - a real gem that felt like a 'proper' hotel (this place is really a B&B/pensione - close to Termini, too, but also within a much, much nicer part of the city. In retrospect, very, very surprised at the reviews given here and the hotel's rating on this site. It reminds me not to take everything at face value on Trip Advisor in future and that while it's great to read people's opinions, you don't know know the people behind the opinions.

we wanted a fairly cheap couple of days and this hotel was perfect - its clean, well placed and the family who run it speak reasonable english and are welcoming and helpful. we arrived late friday evening - took the bus from the airport and then a taxi from the main termini which was a sensible move - would have been impossible to find! hotel is in a safe area and we found it really easy to walk out in the evening and find very reasonable street bars and restaurants to eat in. it was about 20 mins from the coloseum but as the weather was so hot we found the open top bus the best way to get around and the metro is excellent.

We were schedule to stay here on our return to Rome. Our first stop in Rome was at the Best Western Canada Hotel. During our first stay we decided to check out this hotel. It was in a different area near Termini station than the Best Western. The area was unappealing, even during the day - covered in graffiti and rather scary. The hotel is accessed via a short stairway to an elevator. We did look at the rooms, they looked okay, but we decided we would rather spend the extra 20 Euro and return to the Best Western which is in a much more secure area of Termini station.