Not a nice part of town! We spent the beggining of our vacation in Venice, Florence, and Greve in Chianti and stayed in some great places with amazing scenery. So needless to say I was very disappointed upon arriving at our hotel. The streets smelled like urine and there were many homeless on the streets. The building was old and shared space with other residents. My opinion is that you should stay in the centro storico or near the Vatican.

On a nice note, the owners are fabulous! They were very nice and hospitable. I did feel safe once in my room and it was very clean. Breakfast was sufficient as well. The hotel was close to the Metro which made it easy to get around during the daytime. We arrived at the Vatican in minutes for the price of 2 Euro. On foot however, it is quite far from the sights. We were able to walk it, but with VERY tired feet, and youth on our side. I didn't feel safe walking around the hotel at night. This hotel would be adequate if you don't mind the surroundings.

My husband and I stayed here in September 2008. I really wasn't expecting too much after reading the other reviews on tripadvisor. When we arrived at the front door I was as tad concerned (as i'm a travel egent and use to staying in very decent hotels), so I was already thinking about looking for an alternative hotel to stay at. What a pleasant suprise when we got inside. The staff is very friendly and the rooms are very very clean. The bathroom is quite new - a bit small, but serve the purpose. The breakfast in the morning was another pleasant suprise. Yes, traditional European continental breakfast, but there were bioled eggs, juices, cheeses, biscuits, cakes, toast tea, coffee...alot to fill up on. The hotel is in the prefect location....the area really isn't that bad...we walked EVERYWHERE - even at night . There's a supermarket accross the road and the oldest gelatti shop is a 2 minute walk down the street. Awesome, would recommend this. The underground station is a short 10 minute walk (6 minutes when you speed it up a bit !) from the hotel. I really have nothing bad to say. THis hotel really is a little gem in Rome. The price is really good considering what you get. I would definitely not hestiate to stay there again if ever I travel to Rome again.

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.