We spent two nights at the Principe Eugenio, and were pleasantly surprised. The area may look a bit dodgy, but we never felt uneasy on the streets. It is close to the Termini and to the Metro, and we walked to the Coloseum in 15 minutes or less. The rooms are clean, the family running the place are friendly and accommodating, and speak enough English to be quite helpful. The breakfast was good enough. And the price seems pretty reasonable for Rome. We would stay here again.

I stayed at this hotel with my wife.
The rooms were very clean and were cleaned daily. The room we got (with no balcony) was spacious with a very large bathroom. Everything was clean and new.
The owner was very friendly and helped with everything. You have to ring a bell and get through 2 large doors in order to get to your hotel, but it is not so bad.
The breakfast was nice but minimal with no Italian coffee.
The room was very quiet.

I generally only stay in Rick Steves hotels when I am in Europe because I have found his recommendations to be very reliable. For my trip to Rome in October 2009, all the Rick Steves hotels either had no vacancies or were too expensive. I was a bit apprehensive about staying in a hotel based solely on the Tripadvisor ratings. However, I was quite pleased with the hotel.

The location is a few blocks outside the main tourist area, and seems a bit gritty. However, it is only a couple of blocks from a metro stop. Also, there is a good coffee shop two blocks away (Lulu bar), a good gelato place about a block away, a grocery store across the street, an internet place about a block and a half away,
and a decent to good pizza place half a block away.

The room was large by European standards, had a nice bathroom, good closet space, and we even had a balcony. The staff was very nice. The breakfast was pretty good, but as you will probably quickly discover, breakfast isn't that big a deal in Italy -- coffee and a pastry.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this place with one caveat. If you have never lived in, or visited, a large city, the neighborhood might make you feel a bit uncomfortable. It's not bad, just a bit gritty. The plus side is that you will probably see a much more realistic view of life in Rome than someone who stays next to the Spanish steps, and you will pay a lot less.

We stayed int his hotel for 2 nights after retuning froma crusie and having our initial b and b already booked. The owners were fantastically friendly and helpful. Delicious breakfast served. Lovely room with balcony overlooking the street complete with a large bath, huge wardrobe and mini- fridge made up the accommodations. the hotel had a great location- across from a supermarket and the G Fassi gelato shop and a few blocks to Termini Train station and walking distance ot the Colleseum