1st, I would have to agree with all of the reviews that rave about the cleanliness of the hotel, the cheerful and helpful staff, and the excellent location near Termini station (which is the central transportation hub for Rome). The breakfast buffet turned out to be the best of the three hotels that we stayed in during our pre-cruise week in Italy.
There were a few disappointments, though. It is a very nice gesture that the hotel provides a stocked mini-fridge (water and soda); however, the mini-fridge never managed to cool the items enough to make them refreshing. We asked if they had diet soda (my husband is an insulin-dependent diabetic), and were told "no", but they'd try to get some. We stayed 4 nights and never saw a diet soda the entire time. The bed was as hard as a rock, which might appeal to some, but I found it difficult to get comfortable. (I nick-named our mattress "the plank"). The biggest disappointment was the promise of "air conditioning"...we stayed in Rome during an unusual heat wave for May. It was in the high 90's (farenheit) with high humidity. The room A/C never put out much cool air, and we were always soaked with sweat before we even made it out the front door in the morning. I've heard many excuses about why the hotels in Rome have such lousy air conditioning, but none of them are believable. We stayed 3 nights in Pompei after we left Rome, and while the hotel in Pompei had it's own problems, air conditioning was not one of them! We were able to cool our Pompei room to the point that it could have done double-duty as a meat locker!!!
Except for the problems mentioned above, all other aspects of the Hotel Diocleziano were enjoyable. They have a nice gym and sauna, a small bar, as well as attentive and friendly staff. If you like a really firm mattress, don't mind the heat, and prefer your drinks at room temperature, then you will have absolutely no problems with this hotel.
