We have been four times in Rome and slept in three hotels. Hotel Artorius is the smallest of those - but it´s athmosphere was most kind and warmest.

It´s situation is perfect: near by everything but at the same time it´s very peaceful oasis. The street in front of the hotel is very narrow and quiet. You can leave your earplugs home, because there´s just silence in the night. And still you are living in the middle of the noisy Rome, near Colosseum, San Pietro in Vincoli -church and shopping street Via Nazionale. There are plenty of great little tavernas and ristorantes near the hotel, so you don´t have to go far to have a good dinner.

The personnel of the hotel is very, very kind and helpful. Their smiles are natural, not as acted. The rooms, toilets, stairway and the corridor are very clean. The breakfast is very versatile and abundant and you can have capucchino, espresso, tea, hot chocolate or american coffee. What more?

The only thing which wasn´t as good as in "our former hotels", was the view from the room window. But as I said, the street IS very narrow and it´s just impossible to have a great view. But because the street is very narrow, it´s also very, very quiet. And having a good sleep at night is much more important than some great view.

Thank You, the staff of Hotel Artorius. You are the heart of this little excellent hotel! We´ll recommend Artorius to everyone who´s planning a holiday in the wonderful eternal Rome.

Grazie e arrivederci!

Summary: Hotel Artorius is a small, friendly, warm, welcoming family-run hotel, in the heart of a real Roman neighborhood with good dining options close by, it is only a couple of blocks from the Colosseum and walking distance to all of the other major sites in Rome (including the Vatican, if you are up for a 30-40 minute walk). Highly recommended.

Pros: Close to everything, family-run, breakfast included, clean, newly renovated rooms and bathrooms, rooms and bathrooms are large by European standards (especially if you pay a few extra Euros for a triple room). Personal attention and friendly people.

Cons: Small hotel, so no large hotel amenities (i.e. no room service, no restaurant).

Review: My wife and I stayed at the Hotel Artorius in February 2009. Allesandro (see photo) and his family (and some family friends) run the 10-room Hotel Artorius. Everyone at the hotel made us feel as though we staying with friends in the guest room of their house. Allesandro would make wonderful coffee and cappuccino for breakfast each morning, along with a light breakfast of cereals, pastries, breads, fruits, juices, yogurts and some meats/chesses. The breakfast was served in a small covered dining room, outside in the main courtyard (see photo).

The hotel is in the heart of a real Roman neighborhood and is only a couple of blocks to the Colosseum (see photo from one street over from the hotel). The hotel and surrounding area is very safe, just keep in mind you are in the heart of a large city. The hotel is small, but newly renovated. It is located on a small one-way side street, close to the main streets of Rome (e.g. Via Nationale). There are numerous good dining options in the neighborhood. Just walk out the hotel pick a direction, wander around for a bit and you are sure to stumble across a good place to eat. We recommend ordering the house wine at whatever restaurant you eat at. The staff is also more than willing to make a recommendation or reservation for you. Right across the street is a small supermarket where you can purchase everything from basic supplies (waters, sodas, wine, beer) up to a picnic lunch. There is a subway stop only a couple blocks away.

The rooms and bathrooms are newly renovated and are relatively large by European standards. We stayed in a standard double room (see photos). Nonetheless, we looked in at some of the triple rooms, and they we considerably larger. If you are concerned about space, it is worth the extra Euros to upgrade to a triple room. If you are not overly concerned about space, a double room should suit most couples perfectly well. Another consideration is that most of the triple rooms overlook the interior courtyard whereas the double rooms overlook the street out front (with the usual Vespa and car traffic).

Because some of the other reviews indicated that cabs from the airport had difficulty locating the hotel, we emailed Allesandro in advance of our arrival with our flight information. Allesandro scheduled a driver to meet us at the airport (with our name on the board and everything). The ride was 50 Euros (a standard cab from the airport is 40-50 Euros), so the scheduled ride was well worth it. Another option is the express train from the airport to the Termi Train Station which is about 6-7 blocks (and a 10 minute walk) from the hotel.

After staying in Rome for a week, we headed off to Venice for a couple of days. Make sure to check out our review of the Hotel Al Ponte Anico in Venice.

If you stay at the Hotel Artorius, make sure you say “hi” to Allesandro for us! Ciao.

Strange really - can't decide what makes this hotel so special, but I feel it is. The staff certainly help - they look like family members and they do bend over backwards to help. The 100 year old lift adds to the place as do the very comfortable and clean rooms. Would love to experience the outside dining in Summer but in February it was merely OK. If you after a full English breakfast - this is not the place - a good selection of continental breakfast food is what you'll get.
Location is excellent - 20 min to Station, 10 mins Colosseum and Trevi Fountain. The hotel is down a quietish back street with quite a few restaurants and bars nearby - we had no problems with noise.
It's got something and I'm not quite sure what - which probably explains why it's so highly rated. Would I go back - to right I would.

Selected the hotel from the trip advisor rankings. The hotel is about 20 minutes walk from the train station, and is situated down a pleasant side street. When you arrive, there is a very small front desk manned by what could have been students or family, but not your upmarket hotel staff. The rooms are clean, not big but certainly adequate, with good shower.I think they only occupy the first floor of the building but have a key security system to get on to the floor. Our room opened on to the street below but we did not suffer from any noise.The beakfast room is in a patio at the rear,which must be lovely in the spring/summer. They have a covered summer room for the winter/ cold days.Breakfast was good, with usual choice of cold foods, and coffee/chocolate brought to you by the staff.The situation is excellant. It is less than 20 minutes walk to most of the central sights(maybe 30 minutes to the Vatican). So why does it rank so well against all the other Rome Hotels. Answer,I am not quite sure, as it is not an outstanding building, or wonderful facilities nor great value for money. What it is is a small convenient hotel that ticks most of the boxes. And then there were the staff. Each of them were helpful, charming and nothing seemed to be too much trouble. It comes across as a family run affair(not sure if this is true) rather than a classic professional hotel. Taking everything in to account, it deserves a high rating and they even seemed pleased for us when Ireland beat Italy in the rugby--maybe there would be more of a problem if it had been football.