After reading the reviews, we had very high hopes about this place - but one's experience is obviously very dependent on which location and room you get. Overall, we were happy with our building location (the one where the breakfast room is) and the updating and cleanliness of the rooms. However our room was very small, the bathroom was awkwardly laid out and tiny and the breakfast room was right outside our door, so mornings started early. It is located in a charming street with great shops and restaurants everywhere. Piazza Navona is a really happening place and it is easy to walk to the Vatican area and not too far from other sights. It is not a handy location for Metro usage and the reception staff are not very helpful nor do they speak English. This meant no help or advice for new tourists - so you are on your own. Breakfast was mostly carbs and breads - the sandwiches were yummy but not always available. We had no view. It was reasonably priced compared to other hotels in the area, but I would probably go elsewhere if we return.

We caught a train from Florence to Rome (which was amazingly easy!) and then a taxi from the train station to the hotel. (This was about EUR 30 incl tip.) The taxi couldn't drive straight up to the hotel so we had a short walk dragging cases over the cobbles.

Despite having confirmed our arrival time with the hotel, the hotel was locked with no information and nowhere to wait. After 15 minutes of ringing the buzzer, calling the hotel on our mobiles and knocking loudly, a lady from a nearby shop came out to see if she could help. She said that they may have been at lunch (this was about 2pm) and that we should try again in an hour. We asked if there was anywhere she could recommend for lunch while we waited and she suggested a local pizzeria. We dragged our cases to the restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal.

When we returned, we were buzzed in. There was no lift, so my husband went up to check-in whilst I waited with the cases. We were told that the hotel has three buildings and we had been assigned rooms elsewhere. This was completely unexpected and concerning as the location had been a major factor in choosing the hotel.

The receptionist called us a taxi and asked us to pay and get a receipt. We could then claim the money back from the reception at the other building.

Our concern mounted as the taxi made its way through the back streets. The taxi driver couldn't find the building and ended up calling the hotel for us. A man came out of a brown wooded door set into a wall and told us that this was the hotel. We paid the taxi (10 euros) and the man took the receipt. He picked up one of the cases and led the way. We walked through into a courtyard filled with bags of cement, wooden posts and other building materials. There were two builders laying tiles on the floor which we had to step round, carrying our cases. There were several flights of stairs with uneven sloping paths. We would our way round the back of the other buildings and down into a basement. The man then said that he didn't have the cash to reimburse us fully (only 4 euros), but would give us the rest later in our stay.

The up-side of the building work (if there is one) is that our room was newly decorated. However it was a very odd shape with the bed taking up most of the room. There was nowhere to put the empty cases and the furniture was all flat packed Ikea. There was a fridge, but no tea making facilities. Unlike the other review though, the air-conditioning did work. The bathroom was also new, but the bath was wedged in between two walls with access only at the narrow end. This made for some interesting manoeuvres! We considered moving, but as it was now 5pm, we were reluctant.

The walls were extremely thin and you could hear every movement elsewhere in the hotel. There was a family home above the hotel with a small child that had two or three temper tantrums a day. We were woken every morning by the sound of plates and cups from the breakfast which was served in the hallway. The breakfast was pretty poor with little choice although the lady serving it was lovely.

The only window in the room looked out directly onto the outside staircase and we had to keep the shutters closed all the time for privacy.

To begin with, we were not particularly enamoured with the location. Having to walk up the Spanish steps every day was a bit daunting after sight seeing. However, once we discovered the Roman underground we began to make use of the station which was 5 minutes from the hotel. This also had a lift which meant we could avoid the steps which were very busy and crammed with persistent flower sellers.

We tried orientating ourselves by taking a sight-seeing bus, but the traffic in Rome is so bad, and the commentary so poor, that this was a waste of time. (The trip on the boat wasn't really worth it either.)

However, once we were out of the hotel, we really enjoyed our stay in Rome. There was so much to see and do in glorious sunshine. We found some lovely places to eat and met some very friendly locals.

When it was time to leave, we asked about paying for a late check out. The hotel didn't offer any such facilities and would only keep our bags until 1pm. We were never reimbursed for the original taxi fare.

Overall, the location was probably pretty good. But the state of the hotel and the cheap renovations severely impacted our stay. If the hotel had warned us about the change of location and there was more information on their website, our expectations would have been better managed. We would love to return to Rome one day, but we would never stay here again. Based on our experience and those of the other guests we spoke to, we would not recommend this hotel.

First I have to say that it's not a 5 stars hotel and it's not confortable to have the reception in the 1st floor of one building, and some rooms and breakfast in the 2nd floor of another bulding 20 metres down the street. They still don't have 24h reception which may cause some problems.
I stayed there with two more couples and that's all the bad things that we found.
Rooms were well decorated, everything was very clean, and I think breakfast was all right. Regardind other reviews I don't know if the cleaning staff speak other languages than italian, but I can't speak italian and I had no problems (watch out for people that still believes their language must me spoken to everybody and don't make an effort to understand or to be understood).
The location was just superb, an old street 5 minutes walk from Piazza Navona, which means near Pantheon, Fontana di Trevi, Piazza di Spagna, and also Castel Sant'Angelo and Vaticano. All around you find plenty restaurants, all kind of shops and gelaterias. Area seems to be quiet, because it is a narrow streets with very few traffic.
I travel a lot and I really enjoyed this hotel, I recommend it and If I return soon, it will be my choice.

This is the Rome of your dreams. Both Medieval & Modern. We LOVED just opening the windows and shutters overlooking the street, leaning out the windowsill and watch the strolling people below at night. During the morning, little children were being led to a nearby school or day care amidst a stream of tourists with maps.. How very disappointing indeed it would be to not get to stay here as happened to one reviewer. Bear in mind that Experiences will vary with room and building assignment and you may not get a room opening up on the street as there are more interior rooms. I am giving it 5 stars despite it not being perfect on the basis that the daily rate for a double was almost exactly half ($162 E) of what the Hotel Raphael wanted for the same days (320E) in September 2008 but the Residenza Domizia was a one minute walk down the same narrow side street . WARNING. This is a humble bed and breakfast and not a world class hotel or “living art museum” like the Raphael with its astonishing ivy façade and luxury lodging. However, you do get to enjoy the very same picturesque labyrinth of narrow twisting streets of the historic city centre, embroidered with antique shops while the artistic centre and the most famous and fashionable shopping streets are just round the corner… famous historical highlights like St. Peter's Church, Castel Sant'Angelo, the Pantheon, Campo de' Fiori, the Spanish Steps, the Synagogue and Piazza Navona are at hand.
. Residenze Domizia is in two buildings on Via Coronari: one at 14 (left hand side from P. Navona), the other at 236 (right hand side and closest to P. Navona ). Each has its own advantages: 14 has the reception check in desk where you get your keys but not the breakfast room . 236 has the breakfast room and is opposite the street where Hotel Raphael is that leads in a dog leg to Piazza Navona but you need to go over to 14 to check in and out.
We got the Via Coronari room in the second bldg at 236 which scarpenter4 calls the “quad” (there were two foldout Murphy type beds concealed alongside the window wall) in addition to the two twin beds pushed together. The room is big and at the wall at the end of the right of the door, there is a really long narrow hallway (still within the room, not a shared hall) that runs back to a private bathroom that was bigger than our hotel room in Venice !!! Seriously, there was a huge Roman soaking tub that was SIX foot THREE inches long and THREE foot NINE inches wide with a platter sized showerhead. I will try and post photos with this review. There are not that many reviews here at so it’s easy to get the whole picture for this bed and breakfast on a cobblestone street a short stroll to Piazza Navona and based on our experience, I can vouch for the advice for late sleepers to stay in 14 and the heads up on how tiny the breakfast room is (and its tables even tinier)
Less than Perfect: I never trust all glowing reviews perhaps because that has never been my experience at any hotel or bed & breakfast. So what won’t Residenza Dominza post on its web site: The street is supposed to be for pedestrians only but motor scooters regularly do use it to park on the side street that the Hotel Raphael is on. Plus there were occasional taxis and delivery cars and trash trucks. Never a steady stream of anything but pedestrians but enough motorized traffic to notice. Our room got noisy at night as strollers passed below and traffic noise from the circle leading to P. Navona (but we would book this "noisy" room again in a heartbeat just for the people window watching). Check in at Bldg 14 means walking up about twenty circular steps so you may want to leave your luggage in the ground floor vestibule with a partner in case you get bldg 236 or else just be prepared to carry the luggage up and then back down and then retrace your steps to 236 like we did. There is a lift at 236 but we did not use it. . If you want new towels each day, then you need to put them on the bathroom floor. If you leave them draped over the bathtub or shower, they get folded for reuse and hung on the towel racks
LOGISTICS: The taxi driver from the airport knew right where the Zarandelli taxi stand off of Piazza Navona was and dropped us off there. He charged us the 40 E we agreed on at the airport. From there it was a one-minute walk to the hotel. Just walk to the “back” of the taxi line and keep going past the ruins then cut across the curved street to Via Coronari which has blue circle Ped sign and a one way blue arrow . Or else get dropped off right in front of the Hotel Raphael and facing the hotel go to your right up the street which dead ends into Via Coronari 236 and then go left up the street to 14. Take a look at the picture of the doorway on TA but the numbers are easy to read. Ring the bell on the Seinfield like row of buzzers for Residenza Domizia if the front vestibule door is locked, then walk up the steps to the door with the brass plaque of Residenza Domizia (ring again if locked) and walk to the reception desk to get your big key ring with 3 keys (Vestibule door, RD door, and room door). If you are in 236, you retrace your steps . If you want new towels each day, then you need to put them on the bathroom floor
Our Room was outfitted with a Samsung heater/air conditioner mounted high on the wall out of reach. The desk book had Italian instructions only and I confess that we never used it since we thought the remote control was for the TV. But when we used the flat screen TV we realized it only needed two remotes like most satellite tvs so I looked closer at the Samsung remote and pushed the power button and the heating/ac unit hummed on. The weather was perfect so we did not need it, but if you have questions ask at the reception desk. Whew long review but I know how nervous I was about booking this bed and breakfast with so few reviews and how many questions I private messaged scarpenter4 about basics that I wanted to spell it all out here. Plus both hotels we stayed at in Italy, this one Rome and the Best Western Hotel Olympia in Venice had at least one negative review about being switched to a different hotel but that did not happen to us. We booked Directly with both Resideza Domizia and Hotel Olympia on their own web site and not through any travel service or discount hotel on line service like Orbiz, expedia, or Venere .