Santa Maria Maddalena

I've traveled a lot over the years and stayed in both great and not-so-great hotels. Considering the price, the spacious rooms, and the fact that breakfast was included, I would rate this hotel 4 out of 5 stars overall. This was my first time in Rome, so I don't have much local experience to compare it with, but I thought the location was good. The hotel was about a 5-minute walk from the nearest metro station and within walking distance of the Vatican. I especially liked the neighborhood around the small square just outside the Vatican walls. We were a larger group of 11 people, and the hotel worked very well for us.

Overall a very nice stay at this hotel. I am new to Rome so it is difficult to say what the standard usually is but this hotel is in a quiet and safe part of town but still withing walking distance of very nice restaurants (Osteria Urbana is great!) and the Bologna Metro station. We decided to walk to the Colosseum which took us 45 minutes going past the Fontana di trevi. The view from the patio is very beautiful with lush vegetation and quite a few green parrots to keep one looking ever towards the sky. The breakfast buffet is OK, nothing spectacular but there is a wide range of alternatives. Staff is very helpful and always on hand and we enjoyed every interaction with them as they are so kind and warm. One negative for us was the lack of free bottled water which I do think should be standard in an hotel but that is perhaps just a personal thing for us.

GR8