Paul H.
Yelp
Hmmm... A tricky one to review.
Some great bits, and some not so great bits. Relative to most hotels in Rome, this is very good. Very helpful staff; a nice, out of the way, location (I'll come back to that); good breakfasts, comfy beds and rooms with all the mod cons, and a small boutique feel - more akin to an upmarket bed and breakfast, as opposed to a typical hotel. Some lovely, if somewhat frazzled, staff.
It is out of the main part of Rome, and for the most part, this is a good thing. It's a quiet, upmarket neighbourhood, and you feel (mostly) safe. However, if you are in Rome after about 10:00pm, the bus back to the hotel is very tricky, partly because the area is not familiar, so you don't know where to get off, and partly because it is suburban, so less touristy, and less easily accessed. That said, it is a minor issue, and once you know where to go to catch the bus, and where to get off, all is well.
However, the major negative aspect comes from the owner's problem with feedback. If you look at Tripadvisor, whenever anyone offers even the mildest criticism, the owner jumps on to Tripadvisor (as is her right), and offers a range of reasons (excuses) for any failure and sometimes even crticises the reviewer, rather than simply accepting the feedback, and trying to address it. As you read the responses, you actually feel as if the owner is vilifying the reviewer for being honest, rather than actually accepting that maybe all experiences aren't five stars.
I think that this is a real problem with a lot of review sites - everyone believes that they deserve five stars, when the reality is that five stars is for an exceptional, not acceptable, experience.