I agree zeppole. Curious thing is that another of the hotels I'm somewhat interested in has also not replied, viz. Capo d'Africa. (Whereas both Ponte Sisto and Mellini replied promptly in full and courteous detail.) Service is important to me and it does make me wonder about the hotels who don't respond. (though I suppose that lapse might have little to do with attention once one is on the scene)

I have stayed at Capo d'Africa many times with my wife and daughter and have very much enjoyed it. I recommend it.

Poss,

Sometimes in a family-run hotel, the problem is that only some members of the family use the computer -- and if they have some days off, there's a backlog. Another problem may be with servers located off-site, they break down, but those people are on holiday and the hotel is stuck! But you know in America someone would figure out an alternative way to get to the e-mails.

I'm actually a pretty tolerant hotel guest and seldom complain if I'm not thrilled or get unhappy with something. But I really do like to have confidence that if I need to contact these people while in transit, they've got their front desk organized. That's what make me reluctant to stick with hotels that don't respond to my e-mails.

poss, if you're main concern in quiet, you might consider Le Rovere, in a tranquil odd spot between Trastevere/Giancolo and St Peter's. Or if you can find something well-reviewed on Trip Advisor on the via Margutta, it's pedestrianized.

Ah, the Aventine Hill people finally answered my e-mail! I'm still unclear about several things, but I think that gradually these details will get answered. I'd love if people who know Anselmo or Pio well would talk more about the specific rooms and bathrooms. We much prefer shower stalls to tubs (with full glass enclosure)-- it's difficult to tell whether these hotels have that kind of thing. The hotels both look wonderful though (if a bit fancy and gilded for our tastes). I'm hoping for more comparisons/contrasts between the two.

melspring: In most ways we'd much prefer to stay in the area where Capo d'Africa is. I.e., we'd prefer to be in closer walking distance to sites. It's annoying (very annoying) that Capo simply has not answered any of my repeated inquiries. Capo gets a lot of not so good reviews on Trip Advisor (but what doesn't), and of course the main thing I'm concerned about is the reports about noise-- noisy elevators, noisy trash collectors, noisy street, etc. Anything you can tell me in detail about Capo would be much appreciated.
I've got our choice narrowed down to one of those Aventine hotels or Capo d'Africa. More homework (and more input from these very helpful websites-- I am so very appreciative) should enable me to settle on one before too long.

THANK YOU!

Interesting comments about Italian bed sizes;apparently there is no precise definition of matrimoniale:



http://www.vbella.com/essays/bed.asp