Which do you prefer? Trying to decide between the two. Feel free to offer other suggestions too!

Have only stayed at the Aberdeen. A family run operation on Via Firenza (steps away from the Oceania recently mentioned), a safe and quiet side street between two major & busy streets. The front desk people cheerfully called a cab when we wanted one, and they always arrived promptly. Aberdeen personnel also offered to obtain Rome Opera tickets (it is just down the same street)for us when we mentioned we were having trouble. Our air-conditioned (we were there in August)room & bathroom were spotless. The bedroom was a bit spartan in decor, but had everything we needed. An armoire, a TV, bed, bedside tables, a chair and a desk. And, room to move around. A window with tiny balcony. The bathroom was enormous! Nearly as big as the bedroom. And very sunny, with a huge picture window. Plenty of hot water and a hair dryer that worked. The Aberdeen has a pleasant & nice buffet spread in the morning.

The Aberdeen is about a ten minute walk from Termini, and isn't too far from the Colosseum and Forum. In another direction, I'd estimate the Spanish Steps to be about a 20 minute walk.

We liked the Aberdeen and would happily stay there again. There was a computer in the front reception room for guests to use. And, there is an elevator in addition to the staircase for those who may need it. The staircase is more conveneintly located next to the check in desk, but sometimes an elevator is handy to have!

Eliztrav, we're staying at the Aberdeen in 2 weeks so that's good to hear!

My wife and I stayed at the Hotel Italia last Feb. We enjoyed the hotel. Our room was across the street in the "annex". It was small (larger than our room in London however) and very clean. The hotel floors are nicer than the building overall. The staff seemed friendly, though we had no problems or unusual requests. Breakfast was quite good and abundant. The location is okay as it's very close to Via Nazionale with its many bus routes (including the "tourist" route 64), fairly close to the Metro at Pizza della Republica, and not too far (but not too close) to Termini. I seem to recall it was 10-15 minutes to Trevi Fountain or the Piazza Navona/Campo d'Fiori areas by foot. (However, we're generally pretty quick walkers.) All in all we'd stay there again. (FYI, we only payed €74, but this included a low season and Rick Steves discount.)

Enjoy your trip,
Paul

My family stayed at the Hotel Aberdeen last month. I would recommend it as well. We stayed two nights - our first and last night in Italy. The rooms are all different - we had a total of 4 separate rooms, some have large bathrooms and some do not (just to let you know not all are huge). But it was clean and the air conditioning was such a relief! The internet site was also convenient (and free!)

Kellib,

I stayed at the Hotel Italia a year ago and was well satisfied with our accommodations and the service offered. eliztray offered a thoughtful review of the Aberdeen, though, so given the choice and prices being equal,her review tempts me to try the Aberdeen next time.

Since you seem to be a new poster, I'll make the suggestion people on this site often make - that you use Fodor's text search feature to find reviews of both hotels. In the text box, type the following phrase exactly (including the quotation marks):

"hotel italia" and rome

That brought up about 33 threads when I just did it. Repeat the process for the other hotel, substituting its name in the quotation marks.

I just remembered, if you mention the Rick Steves book, the Aberdeen gives you the special rate quoted in it (assuming they still have one - I haven't checked the 2004 book to see if the offer is there). I didn't even have to ask them for it....they volunteered the discount when I said I'd read about them in the Steves guidebook.

We did get a discount after she asked me if we heard about them in the Rick Steves guidebook-it was about 15% if I remember correctly.

Actually Hotel Aberdeen offers the discount without being asked.

Thanks everyone... they both seem pretty equal. For some reason, Aberdeen is a two star and Italia is a three star. Not sure why Italia is more stars. Going to be a tough choice.
Mary_Fran - thanks for the suggestion. Actually I did search both and they both had good reviews. I was kinda just hoping someone would tell me "stay here instead of there". I am quite indecisive.