I've got to speak up for the Daphne Trevi again! The location was just fine. Now, if you want a very posh high-rent area that's not the Trevi. The neighborhood feels more real, not all tourist-y. The Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona are all within 10 minutes of walking.

Although there isn't a lobby like you'd get in a hotel, the breakfast area is available all day - we'd sit out with our friends and chat there. They also have a laptop with Internet connections available to guests 24/7, so although there's no cable TV, you can check cnn.com.

As far as room size, it varies. My husband and I had a small room. There was a bed, a little desk, an armoire and 2 little night-stands. Our friends had a more spacious room - the same furnishings but more space. I will say that I've had rooms that were just as small in hotels - I don't think the rooms at the Trevi were unusually small by European hotel standards.

My wife and I stayed at the Daphne Veneto for 4 nights last March. Run by the same folks over at the Daphne Trevi. We highly recommend it and them. Hospitality and service were first rate and for us that was critical. Nothing like being in a foreign country and being able to get personalized and friendly help from a staff that speaks perfect english. That's why we prefer smaller hotels and B&Bs when we travel abroad.

The Daphnes location is very good altho plan on walking, which is probably true no matter where you stay. Personally, I think Travestere is a bit removed from the more popular places first time visitors are likely to hit.

The area around the Daphnes is very safe. The Piazza Barberini is a half block away and it is there that the famous Via Veneto and all it's great shops start. There's even a Lambourgini (sp?) dealer on that Piazza.

I would urge you to do a little more research. First, as Ira noted, you can search here. Simply type in the name of the places you are considering and you'll get a ton of info. You may not have stumbled upon www.tripadvisor.com. yet. I highly recommend checking it out because it contains a ton of reviews from travellers just like you and me. When you get to "Rome hotels", you'll see a separate tab for "B&Bs/Inns". Click on that and you'll see the Daphne Trevi is in the top 10 of some 200 such places. You'll be able to find the other hotels by using the search box once you're back in the "Rome hotels" section. Very easy site to navigate and very informative. You may also want to consider www.venere.com which is another excellent resource for picking hotels/B&Bs. You get an interactive map showing you where in Rome the various hotels they can book are located.

Good luck! Dave

Thanks guys! I have definitely trimmed my list to the Daphne, Hotel Ponte
Sisto, and the Albergo del Senato. At least that is a start. I crossed the Hotel Santa Maria off my list. Probably booked anyway. I find one problem is that they don't tell you what kind of room you are getting for your money. I have emailed some hotels with specific questions, and many don't answer them. All hotels have different levels of a double room. Some are larger than others and better located. What I found strange is that the Hotel Ponte Sisto quoted me a rate 200 euros more for my entire stay than a booking agency reservationsitaly. When I emailed the hotel and mentioned that, they never gave me a direct answer. They also didn't offer to meet reservationitaly's price.

What I wanted to know from people who stayed at the Daphne Trevi is how are the bathrooms (ensuite)and are there any common rooms with a sofa or chairs to hang out in?

Regarding the Daphne Trevi. Our room had an ensuite bathroom. The bathroom was small, but very clean and modern. There was a shower, no tub. But I'm a shower person so that is just fine for me. There was plenty of hot water and good water pressure.

There was a common area on our floor where we had breakfast. We used it to hang out with our friends who were travelling with us. There were not any sofas - just the breakfast tables and chairs. This was fine for our purposes - our priority was to be out seeing Rome, not to hang around in the room.

Thanks for all the information.

In May 2005, we stayed at the Hotel Portoghesi and loved it again. It was a bit less than $200 then. The room was very, very nice. The staff is very friendly (all speack excellent English) and have good restaurant recommendations. The hotel is in a great location conveniently between Pl Navona and Pl Rotunda - but on a very quiet street. The roof garden (where the breakfast room is located) is a great place to relax in the late afternoon. It was our second stay, and we highly recommend it.

The Daphne Trevi (near Barberini and the Trevi Fountain) is a very good location. I usually stay up the street (Purificacion) at the small but delightful Hotel Modigliani...near Spanish Steps and comfortable walking distance to Navona and Fiori...we keep to the smaller boutique lodgings everywhere in Europe and love it that way. By the way, the Modigliani is under $200, too. Several people on this board have sung its praises. Just tyope in "Hotel Modigliani" and their web pages tell all.

Stu T.