I stayed four nights at the Best Western Hotel Astrid. Unfortunately, the walls are very thin. For…read morethe first two nights, I could hear the alarm from the room next door going off at 6 a.m., and for the next two nights there was loud conversation that made it difficult to sleep. The hotel is also a bit far from central Rome, so getting to major attractions takes extra time. I booked through Hotels.com and was surprised to find that taxes were not included in the booking price, resulting in an additional $56 charge when checking out. On the positive side, there's a grocery store right next door with good prices and a deli, which was very convenient. There's also a gelato shop next door that was excellent and a nice treat after a long day. Overall, the location and noise issues made the stay less comfortable, but the nearby amenities were a plus.

Beautiful hotel! Friendly and empathetic staff!…read more The shower is a challenge to move in if you are not a 5'9" 110lb model. My 6'2" hubby really struggled. I did too. However, the water pressure is outstanding, easy to use, and SO clean! Happy to see both a toilet and bidet! The room is spaced well with great amenities!

Collectively in the last couple of years, I've stayed here a few nights. While a four star resort…read moredoes usually make you think a bit luxury... This is far from it. First impressions are great. Renovated rooms, appealing halls and common areas, beautiful grounds, parking, wifi, a real gym, tennis courts and swimming pool.... But the reality is not as nice. The beds are stiff. They give you one hard flat pillow per person. The bathrooms are spacious and modern but poorly designed. Great water pressure though! The toiletries are only bar soap, a shower cap and body wash from a wall dispenser. One large towel per person. The swimming pool opens early June despite May's average temperatures being plenty warm to go swimming. The music for the group fitness classes in the basement can be heard on the third floor. The location is quiet but there were no real curtains or way to shut out sunlight, only slotted shutters and a privacy sheer curtain. When the hotel is full, parking can be tricky as well. The breakfast is sad. Boiled eggs, Canadian bacon, frozen and thawed variety of cakes and Italian croissants, small selection of very low quality cheeses and sliced meats, sliced white bread, stale cereal, room temperature milk, yogurt & water, concentrated juices from a machine, and an all-in-one dispenser machine for coffees, hot milk, hot water etc. Overall the price and location and activities make it a great option. But if you just want a good night sleep, relaxing shower and nice breakfast I do NOT recommend it. If you take away the gym and sport amenities this is far away from being a four star hotel.

Our first hotel in Rome was a step up from a hostel but was far away from the center of the city…read more It is located next to the Euclide station with a bank and grocery store on the same street. It's about an hour away from the airport. We could have taken the train from the airport but opted for a shuttle transfer instead. Both took about the same amount of time but this way there was a guarantee that we'd arrive without much effort. It was nice being so close to the metro station because we could easily hop on and go where ever we wanted. Once inside central Rome, it was easy to maneuver on foot. The staff is extremely nice here. We had to pay a deposit of 10 euro for a safe key which was refunded when the key was returned. The beds were just ok and the pillows could have been softer. Towels were a good size and the room was comfortable. However, even though it was a non-smoking room, I could smell smoke whenever I entered it. Either the maids smoke or the ventilation in the rooms are very poor. Our heater worked just fine but I heard from other guests that their heater within their rooms didn't work. The hotel is larger than I thought because they also have a large banquet room, breakfast room and a bar. The elevators are quite small but at least there's an elevator. There's no elevator to the 9th floor, it only goes up to 8 and you'll have to take the stairs from there. It's good for group travelers or business travelers located in a sketchy neighborhood in Rome.

I'm comparing this to American lifestyle…read more CONS The elevators are small. I mean fits 2 people and few pieces of luggage, but that's Italian lifestyle. The A/C is more of a fan (or so I was told), but I wouldn't know since mine was broken. Rude front desk. We were part of a tour group and arrive much earlier than our group but the front desk still gave us attitude and very little service. The breakfast is nothing spectacular. I ended up eating either cereal with milk or croissant with cheese. Everything else looked funny or tasted overly sweet. Also, the coffee machine came out watered down. PROS However, it is well-located to public transportation, restaurants (try Gina's light yummy meals) and more. Use the juice or coffee dispenser to refill our water bottles.

Good location for the locals. Newer facilities for the travelers. Very small rooms for Marriott…read morechain hotel. Short term, less than 5 days will work.

This hotel was booked for me by a friend, so I went into it knowing nothing. But if I'm fortunate…read moreenough to return to Rome, I will definitely stay there again. Here're my reasons: 1. Location. It's nowhere near the touristy areas of Rome. This means that it is much more affordable, and much quieter. So I not only enjoyed my stay in Rome, I also enjoyed my stay at the hotel. 2. Price. Way more affordable than the hotels in the historic district. 3. Staff. Oh my gosh, could they have been any nicer? I guess maybe if they had thrown me on their shoulders and walked me up to my room every night, but I honestly didn't want to impose. They were truly so lovely and accommodating. The daytime front desk staff speak English; in the evening or early morning hours, the folks who are on speak little to none. The beautiful thing about the Italians (I am Italian and can speak from experience) is that they truly don't care. They'll still speak to you in Italian, you'll speak back in English, each of you will toss in the handful of words you know in either language in a loud voice because that helps with comprehension, and somehow you'll have a full conversation and get what you need. Love that. 4. Rooms. My room was perfect for one person and had recently been renovated. And it was on a long, shared deck. I will say, however, that I went just a few weeks ago -- and already the mosquitoes were out. And my people, they aren't so into window screens. So I returned to the US with so many bumps and bites on me I looked like a gourd. I don't think all rooms have air conditioning, so you'd want to ask about that when booking the room. Also, the rooms are limited in size -- so if you're a family of, say, 5 or 6, there may not be a room big enough to accommodate you -- just ask them to confirm. My room was kept very clean and the bed was super comfortable (I like a firm mattress and I slept like a dead person there). Some things to know about this hotel: a. There is no restaurant, although they do serve breakfast in the morning. Very basic, typical European continental breakfast: Meat and cheese platter, some cereals (muesli), and coffee. I have to say, this isn't the country of sit down with a nice big cup of coffee in the morning and linger while you wake up -- it is the country of take some hi-test petrol, color it black and pour it through a machine with some hot water to make espresso. The good news, however, is that one drink of it on a Monday and you stay awake until Thursday. There are, however, restaurants within walking distance, and I've written reviews of several, so hopefully that'll help. b. If you cannot walk a bit and especially if you cannot do stairs, this is not the hotel for you. (Actually, to be honest, Rome isn't the city for you -- tons of cobblestones, challenging even for the able-bodied). Now, if you are living with a physical challenge and use a wheelchair, walker, crutches, etc., there is a back entrance, but you'd need to be driven through it and up to the back. Cabs can get expensive. The main entrance is reached by going through the gate near a taxi kiosk, and then about a 5 minute walk up stairs to the actual hotel. The hotel is entirely gated, which was one of its appeals. c. There is a city bus stop across the street from the front gates, and for only one euro you can take a roughly 20-minute ride that drops you right off in the historic district. Don't waste your money on cabs. I did this and was able to walk around Piazza di Spagna and the neighboring streets. All in all, a really wonderful visit. I heartily recommend this hotel.

I stayed a while ago but it was amazing! They had an amazing brunch and the staff was very cute and…read moreproud of the display. When I travel back I will stay again!

Let's see, where do I even begin? Chronologically, I guess…read more Check-in: We booked this hotel--for our 3-year anniversary, no less--through HotelTonight. Upon arrival after a long drive from Modena and stressful drive through Rome, we were rudely told they could not find our reservation and that the hotel was full. We were able to get it sorted out through the lovely service of HotelTonight. It was not The Duke Hotel's fault but the front desk man was still rather rude and unapologetic--so much for hospitality. Also, if the hotel was full, how did we suddenly get a room? Hmmm.... Room: The A/C was broken and only after multiple calls to the front desk, did maintenance finally come up to "fix it." He even patronizingly said not to touch it afterwards, as though we broke it!! Oh, and by "fix it," I meant the fan started working but by no means did cool air come out of that vent--ugh. By the time we realized it was not getting cooler, it was close to midnight and we were too tired to lug all our suitcases back down and find a new hotel. Did I mention how stressful it is driving through Rome?? Is that what the man meant when he said the hotel was fully booked? All the fully operational rooms were booked?! Ugh...would've much rather gotten our refund and found a hotel earlier in the night if so. Shower: Rusty drain. Moldy corner. I wish I had taken a photo. The worst part though? Rather than have the shower head aim the length of the tub, as all normal ones do, this one aimed down the width of the tub, causing the shower curtain to billow and spraying water all over the bathroom floor. Fuhhhhhh! Breakfast: New morning, new staff, new service, right? Nope. Breakfast was supposedly 7a-11a, but upon arrival the first morning at 10:30a, we were the only ones there, given no welcome, and given death stares from the staff, who cleared things away AS WE WERE EATING. They certainly did not take our coffee order either (the sign clearly stated that cappuccinos and espressos were part of the breakfast buffet). 2nd/final morning, we arrived earlier, around 9:30, as we were itching to get out of the shitty hotel. There were other patrons there, however, still no "Prego" or "Buongiorno" from the staff, and certainly no taking of our coffee orders either, though I waited patiently and watched as they took orders from 2 other tables. Are they racist or something?????? Note that our stay in Rome was part of a larger European vacation and it was not our first city in Italy, so we had other (much better) experiences to compare to. Suffice to say, I would never come back to The Duke Hotel nor recommend it to anyone I know.

Simply mediocre. The rooms were very small, and wreaked of mold and "old hotel." The air…read moreconditioner didn't work too well either. Luckily, the weather outside was cool enough for it to suffice to crack open a window. The beds were old and may have had bed bugs. We woke up each morning with a few bites. It was uncomfortable as well, as you could feel the springs on your back. That being said, the breakfast here (included) was excellent! Perhaps the only thing that prevented me from being completely disgusted with this hotel is the quality of their breakfast (along with the super friendly staff). They have a wide variety of baked good, cheeses, meats, cereal, yogurt, and juice/milk/coffee. The cream-filled croissants with powdered sugar were my favorite. For those not wanting to pay at least €20 to get to any of the major parts of the city everytime, I would not recommend staying here. It was extremely inconvenient to get around, especially for those not from Italy.