Luxury Trastevere

The central spot in Trastevere was the only real plus. We stayed one night in the Raffaello room on November 13, and it wasn't nearly as cute in person as the website photos suggested. The bed was very firm. I knew there was no elevator and that we'd have stairs, and I had packed earplugs for the nightlife and church bell. I hadn't realized the bell rings every 15 minutes through the night. Cars can't reach the property, so we had to be dropped off and picked up a few minutes away, then walk with our luggage. The smell made the stay terrible: musty, with a campfire-smoke scent, then around 3:00am the room filled with cigarette smoke. I woke up feeling suffocated by it and couldn't work out where it was coming from or how it got in. I opened the window to clear the air, but then the bells were louder, a dog barked for hours, and there was random street noise.

We'd definitely stay again. For what we paid for a week with four people, the central location made it a good choice. Shops, restaurants, bars, and mini markets are all around, and taxis are easy to find at the Piazza. The terrace worked perfectly for morning coffee or an evening drink, and the two powerful air conditioning units were a godsend in the heat. There are lots of stairs from ground level, but at 50+ it didn't bother us. The owners communicated well from the very beginning, and the rooms are changed daily.

The place matched the pictures and was clean, beautiful, and comfortable. It's only a two-minute walk from one of Rome's most popular hangout spots, and there's a nice bar downstairs with great café and bakery goods. I'd happily return and recommend staying here.

We were surprised by the open doorway from the street and all the stairs leading up to a locked common room. I hadn't seen anything about the stairs, and knowing about them would've stopped me booking. I hurt myself carrying my suitcase up, which was especially frustrating since I still wanted to explore the area. The room was okay, though some lamps didn't work, and there was nothing luxurious about it. Breakfast was elsewhere, and we skipped it because I had no patience to ask the rude woman on the phone where to find it. The shower pressure was the best thing about the room. Someone in the building, a resident or another guest, smoked nonstop through the night. We found it disgusting.