Residenza Torre Colonna

It's a cheap, clean hotel with friendly staff, close to the tourist spots. As a girl traveling alone, I felt safe staying here. They also leave plenty of coffee, beer, and water in the little room fridge, all free.

The rooftop terrace has a fantastic view, worth tackling the creepy spiral staircase for. Staff were friendly and helpful, and the room was decent, with what you'd expect from a Rome hotel. Most attractions are close enough to walk to.

You can walk to the Colosseum, Trevi, and Pantheon in less than 10 minutes. I liked that access to the hotel is by security code, and the rooms were clean, though not very spacious. The location was great for getting around Rome, while the street itself was quieter than some others. What let me down was the missing breakfast. Google's “about” page says there's “breakfast in dining room overlooking the city,” and I only book places with free breakfast to save time and money on trips packed with activities. The hotel should remove that claim from Google.

The rooms are attractive and have some character, and the staff were friendly and attentive. Traffic makes the area noisy, though the windows are well insulated. I tried calling the only landline number listed on the website several times, but nobody answered.