My boyfriend and I booked Hotel Pisana Palace almost by accident...we went for a cheap deal on lastminute.com - a 'secret hotel' deal. It said that "this offer is so good that the hotel chain don't want to advertise that they are giving such a low price". We knew this was a risk but the price (£184 for 4 nights) and the location 'easy access to the vatican city' proved too much temptation and we plumped for the 'secret hotel' obviously ending up with the Hotel Pisana Palace … and…all in all I think we really landed on our feet!

I was initially very disappointed to find out how far out of town it is (12km) but despite being inconvenient it’s not the end of the world as town is accessible. The 881 bus runs from 5.30am to 12midnight everyday and stops outside the hotel and drops off at the edge of the Centro Storico. It takes 20- 30 minutes depending on traffic, which isn't too bad, but longer if you take into account the hanging around at the bus stop waiting - there isn’t a timetable so you just have to hope you are lucky. My estimate is that they come every 15 - 20 mins during the day and less frequently at night.

I would really recommend getting hold of a bus map – available at http://www.atac.roma.it/index.asp?p=18&i=14

As for the hotel itself it has been recently renovated and is very modern, and clean to the point of clinical. The interior feels minimalist and a little space age – but it is functional more than anything and although it’s not luxurious, everything is comfortable – with big beds, strong showers and well adjusted air conditioning.

The staff are friendly without being fawning and speak serviceable English. The buffet breakfast had plenty of options (cereal, bread, cake, tinned fruit, yoghurt, eggs, bacon, ham, cheese) however my only complaint is that things were never refilled. If they ran out of butter that was it, it was gone. And the muesli was finished on the first day and never replaced. Small gripe.

Getting to Pisana Palace from Ciampino Airport
I think if you fly into Fiumicino airport it is a fairly direct route to the hotel. However we flew into Ciampino and it was a bit more complex.
You could of course get a taxi, but if you have the time and not the budget for that the best way to do it seems to be: Get a Terravision bus from outside departures to Termini in central Rome (4Euros), then walk round the corner to the bus stop and get on a 64 bus (direction St Peters), this takes you through the old town, across the river then under a tunnel, you want to get off the first stop after the tunnel and at the same bus stop you get off at you can get on a 881 which will take you direct to the hotel.

Stayed at this hotel for four nights a few weeks ago. After being messed around by the BA strikes, we ended up flying into the airport late at night, which put paid to our getting the train and bus to the hotel - no worries though as we were able to negotiate a transfer at the airport for 40 euros.
The check-in desk was manned by very helpful staff (who had a good command of English) who checked us in efficiently and directed us to our room, which was immaculately decorated (must have been one of the rooms that has been refurbished recently). As far as we could tell, they are not letting rooms out in the main body of the hotel - all the occupied rooms seemed to be in the same wing - I assume this is because refurbishment is ongoing but we heard no noise and saw no sign of this.
The one bugbear we had was that there was no shower curtain in the bathroom, so water went all over the floor. Aside from that, it was very tastefully decorated, very clean, and a huge room by anyone's standards.
There is a large flat-screen television in the room, a huge bed (and we had a camp-bed set up also, which made for a useful place to put our bags), air conditioning. The view is of the carpark but that can't be helped.
Location-wise, yes, it is out of central Rome, but the bus stop is literally directly across the road from the hotel. The buses are frequent and reliable, and relatively quick. Bus fares are one euro for a ticket with validity for 75 minutes, which is more than enough to get you in to central Rome (about 20 mins), or even changing onto another bus (64 or 40) to get to the station.
The first day we walked about a quarter mile down the road to the local tobacconist to buy bus tickets, but then realised that they do in fact sell them on the bus - there is a machine at the back vending them; once bought you then need to place them in the validation machine.
Another advantage is that the bus route starts just one stop down the road which means it's easy to get a seat on the bus!
Once in central Rome it's easy to walk everywhere, so public transport costs are limited to a couple of euros a day.
The breakfast buffet was substantial which not only featured the typical Italian breakfast of cake, yogurt, coffee etc but also German- (cold meats, cheese, bread, nutella) and English-style (bacon, eggs) breakfast. No complaints there, and the staff were very friendly.
We did have a drink in the bar on our first night; this was relatively pricey but pleasant. We got the impression that as the renovation is going on, the number of people actually staying in the hotel is quite low, so you may have a hard time if you wish to meet fellow travellers in the bar.
The hotel operate safety deposit boxes behind the main check-in desk. These are free to use and you are given the key to the safe to take with you, so we felt perfectly happy using this service.
Our one disappointment was that there was no swimming pool (which would have been nice given the climate!). However this wasn't expected and would just have been a bonus so it doesn't affect my rating at all.
All in all, a very pleasant stay for an exceptional price. Don't let the location put you off as it couldn't be easier to get in to town.

After reading some reviews on this site, we knew that it was going to be a bit far from the center of Rome...but didn't actually realize how far it was until we got there.

We landed at Leonardo Da Vinci airport and it cost about 40 euros to get to the hotel.

Transportation -
The closest metro stop is Cornelia on the A - Line; but it is NOT walking distance. The 881 bus is right outside the hotel and it will bring you to Vatican City in about 10-15 minutes. If you're trying to get to the center of Rome (Termini Station), the receptionist at the hotel will tell you to hop on the 881 to get to Cornelia station, but you might get lost doing that. Cornelia station is still a good 7-10 minute walk from where the 881 drops you off. What I suggest is to take the 881 towards Vatican City and get off right before a small tunnel. From there, transfer to the 64 and it will bring you to Termini station in about 20 minutes (depending on traffic).

Rooms -
The rooms were big and comfortable. They are newly renovated and very very comfortable and clean to sleep in. The LCD tv is a plus, but only has CNN as an english channel. The bathroom is big and very clean, but there are no curtains for shower! I didn't see any amenities besides shampoo and soap, so be sure to bring a toothbrush and toothpaste. Fresh towels were delivered daily.

Food -
The restaurant that they have is currently being renovated, but there is a small bar right by the lobby that serves up small snacks (pizza, sandwiches, etc and drinks. Don't expect to get a full meal, but if you're hungry in the middle of the night, it's great place to grab a quick snack. The breakfast buffet runs from 7:00AM - 10:30AM and is pretty good. There's a decent selection of pastries, cold cuts, along with eggs, bacon, and fresh juices.

Service -
The receptionists at Hotel Pisana are extremely friendly. They speak decent english, enough to understand you. If you are having any trouble at all, Bella speaks pretty good english and has been really helpful during my trip. The hotel offers shuttle service to the airport at 40 euros for 2 people, but taking a cab from the hotel has a fixed price of 35 euros. Right next to the hotel is a small pharmacy, but it is opened at random hours and random days. We stayed for about a week and only seen it opened once.

Not sure why this place gets even one bad review.

We stayed in one of the newer rooms, which are fantastic. The bed is large and comfortable, the room is large and comfortable as well as well appointed. The LCD Tv was great, though the movie and Wifi package was a bit pricey. The shower was one of the best I've had at a hotel. Very clean, and spacious. The buffet breakfast was very satisfying and the bar food was pretty good too, loved the pizza for 6.50 euros.

The hotel is about a 15 to 20 minute ride from the major attractions. It was also very easy to reach from the airport. The buses run frequently and honestly, we never once paid to ride the bus or the train from the airport since no one checks. It is cheap to ride the bus though, only 1 euro, we just didn't have change all the time. The train from the airport is now 8 euro each way, and is a short ride and no one checked, so save your money and act like you didn't know if caught.

We loved our stay in this modern hotel in a very unmodern city. It is being changed to a Holiday Inn, so prices will probably go up. Staff were very friendly and very helpful.

Take public transport to get here. The shuttle is expensive, 40 euro for two, and a taxi to the airport is about 34 euro. It took literally 30 minutes to get from the airport to the hotel by train then bus. And there's no cheaper than free. There aren't many restaurants within walking distance, but the hotel does offer a free shuttle to some local restaurants, but we were so full from dinner on the way back to the hotel we never used this service.