Picking a hotel in Rome can be tough, particularly if you’re travelling in a peak season (vacation or a busy European bank holiday). Central hotels are easily too expensive.
The alternative is to stay outside the centre but somewhere with good transport links.

The Cilicia fits the latter category. On the one hand, the metro is too far out to be counted on, it’s a good 20 minute walk up the street, hardly worth the hassle.

The bus network though is likely to be your best friend while staying at the Cilicia. Here are tips for the 3/4 buses you should keep in mind, departing from Piazza Zama which is a 5 minute walk up from the hotel:
360 brings you to the Colosseum area
673 brings you to Termini
628 to the Piazza Venezia / Argentina / Piazza Navona area (maybe even the Vatican if you are willing to endure the 15 minute walk from there) and ultimately goes to Giardino which is a 5 minute walk from the Ponte della Musica which you should cross to visit the MAXXI Modern Art Museum and the Auditorium (Music).

However be careful regarding the "return leg" as during my stay (late Oct.'11) 628 could not be relied on to come back (it was so infrequent bordering on non-existent!); a good alternative if you're in the city centre is bus 87 which is frequent and comes through Argentina to Piazza Venezia and brings you to Piazza Tuscolo, an easy 10 minutes walk up the road from the hotel (hence a descent when coming back from downtown in the evening or night).
In the morning you should count on 45-50 mins door to door from hotel to city centre if you're going by bus. Do keep in mind that traffic in Rome is hectic, what looks like a relatively short distance can take some time to cover. Also, during rush hours buses can be absolutely packed!

As for nearby restaurants, right next to Piazza Tuscolo is a nice place called Mangiafuoco with decent prices (15 to 20 Eur per person) and good food. But there are few decent places to eat close to hotel, you're better off dining in the city centre (Campo dei Fiori and surroundings, for instance). For any die hard AS Roma fans out there though the most fanatical of Roma café/restaurants sits 100 metres from the hotel, Co re Di Roma it’s called (when exiting the hotel to the right, take the first left then the first right).

As for location positives: it’s rather close to an entrance to the Via Appia Antica and apparently the info. point is rather close by (unfortunately I missed the opportunity to see it). It’s simple enough: exit to the left of the hotel and walk Via Cilicia for some 200 metres, an exit to the right descending from Via Cilicia onto the Via Appia Antica.

Rooms are comfortable and large enough (sorry that I didn’t take any pictures, but the hotel pictures can be relied upon). Breakfast is simple as it tend to be in Rome hotels of this standard, but it's just enough.

For the price I paid (just under 70 Eur per night per room incl. breakfast for 2) I have no complaints really. I got what I expected and I consider it very good value. If you plan on leaving the hotel in the morning and to come back late in the evening or night, you know what to expect and you will be fine.

If it’s your first time in Rome you may be a little frustrated at the location and prefer somewhere more central - your pick. If you’ve been to Rome though and willing to endure a bit of walking (as you should in Rome, it's a walker's city by excellence) and public transportation it’s absolutely fine and you will relish the money that you saved on the lodging.