We spent 3 nights here exploring rome Jan 2012 & could not of found a better hotel for the price etc.
Staff were helpfull , room clean, & heating was fantastic, had to turn the heating down as our room was boiling hot & for January in rome thats fantastic.
Room was small but everything was there & after a days sightseeing we slept like a log.
Roof terrace was a bonus.

We recomend this hotel.

This was my third time in Rome, but my first time in Hotel Grifo.
My boyfriend and I stayed here from January 19th to January 22nd, 2012. We booked through Expedia and paid a total of 162 Euro for a three night stay, which is an unbeatable price for the location! You can walk to every attraction, and take a night stroll around the Colosseum, which is less than 10 minutes away.

After reading the reviews, I was a bit concerned about having a shared bathroom and about problems with the heating, so I wrote an e-mail and got an answer right away. They told me we would have our own ensuite bathroom, and that heating problems were already fixed. They're really nice and attentive, so if you have any doubts, e-mail them.

Our room (122) was not as small as people say, perhaps we were lucky. It was a normal room, only the shower was tiny. We had a window in the room an another in the bathroom, both facing the street, but we didn't suffer any noise because the windows are new. The bed was really comfortable, and everything was spotlessly clean. Decoration was quite tasteless, but hey, we only went there to sleep. The only thing I didn't like at all was the door; it seemed ancient and didn't fit the frame, so you could actually see the room's ceiling through a strip from the outside. Also, the key was very old and key wards were inexistent, so I'm pretty sure it would have fitted in other door's locks. It's a small place, so you didn't get a sense of insecurity because nobody can sneak inside without people noticing, but being a woman I wouldn't stay there on my own.

Breakfast was simple but nice; good coffee, croissants, cereal, juice, nutella, etc. I missed a toaster for the bread.

Free Wifi is a plus, and location is so nice that I'd probably stay there again. But please... NEW DOORS!

We stayed here for 5 nights in the summer of 2011. Very small, basic room. Beds were not too comfortable, but all seemed clean. Refrigerator was broken, but quickly replaced. Air conditioning strength was poor. Thank goodness for the terrace! After a very long day of sightseeing, it was nice to be able to sit outside and relax with our family, but still have some privacy. Shower extremely small, and I am a thin person. Breakfast had a good variety, but coffee is not ready until 6:00 a.m. (we're used to getting up and out early!). If I came down at 5:45 a.m. for coffee/tea only, the person (man) putting it out seemed very put off. When we checked in, the person working at that time (Jonelle) told us the room would not be ready until 1:00 p.m. So we went out for several hours, coming back at 12:50 p.m. He said it was not yet ready, so we took a seat in the bar area. At 1:00 p.m. I walked over to where I was sitting and asked him if it was ready and he said yes. So why could we not have gotten the room ten minutes sooner? Simple, he just wasn't going to do that. Before arriving at this hotel, I had confirmed that the price of our stay was good whether we paid with cash or credit card. I brought a copy of the confirmation email with, but not the particular page that said the price was the same, whether paid by cash or charge. So, of course, at checkout, Jonelle (again) would not honor the price quoted.....I showed him the page that quoted the price, but I didn't have the page with me that said the price wouldn't change if I used a credit card....Oh well, my mistake, right? After getting home, I attempted to resolve this matter with Rose, via email, and was given the complete run around; Live and learn, right? When I called my credit card company about this, they said "unfortunately, we see this sort of thing all the time in Italy". Truly unfortunate. Other than this incident, we enjoyed our stay in Italy. Bottom line, I would look elsewhere for lodging next time. Nearby, there are some decent, inexpensive places to grab a bite, close to Colleseum, grocery store (for cheap beer!!), short cab to Termini, bus to Vatican City. Good location.

Our family of 4 stayed there in late Nov-early December 2011. I am writing this because I had benefited from all the reviews of this and other hotels I got from Tripadvisor
1) great location - easy to zip back and use the toilets if necessary. Highly recommend you walk to/from all locations, even the Vatican City which is the attraction that is the furthest away. (Staff suggested we took the bus but it was hard to find the bus stop. In the end we asked someone on the street who told it was easier to take the Metro than the bus. Thank goodness the tickets we bought from the newsagent could be used for both the Metro and bus). Apart from the exercise you will get, you will avoid crowds in the buses which ply the tourist routes, which are famous for pickpockets
2) breakfast adequate though would have preferred more variety. Staff may be a bit slow in replenishing some breads so do go down early for breakfast
3) staff spoke reasonable English but directions given were not always clear
4) room small - had to always pack our luggage up to make room - but clean. Adequate for a night's rest
5) There is a grocery store nearby - good for buying fruits and bottled water
To get to the hotel from Termini be prepared to walk (when with luggage) up to half an hour (not 10min as stated on the hotel website) as the cobbled stones don't make it easy to drag any luggage. But persevere, following the directions on the website. Be warned that all travel guidebooks' maps are not so detailed, so you may think you have missed a street since you may feel you have walked a long way but don't see the street the hotel is on. If you prefer to take the Metro from Termini to Cavour station, you will need to climb up quite a lot of steps to reach the level where the hotel is, so you may not want to attempt that where you have luggage to pull/push along (instead of a backpack). However, when leaving the hotel, it will be easier to take the Metro from Cavour, because the line going towards Termini is built on a higher level than the line from Termini - no need to climb any steps
6) they do have a lift (all the rooms are not on the ground floor). It does work well, but it is very tiny so if you are travelling in a group/have lots of luggage you will not be able to enter all at the same time)
7) If you book directly via the hotel website (like I did), and pay in cash, there is an 8% discount. The discount is less if you had booked it through an agent (cannot recall what the manager quoted - may have been 5%, but luckily I remembered the 8% figure so I clarified with him. He checked that our booking was directly to the hotel, then confirmed that it was 8%)