We arrived at the hotel Celio, tired and hot after traveling by train from northern Italy. The man at the reception desk was brusque and indifferent. He did not give us his name. Right away things did not get off to a good start. He yelled at my son for putting his backpack on the couch beside him. Fair enough, but he had to continue to berate him for having done so. After demanding two pieces of photo id, why I don't know, he suddenly became irate because there were 5 passports. He said we had only booked a room for four. I had booked all our hotels in Italy, always getting two rooms, but I had mistakenly thought I was renting a spacious quadruple family apartment which could have a cot added. He became more and more irritated because the copier wasn't working properly and he couldn't copy our passports. I explained that obviously we were wrong but could we rectify the situation by getting two rooms. He mumbled and grumbled, but said we still had to take the quad room. After much prodding he said he could give us a single for 140 euros. We agreed, however, we later checked online and found that the rate for this room, was between 96 and 120 euro. When we got into our rooms, they were swelteringly hot. The single room had a horrible mildew smell from the bathroom. The so called spacious family quad was just a normal room with 3 beds packed next to each other. We figured we would be out all day and we could handle this, however, the A/C wasn't working so we could not sleep. My wife went down to talk to them about the heat and it turns out they control it with a switch underneath their desk. I had booked this hotel because they said they had A/C. For a while it worked then it stopped. The kids couldn't sleep and the next morning we were tired and not at all rested.

Unlike most of the reviews, we found the breakfast to be exactly as advertised. Nothing great, just a continental breakfast. The server, Antonella was very nice.

The next night was also sweltering, with no A/C. When my wife went to talk to him, he insisted on checking out the room. Our kids were lying on the beds in only their shorts, totally lethargic. He declared it wasn't hot and then said he couldn't make the room cold enough to satisfy Canadians. Yeah, right, obviously he hasn't been to Toronto in the summer. I wanted to check the internet, he said it wasn't working. We had picked this place because it supposedly had A/C and internet. The next day my wife went to see him and told him we were leaving. He told her we couldn't. After much arguing she asked to speak to the owner. He told us that the owner, Roberto was unavailable. Then he said he was in Russia. When we continued to press, he was suddenly able to get him on the phone. We thought the guy we were dealing with was rude but he was nothing compared to Roberto. Within a minute of talking to him, he asked my wife was she really wanted, and when she said an air conditioned room, he replied, "maybe you would like me to sprinkle rose petals on the ground where you walk". My wife replied that she considered herself a nice and fair person, and as he didn't know her, his comment was unwarranted. They still insisted we couldn't leave, and then said if we did, they would charge our visa for the full four nights. We negotiated and settled reluctantly on paying for the third night in order to get out of the contract. So beware when you give them your visa, it cost us an additional 190 euros to leave but much as we hated having to pay this, it was worth it. Finally we could enjoy Rome. Out new hotel had real A/C and very pleasant staff. Roberto told my wife he couldn't care less about negative reviews as he had loyal repeat customers. Perhaps thats what keeps them going and explains why the reviews are so polarized, but why take a chance on getting terrible customer service when there are so many hotels that value your business. For the life of me, I can't understand why this hotel is not even further down the rating list. The next street over has the Hotel Lancelot and the Hotel Capo D'Africa, both would be wonderful alternatives. This location is excellent for the Colliseum and though most of the restaurants are tourist traps, there are a few gems.

We stayed at the Celio Hotel for two days when we first arrived in Italy and it was very quiet and comfortable. We planned this trip around Karen Brown's Italy guidebook and she was spot on with her recommendation of this hotel. Roberto and his staff were very helpful and his charming little boy was very sweet. Roberto helped us make our arrangements for our train trip to Venice, Florence and then back to Rome where we stayed an additional three days in the Celio Hotel's beautiful suite. The hotel is just steps to good restaurants, market and of course - The Colosseum, Forum, Palatine Hill were just a few blocks away as well as the metro which was so handy to drop us at all the other Rome highlights. Roberto then helped us with our arrangements to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast.

We just got back from Rome and a cruise. We stayed at Hotel Celio both before and after our cruise for a couple of nights. We thought the decor of our room and the bathroom was really nice. The hotel staff were very nice and supremely helpful. They arranged cars to and from the airport, recommended restaurants, and advised on sites to see. The breakfast were good continental breakfasts with delicious croissants, yogurt, cheese, rolls, juice, and coffee. The hotel is close to most of the ancient city sites and right around the corner from the metro station, bus stops, and a taxi stand. Our room also had a private terrace that we enjoyed immensely. The only downside is that the shower is on the small side, but this is pretty typical in European hotels and we were certainly able to shower. The size of our room was fine and the bed was heavenly which is important after walking around Rome all day. There are loads of restaurants in the neighboring streets that are very good. We really liked the Hotel Celio and would certainly stay there when we go back to Rome.

My wife and I had a great holiday at this hotel. The owner and staff were very friendly once we had made the initial effort to chat to them. Nothing was a trouble for them. The hotel is wonderfully placed to visit the Colosseum, Forum, Palatine and the Metro Station. Great small restaurants in the adjacent streets and small supermarkets should you wish to get wine or beer to consume in the hotel room. The showers are small but no different to other places we have stayed in around Europe. Breakfast is taken inside a courtyard marquee. Great place which I would recommend and would return to.