Friends from Belgium invited us from Los Angeles, California to spend the week with them at the Villa Habsburg Porta Metronia in Rome, Italy. We found it to be beautiful and well maintained, with lovely gardens and spectacular views of the Baths of Caracolla. For history buffs, a large part of the old Roman city wall runs along one side of the property. It's located at the end of a gated, private driveway; just steps away from a city bus line. Our apartment was very large and easily accommodated the four of us. There was no air conditioning but the floor fans worked very well. We enjoyed the garden patio for breakfast every morning. The villa is very private, quiet and secure. Our visit to this charming villa was a unique experience and a place we will remember fondly.

We returned this week from a 23 day tour of various cities in Europe, ending in Rome where we stayed at Villa Habsburg (aka Porta Metronia and Valley Castle...). I felt compelled to write a review of this property to make other travellers considering a stay at the Villa aware of what they are getting.

First off, readers must know that our stay was in the Piano Nobile (the flat on the second floor), and I will only be speaking about that accomodation as I have no knowledge of the guest houses or other apartments in the Villa.

The Piano Nobile is very spacious...3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kichen and living room area. The grounds are beautiful, and the location along the Aurelian wall is unique. You will enjoy very nice views from all of the bedrooms. The Villa is about a 10 to 15 minute walk to the Colosseum and city busses are very nearby.

The apartment, is advertised as "newly restored," however, is not in good condition. There are numerous problems with plumbing (notes around the bathroom suggest that previous tennants are responsible for this), rotted windows which are impossible to open (without forcing which is not advisable due to the possiblity of breaking them), dilapidated and broken shutters (again attemps to open may result in ruination), and severe lack of outside lighting. Additionally, potential travellers should know that in spite of being advertised, there is no lift available (the owner indicated that a guest broke it and it will not be repaired) and predictably, no air conditioning.

These last two issues are of concern since the apartment is up two curved flights of stairs and the lack of air during a stifling Roman summer is almost overwhelming (although the management can hardly be held accountable for that).

The lack of lighting issue is also important. The Villa rests at the top of a hill. You walk up a semi-steep drive (gravel and stone) to reach it. Our first evening, coming in after dark, we opened the gate at street level and were dismayed to find the drive unlit. We trudged forward up to the front door only to find no front light to facilitate finding the key hole to open the door. We fumbled around with the key until we opened the door, however, this is totally unnecessary and guests should not have to be put out in this manner.

The apartment is totally self catering...you are supplied one bath towel , a hand towel for each bathroom, bedding, a bottle of hand soap for each bathroom (used by previous guests), and one roll of toilet paper for each bathroom (I asked the housekeeper for two more and she looked stricken!). The kitchen is equipped. There is no maid service, and no further supplies given. We supplied our own bath soap, shampoo, facial tissue etc. You must understand this before you rent.

The apartment was fairly clean...however, anything over the 5 foot mark was not touched, and therefore very dusty (i.e. the molding in the bathrooms over the tile). Additionally, walls and doors are covered with dirty handprints left from many others renters...scrubbing or even a coat of paint would take care of this and give the feeling of a cleaner environment.

Next comes the water issue. The information supplied by the owner indicated there were 3 bathrooms. We never did find the 3rd. This was important since the boilers had to be turned on and off alternately to afford hot water. One boiler turned on in the morning for two of the bathrooms, and one turned on in the evening to supply hot water to the kitchen and the 3rd bath and so on. This was problematic since we could (as stated) only locate two bathrooms. We ended up with only cold water for our 3 day stay, however, due to the heat and lack of a/c, the cold showers were actually appreciated. You will need to work this out with the owner, however, if you wish to have hot water.

Finally, I feel the most problematic thing with Villa Habsburg (Porta Metronia) is the owner's attitude. If she wishes to be in the vacation rental business, she really needs to change her mindset about doing prospective renters a favor by allowing them into her property. This approach came through very clearly in the 10 plus pages of instruction (front and back), and rantings about previous renters who did not follow her instructions to the letter and who caused her to be disturbed. This is followed up by numerous signs, notes, etc. in the apartment with further rules and threats of the tennant being charged for anything that may go wrong with the property. We found the owner to be neither available (she lives in Austria), nor interested in any issue we may have had while on our own in her home. She made it clear that any contacts would be unwelcome, and that the staff was instructed not to speak with the renters. Considering the amount that is charged (we paid $1800 U.S.) for four nights for four people, there should have been some feeling of welcome. There was not, and on the contrary, we felt most decidedly uncomfortable and fearful that something would go wrong during our stay and we would be held responsible. This is no way to run a business or treat customers.

Again, this information is being supplied so travellers can make an educated decision. As stated in the opening of this review, be very aware of exactly what you are getting when you choose to stay at Villa Habsburg (Porta Metronia). For some, this will be exactly what they are looking for, for others however (such as ourselves) we expected much more for our money.

This review is rather late but I have only discovered Trip Advisor recently. I suppose that things may have changed but when we visited the Villa Habsburg the basement flat was very dingy indeed. The furniture was uncomfortable and very old and battered, the kitchen facilities were very poor and our ideas of self catering were scuppered. The bedroom was uncomfortable and the only windows were over 6 feet up. The garden was pleasant with a nice area for picnic lunches. The surrounding streets were defaced by graffiti but in contrast to the Villa the local restaurants were very welcoming, reasonable and the food excellent. Thr couple who stayed in the flat before us were similarly unimpressed and our detailed letter of complaint was not answered. In retrospect we should have checked out on DAY 1. I would recommend asking for intrerior photographs of the accomadation before even considering a booking. I hope things have improved since our visit but I have my doubts! Dorset Doctor.

Fantastic location, accommodation is good, bedrooms in Piano Nobile, terraces and views excellent. The gardens are exceptional and it's in Central Rome. If you don't encounter any problems you will have a great time in this villa. We wish we had not had problems.

We were very cold, we asked for heating to be turned on, and it was, on one occasion. Despite asking for heating on three other occasions, our spokesperson was very rudely told (by the owner) it wouldn't be and we were advised to buy and wear socks. There were eight of us and we were very cold. This is a large old house, we rented five bedrooms, three in the Piano Nobile and one in each Tower. We had two portable heaters in the main apartment but after a powercut (which we were accused of causing) the portable heaters were removed from the very cold tower rooms. We opened the windows to let the heat in to the rooms each morning.

We have extracted word for word the details regarding heating from the owners extensive information pack.

"Heating in Rome is permitted from Nov 1st until March 15th for in our case nine hours per day. This is found by the great majority of our guests to be amply sufficient, four in the morning, and five in the afternoon/evening.

However, sometimes the odd person, especially elderly family members do prefer warmer surroundings. We can usually work our way around the rules – after all who would not risk a fine and possible imprisonment if it means a happy guest? And indeed we are quite happy to expose ourselves to both."

We arrived on the 27th Feb and left on the 3rd March we had a mere 4 hours heating on the 28th in the evening and "happy guests" we were not. We are not elderly and nine hours heating per day would have been amply sufficient for all.

I would like to state that we stayed in this owners apartment in Venice in May 2005, we had no reason to call the owner, we complied with all the instructions (as we did in Rome) and we had a great time. We were so sure that we would have the same experience in Rome, it was not to be.

The owner is well organised, and can be very charming, our airport transfers were of an exceptionally high standard, the accommodation in Venice and Rome is very good value and impeccable but if you do have a problem, be warned, this charning lady can be extremely abusive.

We don't mind wearing socks outside but to be advised to wear them in the villa and to put up with these very cold conditions indoors really is a miserable experience.

We fully expect to be featured in the next edition of the owners information pack, pity we won't read it.

Our advise if you decide to book. Go in Summer (take extra socks) look after your keys, abide by the rules and don't all get ready to go out at the same time or you may have a powercut and at no time ask for the heating to be switched on.

This ruined our well researched, well planned and much looked forward to holiday.