I loved my week here and would happily go again. It was clean, peaceful and friendly - most fellow guests were easy going and easy to strike up conversations but some were clearly unprepared. I used the hotel as a Rome base, driving to the nearest Metro station every day after rush hour also worth exploring the area - recommend Villa Adriano and Tivoli.

The pluses: off the beaten track so quiet, well away from the city with pleasent gardens where I sat and enjoy the Italian sunshine most mornings. Very friendly staff too. Clean rooms and bathroom, communal breakfast room was very nice.

Most of the problems I saw other guests having were avoidable. Some clearly didn't realise the hotel is more like a hostel in breakfast arrangements - its simple food - but what do you expect for the price!

Some guests were just rude and the staff had every right to be rude back - especially when the guests didn't follow the house rules - such as booking seats on the Rome shuttle bus the day before using it.

Some guests who didn't appreciate that the hotel is 8 km outside Rome and so I'd recommend it only to those with the patience for public transport or with cars. Its a long walk to the bus stop if you're old or infirm.

As with most places in Italy I visited English was spoken and well, but it pays to have a few words of Italian - especially greetinsg, please & thank you - they get you a long way.

There's NO English language TV - so take a book or two.

They don't serve evening meals so eat in Rome before you go back to this hotel.

Like every other hotel with wooden floors I've stayed in - there is some noise when people are turning in or moving about in the morning. The walls are a bit thin in the main building - but I guess those in the stone built annex are quieter.

As much as you might want to eat at breakfast, but a limited range - breakfast cereals, toast, brioche, ham or salami, coffee and tea. Local supermarkets are good and I saw nothing to say you can't buy food and take into the dining room.

This is an inexpensive hotel and guests shouldn't expect the Ritz - but you do get a staff who ask if you've had a good day, clean and tidy rooms, some facilities and a rest from the hustle and bustle of Rome. I loved it - just take it easy there.

Well, this was my fault. I didn't read the review before booking the hotel. On Villa Maria webpage, they said that it is easy to locate the hotel. Get to the metro station Tiburtina and catch the Blue Bus Cotral to Palombara. Sound easy, right? Guess what, the trick is which Blue Bus? There were plenty of Blue Buses in the station. There was no bus map. The drivers didn't speak English, we were really lost in translation!! Fortunately, there was a friendly bus driver who tried so hard using his body language to point us to the right bus terminal. Once we got on the bus, I thought the adventure was over. But I was so wrong! The hotel was located in country-side. There was no clear sign to tell you where to get off. I was very nervous in the bus because I knew that if we missed it, we would have to sleep on the farm land. Once we got off, we needed to walk 1000+ feet to get to the door. Along the road to the hotel, we had so many dogs welcoming us by barking all the way. We got a double-room, the room was so small that I needed to turn myself side-way to get into restroom. Speaking of the bed, the mattress was uneven. I dreamed of falling off from the bed every night. If you arrive in the evening and want a full dinner, sorry, they don't have hotel restaurant. If you dare to walk on a busy road in total darkness, you can walk to a restaurant. But don't complain if you get hit by cars or motos on the road. I have warned you, there is no side-walk for pedestrians.

Journey to Rome city center was always a challenge. It took us 45 mins from the hotel to the metro without traffic. With traffic, God knows how long we would need. The bus was always crowded. We had to fight through the way to get off.

In conclusion, for the money we saved and the headache we had, it is absolutely not worth it. I guess this teaches me a hard lesson: Make sure read on-line reviews before booking hotel.

We booked a double room for 2 persons via Internet. We reached Rome Termini station late in the evening. There was no any bus. We asked a Taxi driver to drive us there. He did not know the place where the hotel situated. Anyway he found in the map and we come to the hotel in a very dark and horrible place. 50 Euro was the cost from station to the hotel location. The main gate of Villa Maria was closed. Fortunately, there was a voice who asked who we are? After the reference of our booking he opend the door. It was very dark inside of hotel. The deskman/ serviceman behaviour was extremely out of service in the first immprestion. He said to us if we do not want to stay, then go away. We were tired and decided to stay in the night. The room was very small name by "CALLE". I think it was single room for 1 person. Bed was big but madrass was small. Small minibar was out of order. Remote control of TV was out of order. Well in the morning we come down in the basement for breakfast. The same deskman/serviceman was there. He was angry because we awaked early and asked us to find any other hotel. We could not understand why he was angry even we were very polite. Suddenly he threat us that he is calling the police before other guests.
Any way we were dishearted and left the hotel. We found a much better hotel in the center of Rome city and the rate was the same, but the facilities and customer service were much more and excellent.
My suggestion is to not stay in this hotel. It is really bad and pitiful place to stay. It is total misleading information on Internet. If you want to enjoy your trip then you have to stay near attractions or near Main Railway Station.
It was great experience for us to loose the money for nill service.

I am a student and was on a budget so booked this hotel thinking it would be alright as said it was only 5km from, turms out it was more like 20KM. We were made to wait half an hour in the broiling sun when we arrived because our room was not ready, when we asked someone for a drink we were ignored. Staff were hostile, rude and we were made to feel unwelcome. It feels more like someones house then a hotel YOU'VE PAID FOR. Do not bother if you want to feel uncomfortable, isolated, and in a nightmare. DREADFUL.