I have to say that the service at the "Bramante" was excellent. My husband and 2 young children (6and8) discovered the hotel by chance (through the "lonely planet" book, only after our original hotel reservations at another hotel (the name should forever be banned in our minds) cancelled our reservations without letting us know and after 24 hours of travel overseas from Canada, in August 2010. We were tired, had lack of sleep, jet lagged and trudged along the cobblestone roads from the other hotel to the Bramante with all of our luggage and two kids in tow. The reception we got at the "Bramanted" was very welcoming, but my husband and I were not the greatest guests at the beginning from our bad experience at the previous hotel and from our severe lack of sleep. We were the ones who were not very nice, but the owners of the hotel were amazingly patient and did not respond to our venting of our frustrations on them! The owners did not need our business or our frustrations, but the wife (whose family has owned the hotel since 1873), her husband, and their daughter were very patient, kind, and even tried to joke with us to put us at ease. Their reception of us was enough to put the guilt in my husband and I for our behavior. THey accepted our apology with graciousness and always greeted us every morning.

Our room accomodated the four of usand they had a king size bed for my husband and I, a pullout twinbed sofa and another roll bed to accomodate the children. The room had beautiful rugs on them and the decor is traditional. The walls are thin, so if you have young children, you will need to advise them to really keep their inside voices. The street that the hotel is on is very quiet in the evening, but during the day, you can hear the street noise through your windows. The attached bathroom has marble floors and very modern amenities and the shower is great. The towels were always fresh and they even provided toothbrushes and toothpaste in the bathroom.

The hotel has no elevators so you must climb the stairs, it has three floors. The reception area is very welcome with couches on the side. People with laptops can get wifi there it seemed. Attached to the main floor was their breakfast area. It had about 6 tables that seated 4 and there was always room as breakfast ran from 7am to 10am. The hotel also has a little patio garden off the first floor where there are two patio tables for you to sit. They have flowers, fresh basil, and other herbs growing there. The hallways are traditional and painted in robin's egg blue. Each room has its own air conditioner and safe.

The breakfast that is included in the room rate is spectacular and is based on traditional Italian flair. They have an assortment of pastries, breads, abundant variety of cereals, cold cuts (prosciutto ham to die for), fresh baby mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, variety of juices, jams, cookies, egg omelets, fresh fruit salad and fruit. They have a wonderful lady that serves you fresh cups of cappucino or expresso if you want. We could of stayed all morning just eating.

The hotel itself is situated in the old walls of Vatican and is superbly situated. It is five minutes walk from the Vatican (but you do not get the noise or crowdedness of the Vatican. It is about a 10 to 15 minute walk to the main metro, but we discovered on our last full day there that we were able to walk to many of the famous places from our hotel (Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps to name a few). It is also 5 minute walk to the Tiber river with a castle museum across the river. Therefore, I can not say enough about the location of the hotel (location is great but still remained quiet and away from the crowds). I was able to visit the Basilica in the later afternoon to avoid all the crowds because we were so close. Retrospectively, we could of walked to way more places instead of taking the metro. The hotel is just 5 minute walk away from a main street of restuarants and small little markets (where you can buy water and snacks for way cheaper rates). We went to a restaurant called "Romolo" that was recommended by the staff at the hotel and it was great food served by friendly waiters. Less than 10 minute walk from the hotel.

All the staff at the hotel were very friendly and kept the place very clean and a welcome air conditioned lobby after a hot day of exploring the eternal city.

My husband and I would definitely recommend this hotel to people with children and without. THe service is impeccable, the breakfast is awesome, location is great!

Although our trip to Rome started off frustratingly bad, we stumbled across a jewel of a hotel that surpassed our original hotel. A great family runned business (and I can see why it has lasted for over a century). On our check out date, the owner even gave us a container of their own extra virgin olive oil to take home.

To the owners of Hotel Bramante, if you are reading this, thank you very much for your hospitality and understanding!!!