We have just returned from our first trip to Rome and spent four days at the Lemon Garden. Bad points first - entrance to the Lemon Garden is down and around the grubby side entrance of a building a couple of blocks away from the Atlante Star Hotel (parent hotel). The apartment does not have a fully equipped kitchen - we had one wine glass, one tumbler and no facilities to make tea/coffee. There was no mini-bar, although we weren't particularly bothered about this, but when we were settling our bill we were asked if we had had anything out of the mini-bar!! Finally, and not the fault of the hotel, I had not packed a travel iron and my husband went to the hotel reception to enquire if we could borrow one as there were no facilites in the apartment, he was told no and directed down the road to a launderette, not somewhere you want to spend your holiday
Good points - the apartment is in an ideal spot and its easy to get around. Buses and metro station about 5-10 mins away and most areas within walking distance, i.e Vatican, Piazza Navona. The apartment was extremely clean and comfortable. There was a maid service every day and breakfast (you have to go to the Atlante Star Hotel) was wonderful with lots of choices. Unfortunately the roof terrace was closed for refurbishmebt but the view from the 6th floor restaurant of St Peter's Baslica was stunning.

Tip: if it's your first trip to Rome beware the Roman Guards outside the Colosseum - if they offer to take a photograph of you ask the price first. They offered to take a photo of me and my husband which I thought was quite nice of them. After they had taken the photo (with my own camera) they asked us for 20 euros each and got quite vocal when we objected to the price!!!

I wasn't completely thrilled with this hotel. It isn't convenient at all to the train station (and public transportation to get to the hotel was a nightmare). The room itself was extremely clean. The A/C was weak but not too bad. You have to check in at the sister hotel, which is a really fancy hotel, and kinda makes you feel small after checking into this 5-star hotel and walking over to the 2-star :-)

If you want to see the Vatican, it is a great location...just down the street.

If you want to see everything else in Rome there are 1000s of places closer.

The breakfast location on top of the hotel was being reconstructed when I was there (which was one of the main reasons I stayed at the hotel), so that was disappointing. The food itself at the breakfast was very tasty though and you really do have a great view of the Vatican from the breakfast room.

Travelers beware! "Lemon Garden" is a single code name for several different properties, each with different characteristics. What you see in the web site is VERY different from where you may end up staying at!

We booked one of "2 wonderful and luxurious fully equipped apartments that can accommodate up to 5 guests". What we received was a standard European (that is, small) hotel room in a nondescript apartment. For a hotel room it was OK, but this was NOT what we booked (or expected).

The room was small and rather old. It had an old closet, a table, a small TV and that's it. The bathroom was clean, but there were no towel racks and no way to hang the shower nozzle. There was almost no shelf space at all.

Breakfast was very nice. Other hotel services (provided by Atlante Star) were so-so. For example, you are not entitled to the hotel's free airport shuttle, and while they'll let you use their shuttle, they charge 40 Euro per person (whereas other services charge as little as 35 for up to four people). You can use the internet station at the hotel (for a charge that is double the going rate in internet cafes in Rome). Consierge advice was friednly but poorly informed.

If you need a place to sleep at while in Rome, this is a nice place; if you expect something even remotely similar to what the web site presents, look elsewhere. For a romantic getwawy, stay away from this place.

The ads are very deceiving, i.e. claiming to have a private kitchen and jacuzzi(there is one but it doesnt work). The Lemon Garden is an extention of the "Atlante Star" - located a few steps away. Although the room amenities are not that great, it is basic, clean and certainly more than acceptable if you are simply going to be sleeping there. The location is absolutely fantastic, i.e. just around the corner from St Peters Sq and the Vatican, within walking distance to many other attractions and a bus stop just down the road. Breakfasts are provided by Hotel Atlante Star, hence you pay for a 3 star B&B, but get a 4 star breakfast, with great service. Rome has so much to do that one hardly spends time in the room, hence the great location, good breakfasts and affordable rates all really appealed to us