Casale Altavilla is a superb summer base to visit Rome, whenever you feel too hot or tired, a few hours in the swimming pool will relax you and enable you to enjoy more of the beautiful city of Rome. The B& B is just next to a bus line direct to the historic center. Simona is a very kind and helpful host.

Spent two nights with Simona in her family casale with another couple of friends traveling with us all over Italy. We chose this b and b due to its free parking and closeness to the city, a couple of blocks from a bus stop. True, Simona smokes a lot and this could be a problem for many. This however was offset by Simona's friendly and welcoming attitude. We got lost finding her place but she told us to wait where we were (at a nearby hotel) and she came on her vespa to lead the way; the place is a little hard to find. Another great thing that came with our stay was Simona's referral to a tour guide named Silvia Prosperi (AFRIENDINROME) who lives in the neighborhood and with whom we had a fantastic tour of the Vatican. Anyone looking for a wonderful private tour person, email Silvia.

Anybody who has driven a car and stayed in Rome knows the nightmare this presents. So, if you are looking for a place that lets you park free and you're able to use nearby public transport to see the city, this is it. Also, Simona has three rooms, one is large and with a big modern bath. This was occupied when we visited so we were confined to two much smaller and basic rooms. Keep this is mind if you consider booking at the Casale.

Te setting is nice with the yard and pool. Breakfast in the garden gazebo was good. The location ok but not ideal. It necessitates a bus commute to get to the Vatican or city centre. Not a huge inconvenience and fairly easy. We are non-smokers and the proprietress' habit of smoking in the property did not sit well with us as a result. However, it is also her home so entirely her right to do so. Our bad for not being aware of this. So, be warned if you are a non-smoker, this will be an issue. We stayed at the end of our vacation for a few days and were planning on taking at least one day to just do some R&R poolside. We found this less restful than we'd hoped due to the dogs roaming the yard and barking constantly. They were harmless enough, just noisy. Simona did direct us to a nice restaurant down the street where we had two of our best meals in Rome. However, there is not much to choose from locally, so plan on bussing or taxiing a bit to get a good taste of Rome.

Nice yard, interesting building and lovely, large room. The bathroom was very nice and large, however most of the jets in the massage shower were plugged and the whole thing fell apart when you tried to use it. An excellent pizzeria/restaurant is just a few steps down the road with delicious pasta and pizza. It was a 15 to 20 minute bus ride to or from main attractions.

Important to know that the owner is a very heavy smoker and lives there, so you can never escape the strong smell of stale smoke and must breathe it while she is there. Her desk/office is at the bottom of the stairs, with the rooms right above, so you are forced to "smoke" too. For this reason mainly we would not stay here again.

Breakfast was just okay and simple, mainly white bread, flavoured yogurt, some fruit and bought ordinary pastry, but items and coffee were not replenished.

A few other things you should know: you are not allowed to eat or drink in your room, and the owner has 2 large dogs. Note that the pool is only open June to Sept so we were disappointed it was not available during our stay after a hot day of sight seeing. There is no safe. Stay has to be paid for in cash upon arrival.