Description: I wanted to use Hotwire for my Roman vacation, and the Atahotel Villa Pamphili was one of the places I booked. We used it as our base while exploring the Vatican museums on the last couple of days of our trip.

First, let's talk about the pluses.

At around $180 after taxes, the rate was pretty good for a family of three in Rome, and it was cheaper than the other place where we stayed. The hotel is rated as a 4 star on Hotwire, and I think that is a fair rating in Europe. The place has some nice features like a gym, swimming pool, restaurant, and tennis courts. There was evidence of wear and tear throughout the complex, but considering the age of the place as evidenced by its style of architecture, all is nicely presented. Our room was also a good size, much closer to an American standard than the other hotels in which I've stayed in Rome. The bathroom was big and stocked with toiletries. My husband and I had a queen bed, and our son had a basic twin. There was loads of storage space, a good desk, and cable television providing three channels in English: MTV, CNN, and C-Span. We also had a balcony with a little table and chairs and a good view over the pool, which is nestled under a hill covered with pretty greenery. This made me miss an in-room coffee maker because I would have liked to have sipped a cup of coffee out there in the morning. There was a mini-bar, so I guess I could have opted for an evening beer. There is also a free (and essential) shuttle that takes guests back and forth to the Vatican museums, thus the metro and full access to the rest of Rome. Breakfast was included in our rate, and it was certainly robust for Italy. There were lots of baked goods but also scrambled and hard-boiled eggs plus bacon. All was served buffet style in a large restaurant downstairs. The front desk staff was polite and check-in was easy. Of course, the hotel is air-conditioned.

Now, onto the negatives.

For tourists, the location is a definite issue. You're really not going to pop into your room for an afternoon rest after you've managed to get into central Rome. Unlike the other hotel in which we stayed outside of the tourist zone, there is no easy access to public transport here. If you miss the free shuttle bus (runs fairly regularly, every hour), or it's full, your other options aren't great. We walked one night to a tram stop, which was a mile or so away. This would have been fine, but there is no sidewalk on the street, and the Italians drive like mad men... especially on their scooters. In addition, the hills are steep. This is definitely not a walk for kids unless you want to end up carrying them. Option 2? Taxi cabs, which will mitigate your rate savings. Option 3? Wait for the next shuttle bus.

So, how do you get to the hotel from the airport?

You can take a train to the Termini station and then get on the metro to disembark by the Vatican museums to catch the shuttle bus. This is a pain after a tiring flight. Or you have to get a cab. Already in Rome, we used the metro to catch the shuttle bus the first night we were going to stay in the Atahotel. After our vacation, our flight leaving Italy was very early in the morning. We got a cab to the airport in Fumincino. This cost us 48 Euros and took 20 minutes at 4:30 AM. (If you got a cab later in the day, add another 20 minutes for traffic and count on spending another 5-10 Euros.) Using only one cab, we managed to keep the expense of the hotel at a good level. After all, the only reason we chose this place was to save money.

Would I recommend this hotel?

Uhhhh.... That depends on who was asking me. If you're a business traveler who has work on that side of town, I'd say sure. In fact, most of the other guests looked like professional people. If you're a hard-core traveler who wants a cheap rate and doesn't mind the hassle of getting into Rome via the shuttle bus---and who has planned when you need to get to the airport so as you can always avoid a cab---maybe. To a family? Well, if none of the hotels that are more centrally located can accept people with multiple kids, this might not be bad. Keep in mind, children are grumpy when they're tired, and it's a pain to wait for shuttle buses with them.* Yet, it might be nice to have a swimming pool to amuse the munchkins before or after sight-seeing.

The bottom line?

This is a decent hotel that is much cheaper than a similar standard in Central Rome. However, the location is less than optimum. If my primary purpose was to play tourist, I would not stay here again.

*The metro stop where the shuttle bus picks up is one PAST the main Vatican museum stop. The bus stops the corner nearest the church on the opposite side of the hospital. Before you walk there, you can find two wonderful gelato shops on the corner across from the metro exit. One has the cheapest gelato cones we found in Rome... only 1.50 for a small cone. The other serves giant sundaes for 4 Euro each at the cafe tables in front. Gelato always made our waits for the bus seem shorter. Close