Rome's Hotel Italia

Hotel Italia (Via Venezia 18-00184, Rome, ITALY; phone 06-4828355, fax 4745550 or visit www.hotelitaliaroma.com) is in a safe location in Rome where one can return alone at night from the bus or subway easily. It’s 10 minutes from the train station (Stazione Termini) and a few steps off Via Nazionale, which has bus routes to the Vatican and all stops between. Across Via Nazionale is a grocery for lunch supplies.

We stayed there Feb. 9-11 and Feb. 19-20, 2006. Five adults in one room (a different one each time) paid a total of €135 ($180) per night. Our room had four beds each time plus one bath, with another bath down the hall. An excellent buffet breakfast was included in the price, with bread from the bakery across the small street.

The desk was open 24 hours, and the clerks spoke English and had maps and sold bus tickets.

JOAN SANDERS

Elkin, NC