A Stay on Rome’s Porto Maggiore
On my first stay in the Eternal City, Rome, Italy, I had the unfortunate experience of being sick. Actually, very, very sick. Bronchitis and near Pneumonia ravaged me and the last thing I wanted to do was navigate myself through foreign city. That’s why I believe it was truly fate that my travel package landed me at the Donatello Hotel.
The Donatello was just a short 4 block walk from the A line train in Rome (the Manzoni station) and later I found out, just a few minutes by bus from Termini, where you can get off or on the Leonardo Express train from the airport. Amazing views of the Appius Claudius Aqueduct and proximity to the Colosseum and ruins aside, Donatello is right at the nexus of an area inhabited by locals, which means low priced bakeries offering stand-up coffee breakfast, adorable dinner haunted, and supermarkets for stocking up in your room.
And stock-up you might want to. Rooms at the Donatello offer a mini fridge, a small balcony, TV, comfortable beds, and roomy shower. Being plagued with illness, I spent a lot of time in the room and always found it to be comfortable and impeccably kept by the cleaning staff.
When you choose to leave the confines of your room, you’ll find a free breakfast in the basement floor, in an adorable cafe kept by a tiny powerhouse of a woman. The breakfast of three different types of bread, numerous jams, coffee, tea, and juice was more than enough to power me for my day- and all the tea and orange juice I could stomach were amazing for my bronchitis.
Finally, but not least in any way, the staff at the Donatello is what makes it an amazing stay. From the moment we checked in, we were greeted by a native who spoke perfect English and gave my throat a break from it’s broken Italian to rest (phew!). Mauro walked us up to our room, showed us the balcony, the heat, and left us with a detailed map. He asked what we were planning on seeing and circled exactly where all of it was, how to get there, and how to get back. During my last night in Rome, when I decided to force myself to eat, Mauro came to the rescue by suggesting a boutique restaurant, making reservations, and having the staff meet us at the door of the restaurant. Amazing.
Though I did book the Donatello as part of a package, and can’t speak to actual “bang for my buck,” the service alone was well worth my package costs, not to mention walking proximity to a lot of attractions- which is necessary as Rome’s subways are frequently down for maintenance, or just a rest in the middle of the day.
If you book the Donatello, be sure to say hello to Bernardo, Mauro, and the rest of the staff, or just stop in for the great recommendations they can provide.
Hotel Donatello, Via Di Porta Maggiore 83 00185 Roma +390(6)7010833
