Just back from 3 nights at the Hassler. Location unbeatable - right at the top of the Spanish Steps. If you have a view of same so much the better - views otherwise would be non-existent. Room nicely furnished with all you need and very comfortable bed. It was my 40th birthday and the hotel sent up a bottle of fizz which a nice touch.
Ate at the rooftop restaurant which not really worth the price, views notwithstanding.

Driinks very expensive - seems a big divide in Rome between very reasonably priced or extortionate with not much middle ground.
Overall, very expensive but worth it for the location and view - would hesitate if not guranteed room with a good view though.

Location great but would substitute it any time for pleasant helpful staff. I found the staff rude and unhelpful. I dont mind paying top prices to be looked after well but they seemed to just keep sticking their arm in. I wanted to go back to the colosseum after having enjoyed it on a previous trip. The conceirge was going to charge us an extortionate price to get a private guide to take us there. When I said there were guides up there to take people around he took exception to this and asked me did I really think there were people just standing around all day just to show me around. I replied that I did and he waved me away. I was proved right when umpteen guides offered us guided tours within minutes of getting off the metro. It just seems as if they just regard us as rich tourists there to extract the most amount of money possible. They pretend to have very limited local knowledge and just charge a fortune to get you on the most expensive trips possible. Not great for concierge staff. When asked to recommend us a nice bar they hadnt a clue either.

Also when we got home from having dinner we decided to have a night cap at the bar before going to bed. 50 euros for two brandies. Outrageous.

They can keep their superior atitudes and bad maners to themselves - i will never be back at the hassler

This hotel is fantastic. My room was great. The bed was very comfortable. The bathroom was lovely (excellent bath products that were continuously refilled or replaced and a great shower). The breakfast buffet was great. The staff at breakfast were perfect. The front desk staff were delightful. The Assistant Concierge was extremely friendly and helpful. The door men were great. The location of the hotel can not be beat. My only complaint was that the Main Concierge was extremely arrogant. He consistently felt it was fine to ignore customers waiting to speak to him until he was ready to serve them. When I asked about the metro, he acted like he had never heard of such a thing, and could not provide any information.

Fantastic location with really beautiful rooms (although not cheap still some of the best rooms in Rome). Food is great by European standards.

However, the standard of service really stops me giving the hassler 5 stars. The service was very average lots of small errors by staff, they also seemed very unapproachable.

I agree that the charm and elegance of the hotel means that its proably still one of the best hotels in Rome.