Finding the Hotel Pineta Palace in the first place is the scariest ordeal about this hotel. It would probably be best to ride the Metro to the Cornelia stop on the A Line and do yourself a favor and get a cab for the rest of the journey. We tried taking the bus, went the wrong direction and then fnally after getting on another bus, the driver dropped us off in the area, but we had no idea from then on where the hotel was. In fact, a sign on the main road is misleading and would take you away from the motel. Even a taxi driver noticed us and took time to stop to tell us we were walking the wrong way.
Once you get there the transportation is easy as they offer a very inexpensive shuttle service to the Vatican and to downtown.
We had read reviews that the staff here was rude or grumpy. We found NO one like this at all. From the two ladies in the bar where we ordered some pretty good food, to the waiters in their excellent restaurant where we had a delightful dinner, to the very helpful staff at the desk, who I made a point to be polite too, all responded as equally polite. Come up to these people and ask them how they are and you will get a much better reception than others who complained about them being unpleasant.
There is also a wonderful authentic Italian restaurant just up the street a few blocks from the hotel. My sister and I were the only non locals there.
When you come out of the hotel lobby to the right is a road and a residential parking lot. Take the road (don't head in the direction of the parking lot)down about six or seven blocks. The restaurant is excellent and the service was very good. It is actually quite large inside, but we chose to sit under the outside awning. The food was reasonably priced too. You can't go wrong here.
I am not one to rip a place apart and I feel like I see the good in most hotels and so I just gave credit where it was due. Our room was clean and comfortable and I didn't have a issue with the stool being too close to the sink like others have in these reviews. Some people plainly have nothing nice to say about a place and everything has to be kept in perspective here.
But now for the unpleasant part......The room noise at night was purely unbearable. We could hear the guy next door coughing like he was standing in the room. People roamed up and down the halls on their cell phones at all hours of the night talking in their normal voices that sounded like they were right by the bed. As many have written before.....the walls are paper, paper, paper thin. If you are a light sleeper, you will be a non sleeper. My sister sat up in the lobby all night because of the noise coming from everywhere. People kept moving furniture across the tile floors above us at ridiculous hours of the night. The experience was horrible.
This would have been a fine hotel if it weren't for the inabilty to sleep. That is why you stay in a motel, because you are dog tired from running around all day and you need sleep to re-energize for the next day. Unless you are in a coma, you will not sleep in this hotel. Period. Take along some Ambien if you plan on staying at the Pineta Palace.