I don't know if this is very useful, but my wife and I spent a couple of days in Rome at the end of January, stayed in Trastevere across the river from the forum and just south of the Vatican. The hotel was Albergo Trastevere on Via Luciano Manara 24a/25, 00135 Roma (Tel. 39.06.58.14.713). It's e- mail address is hoteltrastevere@tiscalinet.it

It was very central to nearly everything and had the added advantage of being in the middle of a very old part of Rome with many sites within steps of the front door. The room, a double w/bathroom, was I believe 90 euros per nite(with breakfast), small, but clean with a very helpful english speaking staff. It is not very close to the Spanish stairs or the train station and would require a bus ride or cab. My wife and I stayed in Rome in 2001 for ten days near the train station, south of the Spanish Stairs and found that it was a bit out of the way for us. We seemed to spend a lot of time on the Subway or on a bus.

Sam and Cathi Crescent City, CA