Sant'Anna

If you're looking for a quiet and characterful pensione-style Roman hotel in a great location you can do worse than the Sant Anna. Right in the heart of the now fashionable Borgo, just outside the old Vatican walls in the shadow of St. Peter's, this small hotel has just 20 rooms and is much favoured by priests, and what makes it interesting are the frescoes which decorate half of them. The ground floor reception and frescoed breakfast cellar are vaulted while the rooms are simply but brightly decorated, with cream loose covers on sofas and armchairs.

The elevator's tiny, so don't expect to take luggage in it (priests travel light, but for the likes of you and me there's a bellboy). Outside there's a delightful garden terrace with a small fountain. Four rooms have balconies, three of them frescoed - try asking for one of these. Perfect for getting into St Peter's or the Sistine Chapel before the hordes.