A Roman holiday for a song

Hotel Grifo, Via del Boschetto, 144 (06 4871 39 55) Five minutes from the Trevi Fountain at the end of a cobbled, scooter-clad street, is the ivy-covered Hotel Grifo.

Spotless, friendly and family run (the affable, Sacha Baron-Cohen-lookalike son speaks perfect English), rooms are light with white-painted walls, flowered bedspreads and unintentionally kitsch hologrammed-naked-lady pictures. However, you'll forgive all this when you climb up to the cluttered roof terrace (six of the rooms have private terraces) with its statues and fantastic roof-top views across the city - a perfect place to have a coffee and plan your day. Check out the jewellers, antique and lighting shops in this almost tourist-free street.
Doubles with breakfast from £69.

Bramante, Vicolo delle Palline, 24-25 (06 6880 64 26) Historic and elegant, the Bramante hotel was home to architect Domenico Fontana in the 16th century, becoming an inn in 1873. Now it's a little more sedate and, unsurprisingly, given its location in a medieval lane outside the walls of Vatican City, just 200 metres from St Peter's, guests are more likely to be priests than beerswillers. Sixteen beamed rooms of varying sizes are decorated in muted tones of sage or lemon with pretty wooden beds, Persian rugs and tiny sofas. There is a peaceful, plant-filled terrace on the second floor looking over the old city walls.
Doubles with breakfast from £66.

Campo dei Fiori, Via dei Biscione, 6 (06 6880 68 65) Campo dei Fiori in the centro historico is one of Rome's most beautiful squares - the young Caravaggio used to play here. Today it is home to the city's most picturesque food and flower market. Things quieten down in the afternoon when Romans flock to the restaurants for lunch. You can easily miss the hotel's narrow entrance, next to a shoe shop and overhung with vines. Six floors of rooms - whose quirky, distinct decor ranges from chintzy pastels to a more ethnic style (bamboo and open bricks) - lead up to a vast, deck-chair laden two-level sun terrace which affords 360-degree views across the city. (Note 50 metres from the hotel there are also 10 apartments available.) The noise of the cafes in the square below drifts up, as does the delicious smell of garlicy cooking. The Pantheon is a 15-minute walk away. Check out hot designer shop Spazio Sette, in a 16th century palazzo on Via Barbieri, complete with frescoes. It has three floors of elegant household objects and furniture.
Doubles with breakfast from £89.

Locarno, Via della Penna, 22 (06 361 0841) Tucked away between the River Tiber and the elegant Piazza del Popolo with its twin-like churches, the creeper-clad Locarno first opened in the 1920s. The lobby is like an Agatha Christie film set - potted palms, Tiffany lamps and a wrought-iron cage lift which trundles you up to the the roof garden for breakfast. And you might bump into Peter Greenaway - a big fan? in the Art Nouveau marble-topped bar. Parquetfloored rooms have chandeliers, iron bedsteads and roll-top baths.

Bicycles are provided free for guests. Within 10 minutes walk (even on heels) of the chicest shopping street, Via Condotti with Prada, Valentino and Giorgio Armani. Eat out at the lively Osteria Margutta (on Via Margutta) with its multitude of paintings - fantastic fettucine al toscan and good steaks all served on multi-Continued coloured glass plates on redandwhite chequered cloths.
Doubles with breakfast from £128.

Casa Howard, Via Capo le Case, 18 (06 69924 6444) The Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna are close by this small, exquisitely decorated hotel. Its five rooms have been open for less than two years and it feels

more like a private home than an hotel. Probably because it was designed and decorated by the owner's wife, Jenifer. There's accommodation to suit everyone (all have parquet floors), from the Chinese Room's exotic redsilk curtains and gold-and-red brocade bedspread to the clean lines of the white room whose half-tester bed is draped in sharp monochrome-print linens. Not all rooms are en suite, so kimonos and slippers are provided for guests to pad to the hammam down the hall. Hairdresser service and massage available. A second Casa Howard is due to open in Rome this summer.
Doubles from £82.

?Jo Fernández travelled to Rome with Go (0870 6076543), which flies twice daily from Stansted. Current returns from £85.