"Here, in the heart of Rome, just steps from the brilliance of piazza Navona,
there is a special hotel, Hotel Raphael, known to discriminating travelers
around the world for its welcoming ivy-covered facade and its quiet, luxurious
charm..."
Review
Jamie Dunford Wood:
Not long ago the unofficial party HQ of a certain Sgr. Craxi, on first
impression the Raphael is promising. The location, just a few steps behind the
Piazza Navona in the heart of old Rome, is second to none, whilst the ivy clad
building and art-stuffed reception area suggests great things: not to mention
the prominent display of the latest directory from Small Luxury Hotels of the
World, which includes the Ritz in London.
Unfortunately, this is
misleading. Upstairs the building has been chopped about into 70 rooms which, if
you stripped away the heavy and expensive Roman fabrics, would qualify for
little better than 3 star status. The conversion is shabby, with partition walls
marking out corridors with poor joins clearly visible. The blank white corridors
themselves, along with the doors, are badly scruffed and scratched, and it says
something for the care that is taken with this hotel that they don't bother to
keep them smart -preferring to wait, one suspects, for that once-in-five-years
renovation. The standard and superior rooms are both tiny, with small bathrooms,
the only difference being in the decor - the superior having papered walls and
striped Roman bedcovers. The tones are Roman red and yellow. The bathrooms have
single sinks, no separate showers and again, are small. Nothing apart from the
air conditioning invites you to linger in your room. The deluxe rooms are a
decent size, but again the décor is heavy and the bathrooms remain small and
basic. On the fifth floor they are split level like mini-duplexes.
Durant
& Cheryl Imboden's 
"Great position and public areas, variable rooms"