Rome hotel near Pantheon or ancient center

Last May my grandson and I stayed at Casa il Rosario, a Dominican convent on Quirinal Hill just above the Forum of Augustus. Colosseum, Imperial Forums, Campidoglio and Piazza Venezia are close by. It's a bit spartan, but very clean and quiet, with a decent breakfast served in the morning. There is an 11 pm curfew, but we were tuckered out from sightseeing well before that. Cost was 94 € a night for the two of us.

See RonInRome.com for anything to do with Rome--including accommodations.
Booking.com has thousands of places to stay in Italy--especially covering Rome.

Thanks for the replys. So hard to choose, would like to be steps from Pantheon or Navona or Spanish steps so we could stroll Thur outdoor cafes and not take cab or transport at night, I could get great deals on Best Westerns all near Termini station but my recollection when staying there 30 years ago is that it is a bad area.

Ronnie, the Pantheon is IN the "ancient center" (Centro Storico). It's defined as the area once enclosed by the Servian and later Aurelian walls, although there are many archeological sites which lie outside of that.

Sections of the walls and their gates still stand, and taxi rates from the airports are figured by destinations inside and outside the Aurelian border. Here's a bit of reading and photos:

http://www.jeffbondono.com/TouristInRome/AurelianWall.html

So your question more aptly applies to neighborhoods within the center - which is relatively compact. The things most visitors want to see are somewhat spread out so no single location will put you "just steps away" from all of them but distances aren't extreme. Most of us have different areas we prefer for different reasons, be it lively nightlife, relative quiet or easy access to the central train station (Termini) or somewhat limited) metro system.

We have stayed within walking distance of Termini in the Quirinale/Repubblica area and found that to be a convenient location for many reasons but we also enjoyed Prati, which while farther away from some of the attractions offered a little more residential feel. But you might like to be closer to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon - both of which are very close to each other.

We find Rome to be a very safe city to walk at night so I wouldn't worry about being out after dark. We have also never found the need for a cab in Rome, and have only taken public transit (metro; haven't used the buses) a couple of times over a couple of trips but it doesn't bother us either. With your valuables safely tucked away, there's little need for concern.

I have chosen this hotel for my visit in April: http://www.hotelnazionale.it It's right near the Pantheon across from the Parliament building. We booked a Classic room for one night for 142 Euros, including breakfast. Here's the link to reviews of the hotel: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187791-d229054-Reviews-Hotel_Nazionale_A_Montecitorio-Rome_Lazio.html

I like 3 star Albergo Cesari, close to the Pantheon, and with fabulous roof terrace.
http://www.albergocesari.it/en/default.html

We stayed at Hotel Nazionale last year. It was wonderful! I loved being right around the corner from the Pantheon. The hotel is located in a pedestrian zone, lots of cafes and shops. Wonderful place!

I was also going to suggest Albergo Cesari. We were very happy with our stay there this past July.

We stayed at Hotel Smeraldo in Campo di Fiore. Very close to Pantheon, and we actually walked everywhere from our hotel including the Vatican and Colosseum (with the exception of the train station) in 20-30 minutes or less. Reasonable rate, clean, and included breakfast. Rooms were a little small, but sufficient.