Stay in Rome near Trevi Fountain or Spanish Stairs

For both of my visits to Rome I stayed at hotel Julia, near piazza barbarini. It's an easy walk to the metro station, buses, taxis, trevi fountain, and Spanish steps. The place is cheap, fairly comfy, and includes an excellent breakfast.

Trevi and Spanish Steps would NOT be my favorite places to actually stay. Both are PACKED with loads of tourists.

Staying by the Steps works well for seeing that end of town, e.g. the Steps, Borghese, Piazza del Popolo. We stayed at the top of the steps and easily walked to the Coliseum and back.

Trastevere is a good place to simply be in Rome with Romans.

There are some really nice and affordable apartments around Piazza Navona and it is convenient to all the big tourist sights. While I would recommend staying at least a block or two away from any busy monument or Piazza, there are plenty of hotels/B&Bs and apartments that fit this criteria. Try using TripAdvisor or Holiday Lettings to search for what suites you.

I agree with Tim. Those two location are the last areas I would stay in. Much better choices elsewhere.

The Spanish Steps are under major renovation now and can not be seen due to heavy scaffolding. I say go for Pantheon/Piazza Navona/Campo dei Fiori area. Trevi fountain is beautiful, but crammed with tourists.

Thank you to everyone for all of the responses.
This community is amazing.
We are going to stay in our original Hilton CalvertI spot where we stayed before.