It didn't to me. The single room that I was assigned at this hotel in central Rome was coffin-like and extremely unpleasant, marble counter or not, fancy shampoo or not. I travel solo all the time and have spent many a night in "single" rooms, and I know how tiny they can be. I've stayed in hostels, pensions, b&bs, no-star and five-star hotels and I can't remember being more surprised -or more disconcerted- at an accommodation I was assigned.

Hotel dei Mellini is a four-star hotel located near the Tiber -on the Vatican side- in a semi-residential, semi-corporate neighborhood. It isn't the greatest location but it isn't bad, either. If you are fit and willing to walk, you can go on foot to most of the tourist sites in Roma and you can take a cab to spots not within walking distance.

I was en route to a week of cruising on Windstar Cruises' Wind Surf, a five-masted "motor-sailing yacht" leaving from Civitevecchia, the port that serves Rome. After flying from San Diego to Chicago, Chicago to Munich, Munich to Rome (with lengthy layovers in each connection city) I was exhausted and achy and could think of nothing more than having a relaxing bath once I got to my hotel.

The Website for Hotel dei Mellini is minimal, done mostly in Flash, with few photos. The rooms look terrific in the pictures; plush and comfy. The bathroom photos in particular are compelling, showing nice, deep tubs. I couldn't wait to climb into one. When you go to the booking page and plug in a single room, the photo that pops up shows one of the doubles. I assumed that's what I'd be assigned. I was wrong.

When the bellman opened the door for me, I thought I was in the entry foyer. I wasn't. I was in my room. I backed out in horror. "I can't stay in here," I said. "I just can't!"

Perhaps the room appeared more ominous because, although it had a full-sized window, it was on a low floor, faced an interior courtyard and looked out on a wall about 15 feet away. Whatever it was, the dark, narrow room, with one twin bed pushed against a wall, single club chair and no table or desk, had my chest tightening in claustrophobic terror. The hotel's Website certainly didn't show this room in its gallery of photos. Unfortunately I was stuck; the hotel was full and there was no other room for me.

Not only was it dark and tiny, the small closet cut into the space for the bathroom and there was just a miniscule shower, no tub. When I say that the shower was small, I am not exaggerating. It's tinier than most cruise ship showers, and that's pretty damn tiny.

I admit that after spending the night on the room's brick-hard mattress, it looked less coffin-like than it had the evening before. Now it made me think of a senior citizen's nursing-home room, with a single bed and no adornment. A colleague, who had the same room one floor below, said it made him feel as though he were in a prison cell. The room has high ceilings, a brown and burgundy patterened carpet, gold and burgundy striped drapes, a gold club chair in front of the closet (you have to move the chair to get access). There's a low marble-topped armoire with a mini-bar and a couple of shelves, a twin bed and small nightstand; the bed is covered with a striped green and gold spread. There's one thin pillow on the bed, an extra blanket in the closet, disposable slippers, no robe. There's a fairly large television on the armoire; most channels are in Italian with a couple in German and French, and only CNN in English.

The bathroom is small but attractive, with excellent amenities. There's a bidet, a marble-topped sink unit, excellent lighting and the aforementioned little shower. There are large bottles of bath foam (!!), lotion and shampoo, and a small bar of soap. The towels in my bathroom were thin and worn, but others in my group who had this same room on different floors said that their towels were great. As is typical of European hotels, there are no face cloths.

Next to the bidet is a little soap dish attached to the wall, and in the dish was a very small bottle of some clear liquid called "intimate cleanser." And hanging on a mini-towel rack were two pristine starched and ironed Frette linen towelettes. I found this scenario beyond funny: the room might cause nightmares, but your heinie would be well-pampered.

Part of the reason I found this room so upsetting is its cost. dei Mellini is a four-star hotel but the amenities outside the rooms don't justify charging top Euro for these singles. There's a nice little bar, a little library with a computer station, and as in most hotels in Rome, a Continental breakfast is included in the rate. There's also a rooftop terrace, which was closed when I went to find it, and a small ground-level interior courtyard (my room looked into the courtyard space). Breakfast was typical; deli-style ham and smoked turkey, some bread, rolls and criossants, cheeses, coffee, tea, juice and yogurt. The coffee is excellent, the breads and croissants were already either stale or gummy by the time I had a taste.

So my point is, if you're going to get a single room, this hotel offers poor value. There are plenty of other choices in Rome, choices that might not have marble bathrooms or heinie-pampering "intimate cleanser" and heinie-blotting Frette linens, but would offer either lighter and brighter accommodations, a pillow that doesn't squish down to the thickness of a dime, breakfast rolls that are reasonably fresh, or at the very least, costs substantially less than the single room at Hotel dei Mellini.

Note: If you are considering this hotel for larger accommodations, try to secure a room that does not look into the interior. If you can't do that, choose another hotel. Looking at a wall at the price this hotel charges is just not worth it.