I spent three nights with mi lawyer colombian girlfriend and really we enjoyed the time over there. Since the booking, Mayra, the chilanga who owns the place with Lucio, her italian husband, was very fast in answering mails and phone calls. Lucio, the chef, served us meals in our own room (the big one —the Grey), home made bread, pizza, focaccia, baked chicken, with a local wine made by another italian guy. Beautiful family hotel.
We highly recommend it and the price was reasonable, I would say the best cost-benefit.
Richard Izarra and Nancy López

My wife and I loved this place! The rooms are beautiful, but the best part for us was Lucio's unbelievable Italian dishes. You should definitely eat dinner here when you come! The owners are very cool and made us feel right at home. They have good internet and great beds and mattresses. We loved the views of both the town in the daytime and the stars at night. Real de Catorce is a great place to visit and we recommend Refugio Romano highly. You'll love it.

The Refugio is high above the entrance to Real at the end of a hard climb to the top of a dusty street. The views are magnificent ,both from the roof and the gardens, and in some cases from the rooms. On a moonlit night it is magical. As is the case in many towns like Real, I find that accommodation is expensive relative to larger cities and value for money is not the first conclusion that comes to mind here. That said, accommodations here are simple, bright, comfortable and clean and the rooms are large. There is lots of hot water.

Much of the pleasure or disappointment attached to staying at such a small place depends on the hosts and their approach to the role. For the most part, I don't really mind someone's physical space,but as pleasant as the location is and enjoyable as the hosts might be, there are times when sharing their emotional landscape can be less than restful. That said, there is no doubt that the hosts make a wonderful effort to be welcoming and accommodating. But there were sufficient loud discussions to leave me feeling uncomfortable about being there ,and that contributed to my overall enjoyment of the stay.

Upon arriving at Refugio Romano, we met the owners Lucio & Mayra. They are great people, and Refugio Romano is a grest plsce to stay! We chose the " habitacion gris", and it was perfect for a couple. Very comfortable king size bed, great shower.
The views from the terraces are magnificient. It's very quiet and peaceful at all times.
I would also recommend having Lucio prepare a dinner for you. He's from Italy, and he's one fine cook. Mayra speaks English very well and can give you directions and info on the area if you need/want it.
We only stayed one night, but will return when possible. For some gringos it might be a bit unusual to have to go to Bancomer and deposit money for your stay in their account, but we had no problem with that premise. It's worth effort.
I've included a few pictures taken on their property....take a look.
Scott Mason