Hotels in Rome

[Lakerat Nomore]

My husband and I are taking a cruise in September that starts and ends in Rome. We have never been before and are amazed at the prices that we are seeing for hotels for our pre-cruise stay. Does anyone have any recommendations for a hotel. We have friends that are going on this trip that are staying at the Hotel Del Borgognoni which is near the Spanish Steps. Rooms start at $300 +. We would like to stay in the same area.
We would like something clean, comfortable, and safe. We don't require much more than that, since we do not see ourselves spending much time in our room. We are LBYM kind of people. We could pay the tarif for these rooms, just choose not to if we can help it.

Any advise on this would be appreciated.

Phyllis

 

[crazy connie]

When we went there we stayed at a Hilton and it was very Americanized. Since it was a free trip for me ( thank you Mega Corp) I never payed attention to the room rate. The one thing that had me shocked was the lack of personal hygene encountered in Italy. Sometimes it was a challenge to enjoy the meals due to the B.O. Different countries and very different customs.

I always try and view the rooms before traveling. Some things I want are what you want as well as a private bathroom. You could also check for an elder hostel. I hear they are pretty decent and usually well located to the major sights.

 

[donheff]

You could also check for an elder hostel. I hear they are pretty decent and usually well located to the major sights.

Elder Hostel? Is this some kind of backpacking Europe on $5/day reprise for aging widows and widowers? Sounds like fun.

 

[AltaRed]

I forget the name of the hotel we stayed in while in Rome in 2005, but it was central to all the main tourist things, including Spanish Steps, the Forum, Coliseum, Vatican within easy walking distance in each direction from the hotel.
We paid ~$250 per night, with breakfast (marginal) thrown in. A/C is essential May to September.

The experience is worth the price of being central to enjoy all the activities 18 hrs a day. This sort of thing only happens once (usually). Enjoy.

 

[Lakerat Nomore]

Thanks for the replies.

I have surfed the net and poured over my guide book and we have now decided that the hotel that our friends are staying at looks pretty good for the price. We haven't booked it yet. Three hundred a night for a three night stay will not break the bank. Hopefully this will not be our first and last trip to Italy(only the first). Unless someone can suggest a wonderful hotel that they have stayed in and would highly recommend we are going to go with the one mentioned in my original post. We only live once, and the kids probably want appreciated what we leave for them anyway....

We are so excited about this trip. If anyone has any suggestions on restaurants, things not to miss along the way or any other advice please let me here from you.

 

[Kwirk]

We've had luck finding good hotels for a (relatively) reasonable price by carefully reading traveler ratings and traveler reviews on the tripadvisor website. This link may get you to the listings for Rome:

http://rome-hotels.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g187791-Rome_Lazio-Hotels.html

 

[rogerc1944]

We stayed at the Lancelot Hotel (165 Euros/nite--this may have changed since we stayed there in 10/03) with a room overlooking the Collesium. Very, very romantic!!! We had a landscaped terrace and the room was well appointed. It is a European style hotel which means the rooms are fairly small. A continental breakfast is included. The people on the desk speak English and were very helpful. We will stay there again.

 

[rogerc1944]

Writing a a reply to your post gost me curious to look up the Hotel Lancelot on line. A room with terrace on the 6th floor (Colosseum view) has gone up 5 Euros and now costs 170 Euros/nite with a 3 nite minimum (maybe) during the peak season. You can also get a suite but these cost more. Dinner is 22 Euros.

 

[Caroline]

http://www.eurocheapo.com/rome/

I used this site when I went to Italy three years ago -- I found their recommendations to be spot-on and the places i stayed were clean, bright, and recently updated.

I didn't get television, wetbar, etc., but my goal was to see Rome, not to hang in the hotel.

Whatever you do you can do no wrong -- Rome is AMAZING and you will love it!

 

[Lakerat Nomore]

Thanks for the suggest to try tripadvisor. I checked out the Lancelot Hotel RogerC recommended. Thanks RogerC. It looks like just the place. I am not sure of the location. If this hotel is close to the coliseim, how far away will we be from the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain? Since that area is where our friends are staying, is it an easy walking distance?

 

[grumpy]

We spent two days in Rome in October before our cruise. The Coliseum is more than walking distance from the Spanish Steps/Trevi Fountain area. We took a taxi from the hotel to the Coliseum. We stayed in a hotel called the Embassy, which I would not recommend, even though it was close to those areas. The hotel was 180 euros a night. The room was tiny (barely room to open suitcases) and the shower stall was so small that if you dropped the soap you had to get out in order to pick it up! More like a phone booth than a shower stall. The hotel was quaint. It had one of those open cage elevators that was barely big enough for two people and the included breakfast was good but, overall it was not worth the price.

Grumpy

 

[BOBOT]

We stayed at the Leonardo da Vinci, which is on the west side of the Tiber w/in walking distance of ST Peters and much else. It was part of a package deal so don't know what it woud cost ala carte, but it was nice.

The day we got in we were dead tired & had to wait for our room, so went out to find a bite to eat. Down the street was a neighborhood place where they didn't speak english & our italian was not much better; nevertheless we managed to get something, & it turned out to be one of the best meals we had all week. Seafood risotto to die for, yum!

 

[Danny]

Buono giorno mi forum amico intimos!

Saluti!

Mio amorto e complice per coincidenza proprio adesso Hotel Sonya per nove notte tra Marzo dopo idi di marzo!
Attenti! Stare in Guardia! Et tu Brute? Non che amavo Caesar più di meno, ma che amavo Roma più.
Risata Grassa eh-eh eh-eh eh-eh!

http://www.hotelsonya.it/en/
Per notte - 125 E

Ciao e Più Cordiali Saluti,
DanTiena

 

[renferme]

If you walk, you'll want to stay in the center of Rome. We stayed at the
Albergo Santa Chiara located behind the Pantheon.
www.albergosantachiara.com
room sizes range from a broom closet to a large suite, so make sure you ask for
a "normal" size room. Bathrooms are all marble, very elegant.
free breakfast in the morning.
very nice place.

 

[Lakerat Nomore]

I am confused about walking distance. The guide book I have been reading says its about one and a quarter miles from the Spanish Steps to the Coliseum. After having looked at all the hotels that people have mentioned on Tripadvisor, we are still leaning towards the Hotel Lancelot that RogerC brought to my attention. It is ranked very highly by Tripadvisor and I didn't see any bad reviews from past guests. A big plus for Hotel Lancelot is the terrace rooms. We think that would be a great thing to have in Sept in Rome. Since I am a Texan (native), a little heat will not faze me. A glass of wine on the terrace in Rome sounds kind of romantic, doesn't it?

My husband and I love to get out and walk. We love to discover the little out of the way places that a lot of people would not see. We are looking for the charn and admosphere of any place we visit. But I am concerned that it may be to "out of the way". Also of concern is the safety of walking around in Rome. Should I be concerned about safety? Keep in mind I live in Texas near a large city with a high crime rate.

Phyllis

 

[rogerc1944]

The Lancelot Hotel is about a 5 minute walk to the Coliseum. We also enjoy walking and went to Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps among many places. It wasn't that long a walk. Memory fades a bit but it took us less than an hour. We probably should have used a guide for some of the historic sites as the span of time is really overwhelming!

We felt that the area around the hotel was quite safe (we encountered no problems). It is an older neighbohood but there were a number of street cafes and stores and such nearby to the hotel. We usually ate at one of these restaurants around 10 PM. There were lots of people about so there was not feeling of isolation. Rome and all of southern Italy is famous for pickpockets but there isn't much in the way of violent street crime. To find out how to best protect yourself from pickpockets, check Frommers.com's discussion on this topic.

Other details: The hotel does offer parking at a cost but we found public transportation to be quite adequate. Parking in Rome is a problem (there isn't any). The drivers are also pretty wild (stop lights are treated as optional, speed is limited no rules that we could understand, the number of lanes on any street is dictated by how many cars can line up together). Many of the people who stay at the Lancelot are embassy employees from various countries. Interesting group. The hotel is also air conditioned. If you use a cab, take a White Cab (good & honest drivers).

Have fun. We did.

 

[Lakerat Nomore]

Thanks for all your help on our search. RogerC we really appreciate your comments, they have helped a great deal. We have contacted the Hotel Lancelot only to find out that they don't have any terrace rooms available for our dates in Sept. We have reserved a double and requested to be put on their list to change to a terrace room if one becomes available.

We are so looking forward to this trip! Thanks to all you guys here on the forum for your replies. Keep the advice and comments coming. We first timers need all the help you can give us.

Advice on things not to miss while in Rome, I mean other than all the usual stops. Anyone been to Zurich, we are spending 24 hours there due to plane connections.

Phyllis

 

[Robert the Red]

Also try www.venere.com (note: their web site doesn't work well in Safari). We found their maps and unvarnished guest comments very helpful in choosing hotels in Italy. Don't go below 3 stars. We stayed near (to the NW of) the train station, since we arrived by plane and then took the train into Rome -- didn't want to drag our luggage very far. Be aware that lower end (but still nice) hotels in Italy are often retro-fitted into small buildings, and so have clunky old elevators that might fit 2 people with carry-on size bags. Or 1 person with a larger bag. Breakfast quality in hotels varies a lot -- the comments at travel sites like venere.com are useful if this is important to you.

We found walking from the Spanish Steps to the Forum to the Colosseum to be an easy and pleasant walk -- lots of things to take pictures of on the way. But you wouldn't want to do it if you are at all handicapped (bad back, need cane, etc.). We like walking. But this was January, so not the hot part of the year.

If you are going to go to the Vatican museum -- which includes the Sistine Chapel -- you will want to try to get tickets or book a tour ahead of time. The wait in summer will be hours, if you just show up. In January, it was easy and uncrowded. An Italian told me that the best way to see the Sistine Chapel in the summer is to go as early as possible, then go walk straight through the museum (which is gigantic) to the Chapel to get ahead of the crowds as much as possible. In the summer it will still be jammed.

 

[rogerc1944]

You are most welcome Phyllis. I'm glad to hear you are staying at the Lancelot. They light the Colesium at nite and it is beautiful. One item I forgot about is that the Lancelot can have a driver pick you up at the airport. The cost was about 45 Euros and you have to make arrangements in advance over the internet. Of course, there are cheaper ways (train or bus as taxis will charge about 50 Euros too) to get from the airport to historic Rome. The problem is that jetlag makes these cheaper ways less attractive! By the time we got to Rome (no layovers/16 hours of flights), all we wanted to do was get to the hotel, find something to eat, and go to sleep. After Rome, we went on a cruise on a five masted sailing ship called the Royal Clipper (Western Med and Transatlantic for 23 nites). Another one of those trips of a lifetime!
Roger

 

[renferme]

Remember, if you stay near the Coliseum, it will be a long, long, long walk to the Vatican.
If you want to see the Pope, go to the piazza at the Vatican at noon on Sunday, when the Pope addresses the masses from his apartment high above the piazza; facing St. Peters, he will be to your right.
.

 

[Lakerat Nomore]

I don't think that there is anyone in our party who would care either way if we see the pope are not. We will be going to see the vatican. You know for the money that we are saving by staying near the coliseum (Roughly $70 a night) we can also take a few taxi rides. My husband and I both like to walk, he loves to take photos along the way, and when we get to tired we can find a place to rest, find a taxi, or bus..... We will consider the walking our pre-cruise exercise program. We have a twelve day cruise to look forward to after our three days in Rome. We have been on many cruises in the past, therefore, I know that I tend to throw caution to the wind when it comes to enjoying the food and drink on board and have been known to lament the shrinking of my clothing. I need to insure that I can still at the least get into my clothes when we sail. I have heard so much about the good food and drink in Italy, that I am busy developing a plan to lose as much weight as I can prior to the trip.. That plan includes more exercise. Waiking in Rome will be good! Some of our friends (a group of 12) are not physically able to walk much.

Phyllis

 

[renferme]

You may be surprised to see how thin the Italians are!
If you do a lot of walking, don't worry about gaining weight.
Be prepared for some wild taxi rides through extremely narrow and winding streets.
I actually thought we had better food in Tuscany than Rome, but, all in all,
the Italian food is excellent - especially the pasta and pizza.

 

[Lakerat Nomore]

I think I can put on weight just at the mention of pasta and pizza. Can't wait for the trip. Gotta keep walking... I have already stepped up the exercise program. Of course, it has something to do with the caribbean cruise from last month (still trying to lose the poundage from that one). Life is a little to good sometimes! Thanks for the comments.

Phyllis

 

[boutros]

Rome has a fairly good public transit system. So if you don't want to walk there should be a bus or subway stop nearby. Many of the routes close down around 10pm. There did not seem to be too many taxis. I think that if you need one you would have to prearrange for one.

 

[renferme]

you can have your hotel call you a taxi.
.
Phyllis: ENJOY your trip !