Rome - Where to Stay?

Hi all,

I combed some recent postings but didn't see one that spoke to Hotels in Rome so here I go.

We are planning a western Trans Atlantic cruise that starts in Rome. Since we're going to start there, it seems a waste not to spend a couple of days exploring before we part.

I'm pretty comfortable with what to do, but I want to know where to stay, any thoughts?

I have not stayed there yet, but I have heard that the Daphne Inn http://www.daphne-rome.com/ is wonderful. It was highly recommended here and on trip advisor. We are planning to book a pre-cruise stay there ourselves.

If you really want to treat yourself to a great hotel in Rome with a fantastic location stay at the Albergo Del Senato (http://www.albergodelsenato.it/home.html) right next to the Pantheon. We stayed there for five nights last month and from our room's window (room #406) we could look directly at the front and down the side of the Pantheon! Although expensive (250 euro per night, great breakfast included though) this hotel receives nothing but excellent reviews at tripadvisor.com. The staff is very friendly (especially Salvadore and Alessandro who helped my wife with her Italian) and speak fluent English since a lot of their customer's are American.

We really enjoyed the roof top bar of the hotel (say hello to Michele for us) which has an excellent view of the Piazza and the roof lines of Rome, even St. Peters in the distance.

This hotel could not be at a better vantage point for reaching most of Rome's main sightseeing locations. We were right in between the Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and we also easily walked to the Piazza Venezia, Colosseum and Roman Forum area.

I do not regret spending the money for this hotel for one minute because it 'made' our stay in Rome!

Cruise4food,

I'm glad to hear your rave review of the Albergo Del Senato. I have 5 rooms booked there next month. We have to of the Suites booked just below the roof top cafe and 3 doubles. It's one of the best areas to stay in, IMHO. :D We stayed at the Santa Chiara a few years back, right around the corner.

Wow, I can't wait to see how many responses there are to your question. We stayed at Fortyseven Hotel in Rome this past May. It is next to the Forum and is ultra-modern. We found the location very convenient to walk easily wherever we wanted. Good restaurants in Travestere just across the Tiber. The rooms are spare with clean light woods, and the bath is perfection. Website is: www.fortysevenhotel.com It cost 209Euro for a doubleroom.

We're curious to see the responses to this question too. We have reservations at the Hotel Ponte Sisto (www.hotelpontesisto.it) for next summer for a pre-cruise stay in Rome. We liked it's location and they have very good reviews on tripadvisor.

Well, I may as well toss in my favorite:

The Hotel Raphael

http://www.raphaelhotel.com/

Depending on dates it tends to get a bit pricey...although, at times there are deals to be had...Here's what sets it apart: Location, location, location...

In Rome, my absolutely favorite spot...the place you WANT to be, if you can...is the Piazza Navona...This is the most incredible public piazza in Rome...The Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini sits at the center and the square is surrounded by great outdoor cafes...At night, the square comes alive with incredible nightlife...Artists, musicians, street merchants, performance artists...and both locals and tourists from all over the world...

Plus, the Piazza Navona is short walking distance from the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and virtually every other site in Rome...

And the Raphael sits just steps off the Piazza Navona...

Plus, it's just a charming little hotel...

How often do you get to Rome? Let it be special...

There are soooo many hotels in Rome it's not funny. I am sure you will get a lot of great suggestions here on the board,but I do suggest that yiou figure out how much you wish to spend per night,the area of the city you may want to stay in,and most important IMHO how big a room you may want as Rome hotel rooms can be on the small side. If there are just 2 of you will be fine.The area near the Spanish Steps is quite good as you can then walk to a lot of sights.The P.Navona is another good area as well..also for eating.You can check out TripAdvisor.com for a lot of inforamtion on hotels as well vernere.com.Enjoy Rome..wonderful city..I keep going back:D

Reviews of vacations, hotels, resorts, vacation and travel packages - TripAdvi

Hotel reservations - Venere.com

We stayed there 2 weeks ago and had an amazing time. We stayed at the Veneto location. It is located right near Bararini square and a short walk to the Trevi. The rooms are gorgeous and the service is top notch. The staff treat you like they are your private concierge. If you do a search for it on trip advisor right now, you will find my full review in there.

The Hassler at the Spanish Steps is nice...very pricey...but very luxurious. We just got back from Rome and stayed at the Hotel Exedra. VERY luxurious and pricey..around $400 a night...but we like luxury hotels. It is on the Piazza Republica on Via de Nationale. Very hip. But I don't know what your budget is. There are a lot of nice hotels in Rome. Have fun! ;)

We read tons of reviews on Trip Advisor and decided on Hotel Mozart. A bit pricey but sounds incredible. Going in September (post cruise) so will no doubt add my review to Trip Advisor as well.

Have fun deciding. Its quite overwhelming

Has anyone booked their hotel in Rome using http://www.rome-hotels.net? We are ending our cruise their in October - which is high season. The rates look way too good to be true.....

Wow! As usual, tremendous advice and help. I'm checking out each of your suggestions (all look wonderful).

I will admit price is somewhat of a concern because the cruise itself will be setting us back a fair bit. :)

Not to mention we paying with our Canadian dollars, so the exchange rate is killer.

I know people like to economize at one end of a cruise or the other,but I hate to say that Rome is really not the place to do so especially this year..rates are high.You can find a decent small hotel for about 170€ a night centrally located,and I emphasize the word decent.As I noted before there are so many hotles..if you do stya center city you will save money n transportation as you can walk to so many sights,restos, etc.and you can save money by checking out the menu's,and picking medium priced places to eat..there are really no bad meals in Rome IMHO.Do check out 3* hotel's on Tripadvisor,and check out location and you should do well.Enjoy Rome..we were just there last Fall and going back again in Sept.

Wow! As usual, tremendous advice and help. I'm checking out each of your suggestions (all look wonderful).

 

I will admit price is somewhat of a concern because the cruise itself will be setting us back a fair bit. :)

 

Not to mention we paying with our Canadian dollars, so the exchange rate is killer.

We are paying Canadian as well. Our TA claims that our cabins on the Grand Princess for September are now worth $2000 more than we paid. Who knows. We decided since Rome is at the end of our trip, we wanted to end it on a high so decided to splurge a bit with the hotel. In the overall cost of this trip, we figured what's another couple of hundred dollars (literally).

www.lancelothotel.com We stayed in this hotel last June. It is about 150 yard from the colossium. Very nice and reasonable...has free internet;)

Here's a site with some review of Rome Hotels

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome-144659/TravelGuide-Rome.html

Also maybe look for some Brilliance Reviews as some cruisers have stayed in Rome a couple of days ahead of the cruise.

Frances

I had done quite a bit of research and also booked at the Hotel Mozart. The reviews were great. My emails were promptly answered. We go in 2 weeks. I'll let you know how it was. It is always so difficult picking a place to stay.

I had done quite a bit of research and also booked at the Hotel Mozart. The reviews were great. My emails were promptly answered. We go in 2 weeks. I'll let you know how it was. It is always so difficult picking a place to stay.

Cannot wait to read your review. It really looks and sounds like a lovely place and the hotel manager was very professional. Are you doing the Venice/Rome cruise? If so, how are you getting from the Port to the hotel? I sent the hotel an email asking their advice but they misunderstood thinking I wanted them to pick us up from the port.

Breezey,

We fly into and out of Rome. I booked transfers from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the port with Rome-Shuttle-Limousine. (we'll be staying in Rome pre cruise for 3 nights). I was originally going to book transfers back from the port to the airport but read some questionable reviews (late-no show...) and decided to use the ship transfers back. It was double the price but figured it wasn't worth worrying whether he would show up or not. I could always make other arrangements on short notice with the other transfers but not if I needed to be at the airport the day of disembarkment to fly home. I had asked the hotel also about transfers and they only responded to the transfer from the airport to the hotel. We are actually staying the the Vivaldi Luxury Suites at the Hotel Mozart. Both places had such charm.

Breezey,

I had asked the hotel also about transfers and they only responded to the transfer from the airport to the hotel. We are actually staying the the Vivaldi Luxury Suites at the Hotel Mozart. Both places had such charm.

We booked the Vivaldi Luxury Suites too! Meeting with our travelling buddies this weekend to finalize some of the plans including figuring out transfers etc. Looking forward to reading your review. Incredible how this trip is costing us more and more every day.

Yoda, would love to hear more about the Lancelot. I will be staying there in October. Thanks.

Just got back from Rome and spent 4 nights at the Hotel Sant'Anna. http://www.hotelsantanna.com. Its a 90 second walk from St Peter's and if you contact the Hotel directly you can get a rate of 125-150 Euro per night which includes breakfast. The rooms were bigger than I expected and we were very comfortable. There is a little street noise as it is on a mainly pedestrian street, there are cars, but they tend to be parked. It isn't a drive through street. On the plus side you heard absolutely no nose from the hotel itself. Next time I'd ask for a room in the back.

I'll probably add more on a seperate thread, but here a couple of random thoughts:

The cabs are relatively inexpensive, the most we paid was 7 Euro.

We hired a private guide, an American who is now living in Rome. He did a great job. We gave him 50 Euro/hour as a "Donation" http://www.rome-day-tours.com

If you do stay at the Sant'Anna, there are about 8 sidewalk restaurants right on the street. Avoid the one that I believe says something like ROMANELLA on its sign. Our bill included a phantom 10 Euro "TAX". Apparently they try to pull this stunt on newly arrived tourists. They figure that the tourist will be trying different restaurants and so they will only eat one time at the ROMANELLA. By the next meal they'll discover that they've been dooped, but who cares! Through the power of this and other forums, I'll make sure they see a revenue decline.

Next time we go to Rome we'll stay in Trastevere. The place is absolultley hopping at night. There are what seems to be hundreds of sidewalk cafe's with great food, reasonable prices and tons of people watching people watching people.

Has anyone stayed at the Hotel Santa Maria, Trip adviser's #1, around 210 Eur a night including tax and breakfast.

I can second Altajoe's recommendation of the Hotel Santa Anna - I have stayed there many times, and I love it! It is very quiet, very convenient to the taxi stand near St. Peter's - the taxis are very inexpensive to get to all parts of Rome. This is a lovely boutique hotel!