eleanorw

We will be in Rome in June with our teenage daughters. Albergo del Senato can give us two rooms near each other for 310 each/night. Ponte Sisto has offered interconnecting rooms for 220each/night. It seems to me we should do Ponte Sisto both for price and interconnecting rooms, but we're celebrating and I'm trying to plan a perfect trip so I'd appreciate people's opinions on hotel quality and location. thanks

eleanorw

ttt

Weadles

I think Albergo del Senato has one of the best locations for exploring and sightseeing in Rome. We stayed there in July w/ one of our teens in one of the suites ( #604) that overlook the Pantheon. The room was very comfortable with excellent AC ( and believe me, there are plenty of hotels in Rome that don't provide that) and a tiny terrace with that unforgettable view. We spent hours on the terrace watching the people traffic in the square, and marveling at the sight of the Pantheon, which was almost close enough to touch.

The hotel itself has a lovely rooftop terrace where you can have a a soda or a Bellini after a day of sightseeing. And the service and location, as I said before, are hard to beat. We walked everywherem and really enjoyed being so close to many of Rome's famous sights- Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, and Ancient Rome ( only about a 30 min. walk) among them.

bobthenavigator

Hmmm ! An extra 180E each day to spend in Rome---seems a no brainer to me.

eleanorw

I know, it's a huge price difference, seems obvious to me too. But like I said I really want a great trip so I guess I'm looking for people to tell me they like the Ponte Sisto, there's so much about how great the del senato is

MIM04

I was in the same situation, but opted for Ponte Sisto for June because of the connecting rooms. I think I have a JR Suite and regular room. GL

nessundorma

I've never been in the Ponte Sisto and think the Senato is a marvelous hotel. But unless the Ponte Sisto is a dump, for that price difference, I'd book to the Ponte Sisto and have a celebration drink on the terrace of the Senato every night.

WillTravel

The poster judy_barnes had a similar dilemma but went for the Ponte Sisto. She was going around Christmas time, so maybe she's there now. Take a look for her posts.

Lexma90

I can't tell you what you really need to know - what the Ponte Sisto is like, as we've never stayed there. We have stayed at Albergo del Senato and at another, cheaper hotel that is right off Piazza Navona. On the more recent trip, we chose another hotel because the prices had risen so much for the del Senato. Here are some things to think about, that may help you or may make the decision MORE difficult!

Del Senato: Right off the Pantheon, it is centrally located. The breakfast room has no windows, and wasn't scenic. I can't comment on the food because all we ever have are cornetto and maybe some fruit. The rooftop terrace was nice, but not as spectacular as I envisioned. Because of the wall around it, I had to stand up to see over it. And the one night we visited, the poor waitress was so busy that we never got served.

This last trip, we stayed at Residenza Canali ai Coronari, which is 1 tiny block from Piazza Navona on an old street filled with antique shops. It isn't the same caliber as the del Senato, but we knew that. For 233 Euros/night (less if you pay cash), we had a room on the 4th floor (no elevator), relatively spacious and with a lovely and large terrace. I think they have adjoining rooms. The staff was wonderfully helpful and kind. My only beef was the breakfast; again, an internal room with no windows, and no cappuccino, which is one of the reasons I go to Italy! But instead, we would go to the bar 1/2 block away, right on the corner of Piazza Navona, and have cappuccini and cornetti for 4 Euros total. That wouldn't work for everybody, but it was perfect for us (and plenty other guests love the Residenza's breakfasts). (And, FYI, I'm a runner, and it was an easy place for a directionally-challenged person like me to run from the hotel to the river, and run along that, or around Sant'Angelo, or even to St. Peter's, all of which I did.)

Anyway, I don't think the Residenza is what you have in mind (though do check it out), but I wanted to illustrate locations and distances.

Every evening, we would "make the rounds." We'd go to the Pantheon, and have a drink at a cafe there. People-watching is great! The Pantheon was about an 8-minute walk, if that, from our hotel. Then we'd walk (maybe 6 min.) to Piazza Navona, and usually have another drink there. Often we'd also walk to the Trevi Fountain, which was a little further away, but not much. One evening we also walked to Campo de'Fiori, but that's a younger crowd than we are, so we didn't enjoy that as much.

Almost every morning, however, after breakfast, we walked from our hotel to the Campo de'Fiori to get absolutely delicious pizza bianca from Il Forno di Campo di Fiori.

Granted, we like to walk. But each of those places was a very easy walking distance from the other, and especially on a lovely summer night, there's nothing better than walking through Rome. While Ponte Sisto is a little further away, I don't think it's too much so. Your daughters may like the atmosphere at Campo de' Fiori more than the other places, anyway, and that's closer to the Ponte Sisto.

Leely

I really like Del Senato but would definitely take the Ponte Sisto for that price difference. Still a really great location in my opinion. In fact I might even prefer Ponte Sisto's location but I haven't stayed there.

As nessundorma said "unless the Ponte Sisto is a dump" I see no reason not to stay there. Rome is fantastic. Have a great trip.

jody

I've not stayed at either but I know where both are located and for the price difference I'd go with Ponte Sisto. It might not be located right overlooking the Pantheon but all the other things you'll want to visit are just as close. Personally I never stay in my room long enough to peer out the windows. If I want a Pantheon view, there are lots of cafes around the square.

I actually have the Ponte Sisto on the top of my list for next year. And believe me it is not a "dump"!

Mimar

The Ponte Sisto has rooms facing an interior garden. Should be nice and quiet. I'd like to stay there sometime, and that's a good price.

cruiseluv

Eleanorw,

Are you making your reservations for Ponte Sisto through www.reservationitaly.com? If not, you should check their rates. We stayed at the Ponte Sisto last summer and their rates were 50% less that the rates offered directly by the hotel!

eleanorw

Thanks for all the advice, it's very helpful. Lexma, you didn't confused me, you helped me decide. I know we should take the Ponte Sisto, I just wanted to be reassured. Cruiseluv, we did get the price through reservationitaly, I read about it here.

eleanorw

I'm getting around to thanking everyone for their advice. We booked Ponte Sisto in June for 3 days at reduced room rate and I have to say that if our air conditioning had worked it would have been a lovely hotel in a fabulous location for the price, even more so if you know to request a back room facing the courtyard, which cost the same and are quieter and layed out better. BUT...our air conditioning didn't work, the hotel was full, and the staff was universally sympathetic but spent 12 hours telling us it was a central system so it must be working, then had a technician come and told us that since he'd come it must be working (noone actually checked) then told us they were so sory it wasn't working but they had no rooms. They did move us for our 3rd night which is how I know the difference between front and back rooms. We were annoyed enough to cancel our reservation for our final night in Rome and stay at Grand Hotel de la Minerve. Much more expensive (on a par with Albergo del Senato) and we thought worth every penny. Anyway, despite our personal annoyance at Ponte Sisto it is really a lovely 3-4 star hotel if you get a good rate