Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

Hotel Help - Honeymoon in Rome - What am I overlooking?

Hotel Help - Honeymoon in Rome - What am I overlooking?

Old Apr 10th, 2010, 07:23 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hotel Help - Honeymoon in Rome - What am I overlooking?

Hello helpful Fodorites!
Over the last week or so I have enjoyed reading many of your wonderfully helpful posts to other travelers and I would greatly appreciate any advice you could share on finding a suitable hotel for a honeymoon couple in Rome for 4 nights. Thank you ahead of time to you because you guys/gals spend so much time just helping others and reading past all your old posts has been so helpful. I've searched and read as many of the past topics on this subject and have shot down many suggestions and am wondering if I'm overlooking anything or if some of my concerns I'll list below are ill-founded.

Travel details:
Honeymoon couple (we've got 6 weeks of marriage under our belts
Budget: around 200 euros a night
Travel dates: June 16 to June 20, 2010 (then off to Alcamo Sicily to stay with family)
Type of accommodations: Something somewhat cozy/romantic Bed & Breakfast or Hotel)
Area we'd like to stay: Piazza Navona / Pantheon (will reconsider if there's something amazing elsewhere for honeymoon couple)

Now here's the places I've researched and somewhat shot down because of the reasons I'll list. Please correct or refute me on any of my judgements made from reading many wide and varied reviews on tripadvisor (I like to read the average and poor reviews to get a good idea of a place) and your past opinions posted here in these forums.

Daphne Inn - Only availability for our travel dates was for room at Daphne Trevi location and that room was on 3rd floor up 60 steps so that was very sadly a no.

Nicolas Inn - A bit further away from historic center than we'd like, again thinking Piazza Navona/Pantheon area. Am I wrong is this a better location than I think?

Baldassini - Super great location but not anywhere close to being romantic. We don't need full blown romantic but a drop of romantic/nice interior design whatever would be nice for our honeymoon. Again please clear things up for me if any of my reasoning is off.

Hotel Teatropace - Paper thin walls, extremely loud disco nearby/adjoining to property. Otherwise great location, nice accommodations. We have to be able to get some solid sleep after a long day - noise problems are a real killer for me on any choice.

Albergo Cesari - Noise concerns after reading tripadvisor reviews. Are these unfounded? Should I just toughen up and get us some ear plugs?

We'd really appreciate any advice and any corrections on some of the assumptions I've made on the hotels above. Thanks for even reading this long initial post

Jason
JBMidwest is offline  
Old Apr 10th, 2010, 08:49 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 36,778
Likes: 0
Received 14 Likes on 11 Posts
Nicolas Inn and Daphne Inn aren't even close to the area you want to stay.
kybourbon is offline  
Old Apr 10th, 2010, 08:53 PM
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks I was thinking that Nicolas Inn was not in the Piazza Navona/Pantheon. We're leaning towards Albergo Cesari if they have availability, thinking my earlier concerns of noise problems are probably unfounded, and I imagine a little noise comes with the location.
JBMidwest is offline  
Old Apr 10th, 2010, 09:01 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 14,748
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Teatropace has sound problems. I know, I was making, ahem, noise, and the people in the next room let me know about it. Then in the morning, every sound from outdoors was just as if it was in our room.

I'll make some suggestions in the area you are interested in:

Bed & Breakfast Maison dell'Orologico. I've heard good things and the location is perfect.

I'm a great lover of the Hotel Portoghesi. They may have a room for 200 € or less. Cozy and romantic.

Very close to the Portoghesi is the Due Torri. Some of the rooms are not quite as nice as the former, but still nice enough, and the price should fit. Some rooms even have small balcony areas that are heaven.

The Due Torri has a sister hotel called The Fontanella Borghese.

I think each of these small, sort of romantic places would suit you. They are in your chosen area and price range.

Post back, OK? I'm curious.
tuscanlifeedit is offline  
Old Apr 10th, 2010, 09:02 PM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 265
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Did Albergo Cesari have several complaints about noise? I try to throw out the "highs and lows" when reading Tripadvisor reviews. If a few people talk about noise, I ignore it. But if 75% are complaining, it's likely an issue.

You can ask if there is a less noisy area of the hotel when you make your reservation. Perhaps a higher floor would reduce street noise, etc.

Have a wonderful honeymoon!
Gina817 is offline  
Old Apr 10th, 2010, 09:13 PM
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
@Tuscanlifeedit (LAUGHING) - The suggestions are much appreciated, I'll check them out. I did earlier research on Due Torri and was turned off on what I read on tripadvisor. I don't scare off easily either. Of course after awhile your brain turns to mush reading all those reviews so it could have been late one night when I reviewed Due Torri.
JBMidwest is offline  
Old Apr 10th, 2010, 09:21 PM
  #7  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
@Gina817 - Thanks for the well wishes. Yeah there were some comments about noise in regards to Albergo Cesari on tripadvisor, but I've read some positive things on them here in the forum that make me discount that enough to where I would be willing to book there.

Have you stayed there before?
JBMidwest is offline  
Old Apr 11th, 2010, 06:52 AM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,525
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I would pick the Cesari for location.
It has been 12 years since we stayed there, but loved it then.
bobthenavigator is offline  
Old Apr 11th, 2010, 08:06 AM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You're not going to find a quiet hotel in central Rome. Albergo Cesari, which is on a pedestrian street, is about as quiet as it gets. And it's a nice hotel.

Now if you're willing to sacrifice location for quiet, there are some nice hotels in Aventino, quiet but not too far off the tourist track.
Mimar is offline  
Old Apr 11th, 2010, 10:42 AM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,919
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yes, the Aventine is quiet, but I disagree that it's not too far off the tourist track. JB's first choice of area is much better, much more central and lots of good restaurants.
SusanP is offline  
Old Apr 11th, 2010, 11:44 AM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,327
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I've stayed at the Cesari and we didn't have any noise issues...but like someone mentioned, it's a noisy city.

I agree, Aventine hill is a lovely area with some very pretty hotels and a short walk to the historic center, IMO.

Daphane Inn would also be high on my list, even with sixty steps...how often are you going to be going up and down, once, twice a day? There is so much walking in Europe that the steps just aren't a issue, unless you have mobilitly issues. It's a nice place with nice people at the front desk.
susanna is offline  
Old Apr 11th, 2010, 12:58 PM
  #12  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I really appreciate everyone's input. The fodor's forum and its posters are the best.

I took a look at Hotel Portoghesi & Maison dell'Orologico as well but their location wasn't as good as the Albergo Cesari but they did have some nice reviews and looked like good choices.

@BobTheNavigator - I read the Cesari did renovation in 2006, not sure to what extent, so if you and your wife liked it 10 yrs ago I'm sure it's still good. Plus I've read a lot of your posts/trip reports and value you/your wife's opinion.

@Mimar - I hadn't looked at the Aventino area, since we're only staying 3 days staying in the middle of things, even with a little noise, will be just fine. I'm thinking the wine will put us right to sleep anyway

@SusanP - Any restaurants we should absolutely visit around the Albergo Cesari?

@Susanna - We'll definitely have to check out the Aventine hill area and perhaps stay there future trips. I understand completely what you're saying about the steps but we have particular mobility issue with steps alone. I have had such good emails back and forth with the Daphne Inn people and read so many good things that I was pretty bummed out they didn't have availability at their Veneto location (the one with the elevator). No elevator at their Trevi location.

We just made reservations for 4th floor at the Albergo Cesari for 6/16 to 6/20 classic double for 209 Euro a night. I'm happy. Very helpful staff responding to emails and then spent 20 minutes on the phone with them making the reservation.

Now I've got to take a break before I start planning what we're doing in Sicily Staying with family in Alcamo. Bob your trip report on Sicily is bookmarked

Thanks for all the input.
JBMidwest is offline  
Old Apr 11th, 2010, 05:02 PM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 24,834
Received 4 Likes on 3 Posts
Both the Fontanella Borghese and the Due Torri are offering one free night after three nights which would bring either within your budget range.

We've stayed at the Fontanella Borghese a few times over multiple trips and really like the location which is about halfway between the Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona.
Jean is online now  
Old Apr 11th, 2010, 06:23 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 14,748
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
JBMidwest: I'm glad you found a hotel you are pleased with. I have to object, though, to your saying that you looked at Hotel Portoghesi and its location isn't "as good" as that of Albergo Cesari. They are hardly very far from one another!

Just in case anyone references this thread in the future, I always like the via della Scrofa and the area around the Portoghesi.

"Not as good" is relative to your desires and experience. We like staying in a variety of locations in Rome, but I have to say that the Portoghesi is one of my favorite locations.

I would be staying there on our upcoming trip, but we've made the choice to visit Europe more often, and so we now choose apartments and B&Bs, in order to cut accommodation costs.

Jean, I like that location too.
tuscanlifeedit is offline  
Old Apr 11th, 2010, 07:07 PM
  #15  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Tuscanlifeedit - I should have said, "not as close" rather than "not as good" as it is a very nice safe good location from all that I have read. I'd hate to have anyone infer otherwise.

The "best" location is completely based on what you want to be close to and is completely subjective, there is no single right answer for where to stay and plenty of wonderful places to stay in Rome.

I think what's great about these discussions is just by reading through them you can get an idea of the handful of places you might want to further research and choose from, from such experienced travelers as yourselves.
JBMidwest is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
craimondo
Europe
4
Feb 25th, 2014 03:24 PM
degas
Europe
53
Dec 19th, 2006 06:31 AM
loverofbeauty
Europe
20
Nov 30th, 2006 01:09 PM
mw2006
Europe
5
Sep 11th, 2006 06:01 PM
janet
Europe
4
Sep 18th, 2002 06:12 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -