The most important thing that you should be looking for in August in Rome for a hotel is air conditioning-so skip the balcony! It is usually hotter than blazes at that time of the year so doubt you will be sitting out on a balcony.
I see that the Mecenate is by the Roman forum-personally I would rather be more in the central area so you can hit everything by foot and possibly go back to the hotel to regroup during the heat of the day?
Be prepared for various shops and restaurants to be closed as alot of the Italians chose to do their vacations during the month of August.Rome is a fabulous city with lots of things to explore-hope you have a great vacation!

We have stayed at Alberge del Senato right next to Pantheon and would highly recommend it . unbeatable location , great views from rooms with small balcony or rooftop bar. Cleanliness decor and service would put this as a 4 star hotel but I think it is only 3 star as no spa , pool etc . We have been to Rome many times and would certainly return to this hotel . as soon as you step out the door you are right in the middle of the Historical Centre of Rome and feel as if you have stepped into the scene of an Italian Opera.
I believe the hotel is currently No 1 on Trip Advisor for Rome Hotels.

Just had a look at your No 1 choice Mecenate Palace and it is close to Termini station , not a great location in my opinion . The very few people I have spoken to who did not like Rome said they felt it was noisy and busy with traffic . I could see how you would get this impression staying near Termini station but staying on the square of the Pantheon you are surrounded by a labyrinth of charming narrow streets with so many traffic restrictions they are almost pedestrian only , a completely different experience.
Hotels in this area are relatively more expensive as you are paying for the location . You may find a 3 star hotel here will cost more than a 4 star hotel near Termini station but I know which I would choose

We stayed at the Hotel Artemide last year and loved it. Yes, it is somewhat near Termini, but who cares? You don't spend the time in your hotel anyways. We were able to have a wonderful hotel and not sacrifice comfort because of costs. In addition, it was right next to a taxi stand and bus stops...and about a 10-15 minute walk from the Colosseum.

Willie, I have looked at Alberge de Sonato, but they don't have family accommodation right now. Any other hotels in that area that may have family accommodations ?

So, the termini station is not close to all the other sight seeing places ?

How about others on my list ?

In August you can get a quad room at the Albergo Santa Chiara near the Pntheon for 240E.

Other less expensive options with family rooms are:

Hotel Due Torri (about 170E, around Piazza Navona)

De Cesari (about 180E, around Pantheon)

Hotel Modigliani (about 180 E, around Spanish Steps

The Hotel Ponte Sisto also has connecting rooms for 155E each, so this would be above your budget but I thought that I would point them out.

Forgot about these ones too:

Hotel Mozart (around Spanish Steps)

Hotel Pantheon (location obviuos!)

You will find family rooms in your price range in these 2 hotels as well.

As you can see, I have really been researching and these are the best central options for a family wanting to stay together in a quad.

Your other option is to rent an apartment and there are many threads dealing with this, and suggestions on rental companies to use. www.sleepinitaly.com is a good starting point and they have deals on many apartments for August.

Also, another apartment is located at Palazzo Olivia near Piazza Navona - solid 2 bedroom places in a good location with a/c.

We have stayed twice at Albergo Cesari(albergo cesari) in their quad room with our two kids. In 2006 they updated the air conditioning so each room has its own control now and they also opened a rooftop terrace for breakfast and relaxing. It is in an excellent location right near the Pantheon and we have always found the front desk staff to be pleasant and helpful.

I don't want to confuse you further but if none of the above options work out, post back and I will give you a few more.

Thanks everyone.

jamierin, thanks for taking the time to research. I will post back once I have an idea. Can you post a link to the aparments near Palazzo Olivia for me?

Thanks again

Hi shubha_r,

I had researched all of these places as my family is going to be in Rome this August. I spent so much time looking into options for us that I am glad someone else can benefit from the legwork.

The website for Palazzo Olivia is :http://www.palazzo-olivia.it/

shubha_r,

Albergo Del Senato has a ground floor apartment which would accommodate all four of you. Did they say that it was taken for your dates? There's no view, but my daughter and three friends stayed there two years ago and found it very convenient. My husband and I have stayed at that hotel twice. Going back for our third time next month.

Near the Colosseum, there's Hotel Lancelot, which also has- or used to- quad rooms.

Lastly, have you thought about renting an apartment?

Our family of four also stayed in the quad room at the Cesari. Loved the hotel and location. Was very very pleased!

Its not so much the Termini is a really bad area or too far from main sites its just that you have to travel by taxi foot or whatever to get to the really nice parts of Rome . If you stay in ,for example , Albergo del Senato or one of the other hotels right in the middle of the Historical Centre as soon as you step out of your hotel you are right in the part of Rome you want to spend most of your time in . My wife and I have found this particularly nice at night when you can sit outside at a beautiful square enjoying a last drink knowing your hotel is just a few steps away. Sure it costs a bit more as you are paying for the location but you save some money on taxis .
Another Hotel we have stayed in with great location is Hotel Trevi next to Trevi Fountain

I absolutely agree with Willie.

We stayed around Termini on our first trip and in the Piazza Navona area on ours second trip. I wouldn't say it was a bad area the first time but it, definitely, cost us considerable time and energy (don't ignore this part) to get to the more central parts of the city where the attractions were. We stayed 6 nights the first time and I remember thinking that with the same amount of money we could've stayed one day less in a more central location, have time to see and do the same things or even more and enjoyed more. That said, if the Termini area is the best possible option, I would go for it. It is not bad at all.

All right, here is my short list after intense research

Please give me your thoughts..

1.Hotel Albergo Cesari : $1030 for 4 nights (Not Euro) for a quad room

2. "Hotel Albergo Santa Chiara": $1519 for 4 nights (290 Euros/night)

3. Hotel Pantheon: $1150 for 4 nights (220 Euro per night)

4. Hotel Mozart: Elite Apartment (2 min from main hotel), $912 for 4 nights, 174 Euro per night

5. Hotel Modigliani: Independent apartment : $845 for 4 nights
Family suite with Terrace : $1032/4 nights, 197 Euro per night

6. Hotel Mascagni: Yet to get their prices, but seems to be in the same range.

I have also looked at few apartments, but kind of leaning towards a hotel at this point.

Our fav is Albergo Cesari, and Hotel Modigliani for now. Hotel Mascagni looks good too.

Any thoughts or suggestions ?

Take the Hotel Pantheon of your list. We stayed there a few years ago and although they said they had AC, we nearly roasted. All four of us. Oh, and the sleeping loft for our kids was even hotter! Unless you can verify that they've remedied the situation, skip it!

Heard from Hotel Mascagni. 150 euro/night non refundable and 180 euros per night reg price for a quad room.

Has anyone stayed at Campodefieri ? We are able to rent apartments there..

Please help..

If you are referring to the Hotel Campo de' Fiori then you should check the tripadvisor reports espacially related to the apartments. Some of the reviews were not especially positive, which isn't to say that they are not good, but I like to check all resources before I book a place.

One of the pluses is that rooftop!

http://www.hotelcampodefiori.com/

Did Palazzo Olivia not work out?

Sorry for the typos in the previous entry.

You may like the Navona Gallery Suites as well. Look at the Michelangelo apartment. It is on a terrific street near Piazza Navona.

Thanks jamierin.

Palazzo never got back.

Now Albergo del Senato opened up the junior suite apartment for 260 euro / night.
I have to act quick

Here is our short list :

Albergo del Senato (260)

Raffello (185)

Mascagni (180h

Hotel Mozart elite apartment (174)

We also prefer if a hotel has a terrace..

Need help urgently !!!!!!

Thanks

After much consideration, I have picked the Albergo del Senato for my family in August so I guess you know how I would vote.

shubha - I noticed the Palazzo Olivia on either booking.com or venere.com (can't remember which) as well if you want to check. They had the 2 bedroom apartment listed for 220 E per night in August.

Thanks jamierin.

Now, Albergo Cesari is a very close second. Very similar to del Senato. What's your thought on that ?

It's considerably cheaper

The Albergo Cesari is in the same general location as the Senato and it gets good reviews. I don't think that you can go wrong with either - and if you want to save some money I would book the Cesari. You will have more money to do tours, enjoy meals, etc.

I opted for the Senato because I had been coveting it for years and think that this may be my last trip to Rome for many years, if not forever.

Am I correct in assuming that you would be saving 320 E for the four days if you pick the Cesari?

Just booked del Senato.. Since they have 72 hr cancellation policy, that helps if we change our mind.

Yep , who knows when we return right

Thanks for your help jamierin. Did you use any private guides while you were ther ? Dwe are ther for 3 full days, do you suggest any day trips (keeping my kids in mind ?

Thanks again

Glad you have booked something shubha. We haven't gone on our trip yet. We are going the last 2 weeks of August this summer.

I booked a tour of the Colosseum including the underground and 3rd tier with Walks of Italy. It was quite an expense and therefore, the only tour that I am booking. I remember going there when I was backpacking around 25 years ago, and wishing that I had the money to do a tour. I think that the kids will get much more out of a tour.

You can book a less expensive tour of the Colosseum (including the underground and 3rd tier) with Pierrici (sp?)and have heard good things about this. For a family of four it would work out to around 80E, whereas the Walks of Italy was much more. The difference is that the Walks of Italy tour keeps the group at maximum of 12 people, and also includes the Forum and Palantine.

http://walksofitaly.com/

And as for day trips, we are not doing any outside of Rome during our 4 night stay. There is so much to see in Rome and I want to take it easy because of the heat. Nothing ruins a family trip quicker than tired, hot, cranky kids.

I just purchased this book written by Katie Parla (whose blog I enjoy) and I am loving the ideas in it. It is also really easy to follow and has some eating tips scattered throughout. I highly recommend it.

http://books.google.ca/books/about/National_Geographic_Walking_Rome.html?id=pvjS3A5iNDsC&redir_esc=y

Glad you nabbed the Albergo Del Senato apartment. Definitely check out the roof terrace, and the famous gelateria around the corner!

I also want to do this with the family in Rome. A few posters on this site said that it was fabulous. There is only one English tour per day. They just raised the price to 11.5E per person :

http://www.palazzovalentini.it/index.php?lang=eng

Wow, thanks for the great responses.

Jamierin, it's funny we are also there during mid August and 4 days in Rome. We will be doing Switzerland for a week before we get to Rome how about you, where else are you going ?

You are way ahead in planning I am just beginning

We are starting in Rome, renting a car and driving to an apartment about 40 minutes south of Florence, west of the Chianti area, and then on to Venice for a few nights and flying home from there. Very excited and yes - I am a planner!

There ia a major holiday in Italy on the 15th of August and many restaurants may be closed in Rome during this time period. I think that in the area of the Senato, enough will be open but I have been warned that many of the "foodie" destination places will be closed.

Who knows - maybe we will be at the Senato at the same time and can compare notes there!

I love these types of posts because it's so hard (and thus so helpful) to find advice on quad rooms- sorry I missed the fun!!!! You made a great choice. I'll add my 2 cents anyway. I always tell people to check www.4inEurope.com because it saved my bacon.

Use TripAdvisor reviews!!! Count the ratio of excellent and v. good to the total reviews rather than focusing on the bad ones (every hotel has some bad reviews or, perhaps, bad reviewers!).

As for tours, I wouldn't bother in the city but would consider strongly a day trip to Pompeii. Go to the Vatican museum in the afternoon with advance tickets booked and you should be fine. Find the EatRome app and use it to try every gelato place mentioned! Plus the new one near the Coloseum...Fior?

The new one near the Colosseum is called Flor.

http://www.revealedrome.com/2011/06/rome-newest-artisanal-gelateria-near-the-colosseum-flor.html

Yes! Thank you for the post- good read. For that area, it's great gelato! And the women running it are super.

I would disagree on the tours. The first time we went to Rome, we thought there would be guides or explanations (in Italian) at the major sites. My brother was completely fluent in Italian and I had taken a fair bit). But there really was nothing at the Colosseum. A security guard who couldn't tell him much.

The second time we did get a private guide--Daniella Hunt/Mirabilis Urbis tours and she was excellent. I found her through this site, actually. Going to the Colosseum and Forum the second time was far more interesting than on our own. Would recommend it.

The Hotel Alimandi got mentioned at the beginning and then dropped. I would not place it in the same tier as the Senato.

We have stayed at the Alimandi because of its proximity to the Vatican and because it had a shuttle to the airport. I can't tell you about the service or quality these days since it's been five years...except I told my friend, a travel agent about it, and she now offers it as a budget property. I can tell you that the rooms were pretty small and I doubt that has changed. My uncle also stayed there two weeks, but he was a solo traveler and he found it acceptable. He got to know the family who owns it and thought the breakfast spread was decent.