Jean

I would like to hear about anyone <BR>who had the experience of dealing <BR>with Dr Abate or RomanHomes.com

Sheila

Wind up, no?

Howard

Jean, you must be new to the forum! <BR>Just do a search on Dr. Abate and you'll gets lots of entertaining reading!

Daniel

Howard: Yes Jean is new. Jean posted about RomanHomes Friday on rec.travel.europe. I e-mailed her yesterday and recommended that she post over here with both RomanHomes and Dr Abate in the title. I remember that thread that Fodors deleted about RH & Dr Abate and hopefully some of those posters who dealt with him are still around and can give Jean a 1st hand account. ~Daniel~ <BR>

Karen

Jean, We rented an apartment from Romanhomes in March 1999 and had a perfectly satisfactory experience. It was near the Pantheon, in Via del collegio capranica.

Sheila

Jean <BR> <BR>the straight answer is that somewhat before my time onthsi board there wasa flame war between Dr Abate's fans and his detractors, in which war he articpated hugely. <BR> <BR>It got out of hand and Fodor's withdrew it. But someon has topped a subsquent thread for you. My own take as an outside observor is that I wouldn't touch the man with a bargepole. I express no reasons as to why other than life is too short to be bothered worrying whether or not one has a problem

sally

Jean: We rented a super 2br, 2ba apt w/ LR and small kitchen from guestinitaly.com. The name is Piazza Monte de Pieta. That is their "deluxe" B&B accomodation, altho. it is more of an apt. They have single rooms, also. We were right off the Campo di Fiore in Rome, but they also have other locations both in Rome and Italy. Thought this might offer you an alternative. Regards, Sally

Deanie

Jean, my experience with him and with the apartment I rented were great. Specifically, what do you want to know about it.

justtrying

Sorry for the anonymous post, but I don't want get stuck in the middle and get spammed or worse. <BR>Jean, this is sticky issue. One of the elements of the now-famous Dr. Abate melodrama discussed above was the claim that Dr. Abate had gotten his cohorts, friends or whomever to post endorsements of him on the forum. The question is: Are the above endorsements genuine or are they friends of the doctor?

Ed

Is justtrying really trying to be helpful with an anonymous post? <BR> <BR>Time after time people on this forum are attacked. Repeatedly anyone who has a kind word to say about them is accused of being a "confederate" of the person attacked. <BR> <BR>Fodor's continued policy of permitting unconstrained use of anonymous pseudonyms makes it impossible to judge the merit of what anyone has to say on this forum ... ESPECIALLY those who post with fictitious names.

Deanie

My endorsement (see above) was entirely unsolicited. I simply found RomanHomes while searching for apartments in Rome and my dealing with Mr. Abate were very pleasant. I would sincerely recommend him to anyone. I live in Alabama and could hardly be considered a "cohort."

Brent Lawstone

Here we go again. These frequent attempts in this forum to spoil the reputation of serious professionals, such as Roman Homes and Dr. Mauro Abate are sickening. <BR>I have lived in Rome years ago, I return regularly and rent usually from this company. I can only praise their diligent and courteous work, precious in a town where everything is very complicated to say the least. Dr. Abate is a person you can trust, and he is a gentleman. Year after year I appreciated his dedication at work, but also that that he is very congenial, and knowledgeable of Rome. <BR>I wonder why instead of believing the good words on this company the mob here seems to trust entirely the jerks that people in the travel industry come across with every now and then. I too rent a couple of homes of mine in San Diego to vacationers and occasionally I come across with unbelievably ugly and aggressive guys that nobody could possibly satisfy or have any sort of civilised relation with. I imagine what it meants running a vacation rental agency with many properties and customers. <BR>So friends let's use our brain here, making this forum again a place of competent and honest Fodorites, and nothing else, please.

nameless

OK, I was going to stay out of the fray, but the lovefest posted above makes me feel obligated to share my limited, but unpleasant experience, just to balance things out. I was inquiring from several Rome apartment websites, one of which was romanhomes.com. Their inquiry form is entirely fill-in-the-blank, and after all the normal questions, there was a blank asking for feedback/suggestions on the website. I provided two modest suggestions--one regarding the city map, and one regarding the slow loading graphics. I received a timely response, but in addition to the info on the apartment, Dr. A got rather snippy about my suggestions (which were SOLICITED, remember). He suggested his map was the finest available, and that the slow loading was due to my computer (I have a DSL connection, so not likely). But, trying to avoid being the ugly American, I wrote back saying I was very interested in the apartment, I had just been trying to provide the feedback he'd requested, and was sorry if my comments had offended him (btw, I've never gotten that kind of defensive response from a customer-service type question. Have you?). I chalked it up to cultural/language differences, apologized profusely, and assumed it was over. He wrote back AGAIN, and said, essentialy, that he wasn't 'offended', but I should be ready to defend my position if I was going to criticize his site, and he had the best site around, etc. <BR> <BR>That was enough for me. I wasn't looking for a fight. I wanted a worry-free vacation, and if the guy was this goofy/aggressive via e-mail, I had no desire to do business with him. I later ran across the old Dr. A posts on this forum and thanked my lucky stars I'd run away. <BR> <BR>I don't doubt that many people have had good experiences with that Roman Homes, but, for what it's worth, I found it an odd business. <BR> <BR>I rented from a different company (mentioned elsewhere in this thread) and had a perfect holiday.

Ed

Who, nameless, would you expect to pay attention to someone who hasn't the gumption to use their name? <BR> <BR>

zzzz

Ed, I'm usuallty 100% with you on your postings (using my real name and address, I might add). But, you're way off base here with your high-and-mighty postings. Considering the subject and the past history of the subject at hand, I don't blame anyone for posting anonymously (including myself) for feared of being spammed or worse!

Jane

I agree with zzz. I mean who's to say that Jane is my real name?

sera

I'm beginning to think Dr. Abate is a fictional character.

StCirq

Ed: I can't imagine anyone going to the trouble to make up the fairly complicated story "nameless" told if it weren't true. It sounded completely legitimate to me. Given the nature of many recent posts on this site, it's a wonder everyone doesn't become "nameless."

Ed

St Cirq, zzz and others: <BR> <BR>I'm sorry, but I dont'see a need for total anonymity. What is the "nature of recent posts" that lead you to believe anonymity is good? Do you think some of those anonymous posts might not have appeared if the poster had to show their "face" and indentity, at least to the editors? I think not. <BR> <BR>It's my experience, here, and elsewhere, that hiding behind anonymity leads to coarseness and deceit. Are all anonymous posters coarse and deceitful? No ... of course not. Are all coarse and deceitful posters anonymous? In almost every case, yes. <BR> <BR>Would you trust advice from someone who doesn't want you to know who they are? I'm sorry if my reaction is "high and mighty"... but I have no confidence in faceless voices whispering in my ear.

John W. Young

I think that Ed and Brent are quite right. Moreover the case of "nameless" shows that this forum is crammed with slanderers attacking from under cover. <BR>Now, he/she reports to have enquired with Roman Homes, and in the feedback/suggestion space he/she says to have made suggestions on the map and on the slow loading graphics. <BR>Well, the Roman Homes site (www.romanhomes.com) is as a matter of fact one of the best you find in its category. It is very complete, prepared with knowledge and evidently with care for visitors. It also has the best map of Rome I came across with. It is hosted in one of their satellite sites: <BR>www.romanholidays.com/rome-map.htm <BR>(though it can be reached from links all over the main romanhomes.com site). <BR>If "nameless" truly had DSL, she would have no problem loading the pages, as I do with my normal connection (and mind you, Roman Homes warns that given their detailed nature the map sections can download slowly). However, it must be determined the nature of her "suggestions", which brought someone of Roman Homes to reply. There are more than one persons replying, and I don't believe at all that "nameless'" message was so "apologetic" as she claims, or that Dr. Abate's reply was "aggressive". Why? Because I have been enquiring with Roman Homes for more than a year, corresponding with Dr. Abate. I also clarified to him that I wasn't even sure I was even going to visit Rome, let alone rent one of their properties. Well, for *one year* he replied to my queries with very informative and cordial messages. I was quite impressed by his competence and kindness. Moreover in my business I frequently come across people enquiring who are rude uncalled for, from the very first time they contact me, and one thing I've learned for sure is that when they report their side of the story they twist things giving a completely differenct picture of what actually happened. <BR>Now I wonder why only in Fodors you have such detractors. It seems that many can't help feeling somehow interesting by bashing or giving a negative report on someone or something <BR>(and they don't even sign their messages). <BR>However, FYI, after a long and fruitful correspondence with Dr. Abate (I didn't expect it from such a popular site), I finally rented one of their properties, and I was very pleased with the unit and the service. Unfortunately I could not meet Dr. Abate but his helpful staff. He called me twice at the apartment anyhow to check that things were going well. <BR>To conclude, Roman Homes and Dr. Abate are serious and courteous professionals. I have visited nearly any site on Rome, and theirs stands high above the crowd. I was very impressed and pleased with the service. <BR>I would only suggest that they be cautious when coming across with potentially negative tenants, also during the enquiry stage. They should not be replying to all messages they get. Sometimes not responding means avoiding problematic customers. <BR>It remains unanswered how making this forum again a meeting point of those seriously interested in experiencing other countries and their cultures, without spicing it up with uninteresting stories. <BR>