nandgexperience

Hi everyone,

Once again I'm turning to fodorites for advice. I'm looking at this apartment in Rome for a 4 day stay in May. It's within my very limited budget (under 90 euros a night). I know there have been some mixed reviews of rentalinrome.com so I'm a bit hesitant about that.

I've also been reading franco's Rome neighbourhoods thread and thinking that it may be too close to the Campo de Fiori area. I'm not a partier and wouldn't like to be kept awake at night by drunken rowdies.

What do you think? Should I be looking in the Trastevere area instead? It sounds like a very beautiful area but might be a bit far from the "main" sights..

http://www.rentalinrome.com/amorinoloft/amorinoloft.htm

Thank you for the advice!

Doh

We stayed on Pellegrino (the parallel road) a few years ago and had no problem with noise at all (although I think our apartment did have double glazed windows). Those side streets are pretty narrow and any noise drops off quickly I think.

I loved the location. I know a lot of people recommend Trastavere, and it depends of course on what you are looking for, but personally I think Campo de Fiori/Piazza Navona is the perfect location.

zeppole

At that address you are really removed from "party central" in the Campo, and the noise of setting up the morning market.

I can't comment on the reliability of rentalinrome, but the location of that apartment has few negatives.

I have noticed on Fodor's there is a strong bias towards areas around the Campo dei Fiore, Piazza Navona, and Trastevere. Areas around the Spanish Steps, Pizza del Popolo and even via Cola di Renzo in Rome are convenient to many sights and have a nice ambience. If you find something appealing and affordable in those areas, you shoudn't rule it out. (Trastevere can have many drunken rowdies, too, on some streets because it also has bar/youth scene.)

nandgexperience

Thanks for your advice Doh and zeppole... now I'm wondering why the price is so low for a nice looking apartment in a good area. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

zeppole

Have you done a lot of price-comparison shopping? My usual experience is that apartment rentals and b&bs are not pricey in Rome. I didn't read the mixed reviews, so can't advise!

adrienne

It doesn't appear that there is a washing machine and are there any windows on the ground floor?

rmcorso

Hi, I am too looing at an apartment from Rental In Rome but a little skeptical. There are a few negative reviews but surely there must be some happy outcomes out there somewhere.

I was looking at the Sinibaldi Apartment and a couple around the Spanish Steps. Can't decide as yet.

We also are going in May...will be there 19-22 May and I'm hoping someone will post something nice in the next few days so I can make up my mind.

Hope it works out for you and please write back when you arrive home so others can have another review to look at.

tdk320n

I can give you some feedback about Rental in Rome. In 2007 I rented 2 apartments on the same floor from them. The apartments met all our needs and we had no problem with the agency with the exception of time that it took to answer my emails.
The following year I was returning to Rome twice on a 4 week trip. The first apartment that I rented was for the beginning of my trip prior to going to the Amalfi Coast. When we arrived at the apartment a agent met us and told us there was a problem with the plumbing, and we could not use the apartment. However they arranged for us to stay at a hotel and they paid the difference in the rates. We were disappointed but completely understood. We thought that they acted professionally.
When I returned 3 weeks later for my next stay, I had rented the studio apartment that we had rented the previous year, I was met at the apartment and told that there was a problem with the apartment. When I asked what the problem was I was told that the bed was broken.I was walked to another apartment.The substitute apartment was horrible. Dirty and dark. I complained that this was not acceptable that they had to find me another apartment.
I was told that was all that they had and if I was not satified I should find something else .I was left stranded in the apartment. I had a phone and a guide book so I called several hotels. I was able to find a place to stay after many calls. The cost of the room was much more that the apartment but I really had no alternative.
Rental in Rome refused to compensate me for the extra money that I had to spend.
Being a tough old lady I refused to acceft their offer of the deposit that i paid. I researched the law of the country as to rentals. Basically all I did was tell my story to a sympathetic concierge.She explained that if a rental agency can not offer a comparable substitute they must pay the difference
It took several phone calls and a very long meeting at their office before they agreed. O f course I mentioned that I knew the law and they were obligated to reimburse me.

Sorry If this was rambling but it was a very disturbing incident. I am a very senior female andto be left alone in a strange dark apartment,was frightening. I still travel mostly alone and still use agencies. My feeling is that 1 bad experience will not stop me. However I will not use RENTAL IN ROME again.

tuscanlifeedit

OH GOD this is awful. I read many many reviews before booking with Rental in Rome, and somehow missed all this. I did read about one substitution, and asked the agency about it, but sort of bought there explanation that sometimes there are serious plumbing problems.

Now I'm wondering if they overbook or simply have owners that use these places.

Well, I'll take a list of hotels, but I am so unhappy to read this.

It seems that the same owner has 3 or 4 apartments in the building where we are renting. I'm hoping that is a good sign.

It is only a month from our rental so there is no hope to get my deposit back. Two substitutions from the same agency is totally unacceptable. I think I will write to them.

I'm very worried. Rats.

skibunnyjan

Hi there for what it's worth I used the website BBPlanet and stayed at "Holiday Apartment Il Giardino Di Portico D'ottavia", which was in the Jewish Quarter 5 mins walk from Campo di Fiore. Very safe area and quiet, Tiber River was just down th street with a bridge across to Trastevere. We were very safe in a studio apartment ( 4 keys to use before getting into apartment)

Only thing I didn't like was BB Planet as I cancelled 2 of our bookings at other places months prior to our leaving and never received the refund promised. So be wary that once you pay your deposit it's what you want.

Leely2

Nan, I have rented on via dei Cappellari in the past, though the apartment was through realrome.com and not ground floor. We had no problem at all in that location--truly enjoyed it and although I'm no granny by any means, we are not "partiers." Last Christmas we rented from rentalinrome by Piazza Navona and had a great apartment, but I believe the agency reps many, many places and perhaps that's where sometimes quality control is lost, possibly more so at the lower price points. Our rentalinrome place was very well kept up by the owners and we had a wonderful experience.

Zerlina

"Plumbing problems" are rental-agency lingo for double bookings. Most apartments in Rome are represented by more than one agency, and the owners generally decide to honor the reservation of the agency that pays them the higher rent and/or takes the lower commission. It can happen with any of the larger agencies.

There's been a new guy called Michael at Rental in Rome for about a year. He posts frequently over on TripAdvisor, and he seems to be trying to institute some kind of quality control. Try to get in touch with him, either through email or by sending him a PM through TA.

tdk320n

Zerlina

Happy to hear that there is someone new at Rental in Rome. Obviously they realized that they had a problem. As I posted the first year the 2 apartments that we rented were great in the area that we love, because of this I did not hesitate to rent the same apartment from them again.
The agent we had was named Marco and in retrospect he may have been the owner of the apartments.
He probably had rented them on his own and did not have to pay a fee to the agency and therefore the switch.

nandgexperience

Very interesting experiences everyone. I have been doing some further research on apartments in Italy and haven't been able to find anything comparable to the price and location of the apartment I posted above. Seems like there's a lot of mixed reviews on rentalinrome and it really depends on the owner involved?

As far as I can tell, rentalinrome is an agency that connects you with the owner of the apartment so it's really hit and miss depending on the owner you get. I've been holding off on booking with them for this reason, but I might have to take the risk and hope it turns out well, as Rome is quite booked up in May!

Zerlina

Have you looked at Real Rome? They specialize in budget apartments, and I've only seen positive reviews of the agency and Tim Pearson who runs it.

jExIcA

Actually I usually book with other web sites when I need to suggest apartment to rent in Rome and when I need to travel to other places so if that could help you I can tell you with pleasure.
For the area question I think Campo de Fiori it's a good area: first of all you are in the centre of Rome! Second it's an area full of shops, pizzerias, restaurant and pub where lot of people usually going to, so if you are searching for an area that offers night life, fun and good company, well you found it!
A friend of mine rents this apartment http://www.thesmartcactus.com/eng/ap...tachio_01.html I hope it can help you and I wish you a very pleasant trip!

grace44

My husband and I rented an apartment from Rental in Rome last Sept 2009. We had no problems. The apartment was as advertised. Emails were answered promptly and we were able to make our down payment through paypal, which I liked. Our plane landed in Rome over an hour late, so I called the contact number given us, to let them know. It wasn't the owner, but someone from the agency that met us at the apartment. He waited for us, saying it was no problem, and no extra charge. He gave us his personal cell number and said to call if we had any problems. We did not have to use the number. I was satisfied with the service from start to finish and would rent from them again.

tuscanlifeedit

Well, some of this is a little comforting. As I said, the owner of the apartment we are renting has 4 in the same building, so it is my hope that he wouldn't have to push us out.

Personally, I would cancel immediately and go to a nice hotel, but my husband is in favor of keeping our reservations. If we were to cancel, we only have another few days to do it and get most of our admittedly small deposit back.

I may write to this Michael guy and see what he has to say. What a bummer. I don't even want to have to think about this. Yuck.

tcreath

Hello! I'm sorry to be bringing this thread back up but I'm hoping the two posters who had bookings with Rental in Rome could post their experiences. We just booked a two-bedroom apartment near Piazza Navona for next April. My husband and I are going with another couple, and this is their first trip to Italy. We let them choose the Rome apartment and were quite pleased with what they found based on the website. However, now I'm a little concerned based on the feedback I've been reading. Any new information to add?

Thanks!
Tracy

nandgexperience

Hi Tracy - I didn't wind up going with rental in rome due to the iffy reviews. Sorry I can't help you there. But I think with any rental company there will be some bad, some good experiences. We went with rome capital apartments instead, and unfortunately we had a bad experience with them even though the reviews were mostly good. Just the way it is.