During our trip to Italy we will only have 2 nights in Rome (unfortunately). Therefore we would like to maximize our stay by finding accommodations in an area that would be fantastic for exploration mostly on foot. Obviously, I do not understand the layout of the city in relation to the sites that are "must see." So - I am hoping that some of you great folks on this forum can help.
We are looking for reasonably-priced, clean, friendly accommodations (B&B, hotel, apartment) for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 "adult" children). We need to find either two rooms or a very large room with 1 double and 2 twins. Our main concern right now is location. We want our "children" to be able to walk out an wander in the evening and have cafes, etc closeby. We also want to be able to get to major attractions very easily in our short amount of time. Oh - we need to have air conditioning! (don't even ask) . We are hoping to find accommodations under 300Euros/night (whether it be one room or two) Less would be better!
Thank you very much.

Two places come to mind that have quad rooms:
Hotel Portoghesi--near Piazza Navona
Hotel Mozart--near Piazza Popolo

Thank you, Bob. I will check them out. Any other suggestions?

I can wholeheartedly recommend this apartment agency: realrome.com

I recently stayed in the apartment on via della reginella in the old Jewish Ghetto and liked the area very much. You'd probably want to stay in the Historic Centre of Rome, so that would be neighbourhoods like the Ghetto, Campo di Fiori, Piazza Navona, and near the Pantheon.

One nice thing about the Ghetto is that the immediate area itself is relatively quiet at night, but the Pantheon with it's bars and cafes for example, is within very easy walking distance.

Our family (including 2 adult children) stayed at Arco del Lauro, a small hotel in Trastevere. We found the quad room to be perfect. It gets excellent reviews on Trip Advisor and we found it lived up to every accolade. The night life with caffes and restaurants was great. It was walking distance across the river to the ghetto area and also to Campo di Fiori.
The only draw back is that it might not be as central as you would like. You will need to determine if the location is a drawback. This was our second trip to Rome and thought the location was fine. But it is something you need to consider.

There is no relation at all between the layout and the "must see" sights of Rome, simply because terrific sights are everywhere, even on the outskirts of this most amazing city in the whole wide world. It would take you about one year of permanent vacation to see most (not all) "must see" sights of Rome. The important thing about location in Rome, thus, is not proximity to "the" sights (every location is close to some sights, and far from most sights), but beauty of neighbourhood and quick public traffic connections. This thread http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...odistricts.cfm will give you some ideas.

Try Hotel Julia. I stayed there in 2003. It is right by the Trevi. Breakfast was included. Nice people. Nice price.

http://www.hoteljulia.it

You might try the Hotel Giardino Rome. No quad rooms, but 2 doubles would do it. It's small, cozy and has a great location for walking everywhere. Only the Vatican is a bit far. Katy and her staff are very friendly and helpful. Rates should be what you are looking for. No elevator, clean and comfortable. It's on XXIV via Maggio, between the Quirinale and Trajan's Market. A 5 minutes walk to the Trevi, 15 mintues to the Coliseum.

Buon viaggio!