I will be in Rome Sep 18-21 and am looking for 2 hotel rooms for 3 nights. I am trying to find something under $100 (I can hear you laughing). I found something online at http://www.santasusanna.org about staying in convents. It sounds interesting to me. Has anyone done this before and if so , what has been their experience? What is the best way to book?
I am also open to suggestions about good hotels and or hostels. My husband and I will be traveling with my parents who are in their early 60s. We would prefer to be in the historic center, but it's not a requirement as long as we can find something close to a train or bus station.
Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks!

Santa Susanna doesn't keep their prices updated so they aren't accurate. It's best to book directly with the convent by e-mail if they have one. Some have private bath and some don't. What are your preferences? You price is only around 70E (I hope you meant per double room although most convents have quads) so you won't have much selection. Santa Sofia on Piazza Madonna dei Monti would probably be in that price range. They are a couple of blocks from the forum and have private baths.

You can look at convents/monasteries on www.monasterystays.com to get a list of amenities/locations/transportation, but they mark up their prices about 10-15E per night so it's best to book directly with the convent.

I prefer a double room with private bath. Breakfast included would be nice, but not required. Thanks for the tip on booking directly with the convent.

Hi voyagefemme,
We will be staying at the Casa Il Rosario in late October. Even booking ten months ahead we had a hard time finding a vacancy. I contacted five convents and none had openings. I hope you have good luck finding a vacancy if this is the route you decide to go. I think this has become a popular option since the hotels are higher in Rome.
Good luck and have a great trip,
Michele

For location, I would try Fraterna Domus first (e-mail should be on Santa Susanna website), but I'm not sure they are in your price range. They are near Piazza Navona, have private baths and breakfast.

My 2nd choice would also be Il Rosario. Next try Santa Sofia. All have private baths and breakfast although it may just be juice/coffee/rolls. Il Rosario and Santa Sofia are just a block or two apart.

If you want to search this website will let you search zones, just be sure to click applica each time or it will revert to the previous zone. When it pulls up a list for the zone you want, click on the convent. When the page loads it will tell you amenities, contact information, sometimes a website and usually a map. If you click on the camera on the map and zoom in a couple of times, you will get the street views so you can see what the area is like.
http://www.060608.it/en/content/list...enza/id/152?q=

Sometimes the Hotel MonteCarlo will do deals on their prices, to well below $100/night. We stayed there a few years ago and the rooms were fine, nothing fancy, but nice. I think we paid something like $60 per night, but their rack rate is much higher. The staff were really nice. The included "breakfast" isn't anything to write home about. They also have free internet in all the rooms (wired)

About 5 blocks down from the hotel is a nice restaurant with reasonable prices (sorry, I don't remember the name), even serving on Christmas day.

Just around the corner, across from the adult movie theater is this great little pizza place that makes really good food and it is really cheap. Every time we go to Rome we make it a point to go there, even though we normally stay near Navonna. The guys that run it let me try my hand at throwing pizza dough. I wasn't very good.

About the hotel location, it is maybe 400 meters from Termini on Via Palestro, near the Castro Pretorio station. One thing you don't worry about is security, as Via Palestro houses several embassies and there are full-time armed guards on the street.

It isn't close to many of the main tourist spots, but it is fairly easy to get around with buses and metro. If I remember correctly, it cost like 7 euros for a taxi from the Pantheon to the hotel on Christmas eve night and the same from the Colosseum on Christmas night.

http://www.hotelmontecarlo.it/

dave

Thanks to all for their suggestions. I contacted 12 convents in Rome and 2 had availability for my dates. I booked us at the Santa Sofia at the piazza Madonna dei Monti, near the Colosseum. This will be a unique experience for us as we've never done anything like this before.
Thanks again everyone!

Ask for an interior room or a quiet room. Piazza Madonna dei Monti has several restaurants and a fountain where people hang out so it will be quieter if you aren't on the piazza. The entrance isn't really marked (well maybe in Ukranian/Russian). It's the yellow building and you may have to be buzzed in.

Breakfast is somewhat lacking (especially the coffee), but there is a little fruit market on the piazza.
Showers/bathrooms were new/clean and had plenty of hot water. Furniture was Ikeaish.

If you are arriving by subway, know that there is a flight of stairs to exit at the Cavour stop (no elevator/escalator). To get to the convent, cross via Cavour and head down hill to until you reach via Sepenti (short walk). There is also a flight of stairs down to via Leonina from via Cavour, but I wouldn't want to drag my luggage down them. It's easier if are leaving the convent for the subway, there aren't any stairs as the entrance is on the opposite side of the street and everything is on one level. As you leave the convent walking down via Serpenti, left on via Leonina. The Cavour subway entrance is up via Leonina a short walk.

kybourbon- thanks for the subway tips. When my reservation was confirmed I put in a request for a room in the back, not facing the piazza. I'll request it again when we arrive.

Maybe you should ask if there is a curfew, many convents have one and sometimes it is hard to enjoy a late meal or concert or even just an evening stroll and then have to rush back for your timed curfew.

SeaUrchin- yes they have a midnight curfew which is later than most. I'm fine with midnight since it will give us time to get out during the day and see the sights, eat dinner and have a nice leisurely evening before heading back.

Yes, it's a midnight curfew. There's an interior courtyard/air shaft type of area (not somewhere you can hang out). A room on that will be quiet as long as you aren't in the front on the piazza.

The subway is only a couple of minutes walk as is the forum.

Did you get double rooms? What rate did you get?

We had a nice dinner at Fraterna Domus (we didnt stay there). Around 14/15 euro per person for 3 courses including wine - yummo!

kybourbon - Yes, I got 2 double rooms (there are 4 adults traveling). The 2009 rate is 75 euros. I'm not sure what it was in the past, but 75 is acceptable considering the prices of hotels in Rome. We are arriving in Rome early in the morning so we will check in as soon as they will take us. Hopefully we'll get first pick at rooms and can get something in a quiet area.
Thanks for all your great advice and input.