I've made reservations at Anne's Place outside of Rome. It looks delightful and the Trip advisor reviews are wonderful. Just checking if any of you have stayed there and if it really makes sense to stay outside of Rome, rather than in Rome. Thanks!!

How far is it from Rome? I stayed in the city, but just west of St. Peter's because it was near where my brother lived.

Rome is a big city. At the end of a day sightseeing (lots of walking) we would have to add connections or find a bus to get us to the Metro, or find a taxi stand (sometimes a walk in itself). We had kids with us, so I perhaps noticed it even more.

Without kids, when we made this trip previously, we found that by late afternoon at least one person in our group wanted to go home for a bit to relax. But then it's more work to go back out for a nice meal in the city, or enjoy the city's fountains and monuments, many of which are lit up at night.

On the other hand, if you are not a big city person, your lodgings might be a good escape at the end of the day.

We stayed at Anne's Place just last week, having gone there on the strength of the reviews in Trip Advisor. We were not disappointed. We escaped the noise and polution of Rome to enjoy wonferful fresh air, and unbelievable hospitality. The train journey is 30 minutes, but it flew by, and there was Anne at the railway station to meet us

Sorry but part of Rome is the noise,congestion and "night senses" of strolling the cobblestones stopping for a Proseco or gelato,etc.30 minutes on the train is a hassle whether you are in Rome or Chicago when you are tired and want to be back in your hotel room or drop off something/change shoes,etc.

I also posted looking for info on Anne's Place a couple of weeks ago but have finally decided to stay actually in Rome. However I too read all the wonderful reviews on Trip Advisor, the place almost seems to be too good to be true, I was a little suspicious if all the recommendations were genuine.

http://www.byanne.com/

In case others are interested in checking it out, here's the URL. It does look very nice.

I myself prefer to stay *in* the cities I visit, as I'm one of those people who likes to freshen up before dinner and stroll around afterwards.

That said, my boyfriend did a home exchange a couple of years ago for an apartment just outside of Rome, and it worked out okay for him.

Hello goldnsoft, I have read about Anne's Place somewhere and remember it did sound lovely. I am one who likes to go back to my room before dinner to rest a bit and freshen up for dinner so I would prefer to stay in Rome. But I think it depends on your mood. If you want a quiet and serene time in Italy with some time in Rome I can see where this would be a good idea. But if you are going to Rome to basically enjoy Rome than I would stay in Rome.
Best wishes.

Firstly in response to Patricia, I too was cynical of so many good reviews, not only of Anne's Place, but also of all of the hotels/B&Bs in Tripadvisor. But someone once assured me that the moderators in Tripadvisor do check for duplicated IP addresses etc. And, although I didn't, you can always write to those who have displayed their email addresses.

Then - I thoroughly enjoyed the local restaurants - unpretentious, friendly and very good food, at a price considerably lower than Rome. We had a chance to freshen up before we were chauffeured to the restaurant and introduced as part of the family !

Of course, it is all a matter of personal taste, some love the city, some need to escape. Me, I enjoyed Rome during the day, and loved to escape in the evening

I would have to agree with 'dutyfree' on this one.
If it's your first trip to Rome then i would suggest you to stay as centrally as possible. I believe that you'll loose half the magic of this great city by staying outside!

You are definitely going to <b>want</b> to walk around in Rome after dark and doing so will give you a whole different view of things and the people.

This will not be easy to do if you are staying outside the city.

However, if you've decided to go with staying outside then do so and then you'll find out if it was the &quot;right&quot; decision.

However, the fact that after you've made those reservations you are now asking for advice or confirmation or reassurance, etc., makes me wonder if you <b>really</b> want to stay outside the city.

I, too, read the rave reviews about Anne's. But I couldn't help but wonder: if it's country-livin' one wants why would one go to Rome? My favorite time in Rome was walking around at night when the landmarks were softly lit and sidewalks filled with locals. I just can't imagine what it would have felt like if we needed to catch a train back to the hotel.

Here's another vote for staying IN Rome. One of my favorite things was enjoying a Limoncello at one of the cafes in Piazza Navona or by the Pantheon after dinner, watching the people and performers, etc. And as others have said, it's nice to walk around and see Rome after dark.

I too would stay in Rome. I think Rome is a delight to stroll around at night. I couldn't imagine going to Rome and not strolling Piazza Navona, seeing the Pantheon lit up at night, stopping for gelato....night time is my favorite time in Rome. I also agree with the others; its a big city and I always like to go back to my room and rest and freshen up before going out for the night. A 30 minute train ride would seem like nothing but a hastle, especially doing it for 2 or 3 days straight.

Tracy

Just wondering goldnsoft, did you ever go to Anne's Place, and did you feel that you should have been in the eternal city itself ??

I am wondering why there are only 2 posts from Wandering Star on this forum? Are you new to Fodor's?

I also chime in with the majority. If you want to go to Rome, stay in Rome! If you want to be in the country, that is a totally different thing.

Carol

Mmm, my thoughts entirely Brahmama!!!!

In response to Brahmama, yes, I only discovered Fodor's recently, although I have used TripAdvisor for quite a long time. In response to all the others, I loved Rome, but was glad to get out in the evening to the peace and quiet of the countryside. It is a matter of personal taste, to me, the day in the city and a night in the countryside was what I was looking for !!!

Just to add something else, that justifies my reasoning for not staying in the city, I prefer to get away from all the tourists, not listening to fellow countrymen and women on the next table complaining about all that is wrong with where they are; how the food's not as good as at home, how slow the service is, how bad the drivers are etc etc etc.

Oh I'd stay in Rome, absolutely. You'd just end up in town every day anyway, and you'd be wasting the travel time.

Wait a tic. The OP's post was two months ago.