Apartment in Trastevere
 

I will be spending a month in Rome around Feb.and/or March and would like to rent a reasonable but comfortable apt. in the Trastevere area for that time. I am a retired teacher from USA and would like to be on a small, quiet street in an older building. No studio or loft bed and not too many flights of stairs. Does anyone have a recommendation, personal experience? Thanks.

http://www.jeweloftrastevere.com/
I'll write a review soon on http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/vr/list.asp?r=Rome
but you can't go wrong with this one. Just spent 18 nights and the location, apartment and price can't be better.

Dear Normano,
Thanks for reply. I am already aware of the Jewel of Trastevere and have already contacted owner. So thanks for verifying my good choice there. But I can't locate the other apartment you mention. I am new to Fordors Travel Talk, so maybe I just don't know how to access your link. When I try, I just get the list of reviews. Did you write a review, and if so under what name or number? I did not see you under name as given here. Help! There are hundreds of apartments, my head is spinning, and I certainly appreciate any experienced guidance to help with my decision.

My intention was to link you to SlowTrav where you could find many reviews of other apartments located in Trastevere.I have not yet written reviews of the two apartments we rented in our very recent one month in Rome. We also rented a two plus bedroom apartment in the Borgo neighbourhood through RealRome which we shared with friends for ten days.
What I can say here about the Jewel of Trastevere (and if you search this and other travel sites, you will find that there has been curiosity but no reports about it) is that not only is it well located (next to Piazza di San Cosimato and the Gianocolo Hill and around a corner or two from Santa Maria in Trastevere), spotless and spacious, recently renovated, completely appointed and decorated with sophistication, located on the second (North American second, Italian first) floor with easy stairs and a lift, reasonably priced, and has a nice prospect onto a vast and wonderful internal garden/courtyard within a very well maintained probably turn of the last century complex, but also the owner is a delight to deal with.
Worked for us and I miss it and Rome badly.
Should be perfect for a month as the neighbourhood is teeming with an excellent and complete array of shops and services as well as two supermercados and a daily market a short walk away. Our domestic routines were probably the real highlights of our trip to Rome and we very much had the sense of living in a vital and friendly neigbourhood. Plenty of opportunity to form relationships if you are gregarious and can get by with a little Italian.
And I suppose I should mention the dozens of restaurants (including the usually highly rated Alberto Ciarlo viewable (with a stretch) from the living room windows) along with the complete range of pizzerie and trattorie for which Trastevere is so famous. All within an endlessly fascinating five or ten minutes stroll.
The apartment more than lives up to its clear and accurate website presentation. I hope that it is available to you. Give our best to Paula.

I just returned from Trastevere, stayed 3 nights in a great little B&B, which we loved. But were I to be staying for a month, as you are jgarvey (and I am jealous indeed!), the apartment recommended by normanoromano looks absolutely positively PERFECT. And I can't imagine a better location...Piazza Santa Maria is such a special spot in Rome, it's like being in a small Italian town of its own...yet there you are, an easy 15-minute walk to everything in the centro storico. I'm bookmarking the jeweloftrastevere link!

Ok, now I'm starting to get desperate! Aren't there any more recommendations out there for Trastevere apartments. I have looked at so much and spent so many hours on the websites, that now I am totally paralized and confused. Help me, please. I can't make this decision alone. I am older female (retired teacher) just looking for a safe , comfortable place to stay in Feb./March. All replies appreciated.

hi,
check out this website,
www.liveromelikearoman.com
it wasn't available or my week in may. it looks like it has two weeks available in march and maybe the owner could help you find another place or the rest of the month. give her site a thorough read, i believe she is a "transplanted american". good luck

did you look at the places I mentioned in your other post?

LucieV
I noted your comments about, "Santa Maria is such a special spot in Rome, it's like being in a small Italian town of its own...yet there you are, an easy 15-minute walk to everything in the centro storico."
I'll be staying at Hotel Santa Maria in Trastevere. A 15 minute walk to sites sounds fine to me - how about walking to the Vatican, Colosseum and Piazza Navona from Trastevere?

I'm a big walker, but I would highly recommend buying a transit pass if you're staying in Trastevere. The trams run very frequently, and even if you just get off at Largo Argentina, it saves you the walk across the bridge and into the center. The Colloseum would be a long walk from Trastevere - doable if you're not in a rush and want to see things along the way, but after a long day of sightseeing you'll want to take transit back home. Same with the Vatican, the walk isn't excessive, but there are convenient buses that drive along the river to bring you back to Trastevere.

And JGarvey, just an idea - if you're truly nervous about your apartment choices, you might consider renting several places, every week or so. This way if you're unhappy with the apartment, you'll soon be leaving. This worked for me in Amsterdam - I was unsure about location and hotel choice (plus my first choice wasn't available for my entire stay). So I split my trip into two different hotels. I wasn't too crazy about the first place, but it was okay because I knew I'd be in the second place before long.

jgarvey,

I found many great apartments in that are on www.sleepin italy.com and www.rentalinrome.com

Normanoromano - may I ask about how quiet the bedroom is at night in the Jewel of Trastevere?

gohedwig, in response to your question: My DH & I walk everywhere when we travel, for two reasons. 1, to see as much as we can; 2, to compensate for the amount of food that we are 'forced' to eat when we are researching world cuisine. ;-)

Seriously, I agree w/Nutella that you may want to buy a pass if you're planning to do a whirlwind tour of Rome. Since this was our 7th visit, we didn't feel compelled to see everything, so our meandering was pretty relaxed. We actually bought a pass when we arrived, and used it once in 4 days, so for us it wasn't worth the $$. It was sort of nice to have it with us, though, in anticipation of the evening when we might be too pooped to perambulate!

Maybe because I am from NYC and walk everywhere I find Rome quite a walkable city. Granted it is a long walk to Piazza del Poppolo from Trastevere...however, I find that it is an easy walk to the Vatican and if you walk through the ghetto an easy walk to the Coloseum. I developed a real dislike for buses in Rome as a student because men would get really touchy and icky on the buses so it just turned me off and I never ride them when I visit. Basically we walk everywhere.

Normanoromano - may I ask about how quiet the bedroom is at night in the Jewel of Trastevere?

I seem to recall reading a trip report by a woman who spent a month or so in an apartment in Trastevere. Have you done a search on this board? I think this was about a year and a half ago.

Aren't you glad I'm here to help with such precise information? ;)

gohedwig, I'm fit and a good little walker, and have walked all over Rome many times. I've never taken the bus or metro there. I've taken taxis with my mom because she tires more easily. Otherwise, Rome is so beautiful and full of surprises, I prefer to walk.

Here is one message from massagediva, the woman who spent a month in Trastevere:

Author: massagediva
Date: 07/27/2006, 08:34 am
I've stayed in both areas(rented an apartment in Trastevere for a month last year) and I would really recommend staying the the Centro Storico-Piazza Navona,Pantheon&Campo dei Fiori neighborhoods.I just think they're more convenient for 99% of what you'll want to see.Lots of people give the impression that Trastevere is a cute,untouristed neighborhood,but it's just as packed with tourists as the rest of Rome!

---

If you put >massagediva< in the Search box, you will eventually find - in the left-hand column - her trip report from 2005.

I should mention, though, that someone else in the same thread said that apartments in Trastevere tend to be somewhat cheaper than those in the historical center.

And do look again at

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/vr/list.asp?r=Rome

the Web site that normanoromano gave you. There are reviews in there of apartments in Trastevere, and the reviews on SlowTrav are reliable, since they are mostly by people who stay in vacation rentals - rather than hotels - on a regular basis.

Got here as soon as I could.
The Jewel of Trastevere has bedroom and living/dining room windows that front on via G. Venezian and a large Vatican office complex that is attached to S. Maria in Trastevere and is of course appropriately quiet. But not without the usual sporadic Roman traffic noises and the vocal expressions of foot travelling residents.
No noisy bars, late restaurants or shops to be heard.
Custom fitted earplugs were a pretrip purchase for Valerie and I got along with the standard ones. It's Rome.
OTOH there is a single bedroom that faces into the garden courtyard and is very quiet.
I've written a ST review for our first apartment in the Borgo (waiting in the pending review section) and hope to complete a Jewel review soon.

Grazie

Have you looked on slowtrav.com under reviews of Rome apts? As I recall there are a number of apts in
Trastevere that were reviewed.

Thanks to all who responded to my desperation and gave such helpful hints and feedback--they are all very valuable. I'm very happy that I discovered this forum and that I am getting educated by such wise travelers! Slow Travel website is a real find and a great resource. I am beginning to finally narrow my search for an apartment down to a few choices that my daughter is going to check out for me. Normano, Jewel of Trastevere is one of them and at a very good price, since it is February. Another one is from the www.homeinrome.com website. Take a look at this website! Shelley is an expat American engaged to an Italian. The apartments look great (4 of them--but I can't afford the larger ones), and her website is incredibly interesting, informative, and fun--very top notch! Another possibility in on Via della Scala, and I'm a little nervous about that one since it is through sleepinitaly and I am reading so many conflicting and mixed reviews about them. The last thing I need is to get there and have a switch pulled on me! My daughter did see that apt. and thought it would be nice for me--also has a nice terrace area. I haven't made airline reservations yet, but it looks like Feb. may have rates as low as $499. So I want to lock in the apartment first, and then secure air reservations. Can't keep up all of this dilly-dallying. My DH says that I've made this research my new job since retiring. I've been enjoying it though! Thanks to all of you!

Also thanks for info on bus pass and the idea of splitting my stay into two places. That's a very interesting option too! I might give that some serious thought. But I do believe that they give you a discount for a monthly rental, and I really do need that as well.

I am still open to any and all ideas and suggestions. Thanks again.

http://www.romanreference.com/ is a great company. I've rented from them twice and I got a 10% discount the second time. The people I've dealt with speak English and are very friendly. I like staying near Campo di Fiori/Piazza Navona, but I think Trastevere would be great, too. I stayed at CAMPO DE' FIORI - VIA ARCO DEGLI ACETARI (reference #105 on their website), and it is an AWESOME place! great location, charming, plenty of space, remodeled with care and $$, sleeps 3 or 4, awesome shower room. I also stayed at one that I don't think is on their list anymore that I didn't like because it was damp. But, they have apartments in Trastevere and all over the center of Rome.

Buon viaggio!

We stayed in this apartment in Trastevere and really loved it.

http://www.realrome.com/proplucesplitlevel.html

I reviewed it. If you search under dabodin, you'll find the thread "realrome luce split apartment review".

Sorry I don't know how to post links the correct way. I'm technology-challenged, I guess!

Dear Dabodin,
Thanks for this suggestion. It looks really nice, and I have sent an inquiry to Real Rome. One question, about the stairs to bedroom level and about headroom in bedroom. I am recovering from total knee replacement. And if perchance my DH visits for a few days during his break, he is 6'3" and might have a tough time with ceiling level. Hope your memory is good and you can answer these questions. Thanks again for the recommendation.

that is one of the apartments I suggested to you on your other thread. I have stayed there and wrote on a trip report that there is hardly any headroom for a person 5'3" upstairs.

The stairs are fairly steep too.

(in case db isn't online today)

JGarvey,

Looking at the pictures of the Luce split-level apartment, I can count at least 10 steps from the main level to the sleeping level.

Do you really want to climb 10 steps to go to bed after a total knee replacement?

P.S. The steps also look quite steep and quite narrow.

JGarvey: Yes, my memory is good about this apartment, and it doesnt' sound good for you. It's one of those places where they added a "loft" space to an old building. The stairs are metal but I don't remember them being more steep than normal stairs. The headroom upstairs is not good, however, as some of the large beams come down very low. I'm about 5'7" and had to duck my head to navigate around them. My hubby is 5'11" and it was worse for him. We thought it was kind of fun and romantic, but it wouldn't be if you're recovering from an operation or if you're 6'3"!! My advice: keep looking!

Thanks to all for the accurated and experience info on this apt. I appreciate the input of those with direct exprience living in and not just "looking at" pictures. It really makes a huge difference. I guess I already knew the truth about the loft beds (most of them anyway), and maybe I could handle some wide stairs with railing but would prefer not too. I do go upstairs everynight to bed here in my own home--about 15 steps--and handle it pretty well. Also I hope I will be even stronger by February or March so I can do some vigorous walking around the city too! Going to the health club every day to build up stamina and strength.

It seems like I may be coming close to a choice, and my daughter is checking out some of them now. Needless to say, she owes me a few favors!

I did get a new recommendation today from a vrbo person whose apt. I really liked but couldn't afford. She referred me to a friend who owns something on the Via del Bologna that perhaps will work out. She says I should rent it now--sight unseen! But, of course, I am going to wait until I correspond with the person and see some photos. See--it does really pay to do some networking with owners too, another good resource.

Bye to all from now.

Joanna

This board is indespensible.

Success at last in Trastevere!! Here's how it finally happened. I kept communicating with a private owner in vrbo--whose apt and neighborhood I wanted desperately but could not afford. I sent her a short bio about my background--being a retired teacher, respectable tenant, person of character, etc. And I occasionally checked backed with her to see if she had any friends or knew anyone else in the area with a nice apartment that I could afford. I think she finally took mercy on me and put me in touch with a friend who spends most of her time in the country but has a private apt in Trastevere for when she is in town. This dear, distinguished lady offered me her beautiful apartment for a very reasonable price and even offered a visit to her country home. So I am now on my way to a lovely, furnished apartment secured with deposit and airline tickets (about $630) on the way.

The reason I am relating this tale is to express thanks to all who gave me advice and to inspire all who helped me and others who are still searching. Do your research, find what you like, and don't give up. Take the chance of writing directly to owners and asking for their expert guidance and advice. You may not only be led to the apartment of your dreams, but also discover a new friend and valuable resource to greet you when you arrive. It was a long search, but it has finally resulted in a satisfactory and rewarding conclusion. I am anxiously awaiting my trip and will probably come up with more questions soon about plans and preparations.

Ciao,
Joanna

That is good news except you still don't have firsthand experience in that apartment, like you so wanted. Has your daughter seen this apartment?

Anyway, have fun.

Dear Sea Urchin,
Yes, of course. My daughter did go see the apartment and met the owner and confirmed that it was the best and largest apt. she had seen for that price. She also was very impressed by the very elegant, academic, and aristocratic owner, recently retired like me, and thinks that we will be great friends. All worked out very well indeed, and I feel grateful that my patience and persistence paid off in such an excellent arrangement. I also feel very confident in the judgment of the friend who so kindly served as the contact in this personal recommendation. All is well, and I feel very fortunate indeed. Will catch up later with all of my Fodor friends.
Joanna