This place (Arena Guest House, used to be called Belli)looks pretty good, particularly the internet computer in every room. But I wonder about the location. It is on the "far side" of the Coliseum (SE). Does that make walking to places like the Spanish Steps a long haul?
www.arenahouse.com


Vera

ttt

Hi Vera,
It will be a bit of a haul, but there are transportation alternatives if you are comfortable with that in a foreign city. You would take the Metro from Colloseo to the Termini stop, then transfer to the "A" Line to continue onto the Spagna stop.

There is an extensive bus system in Rome that can help you get around as well.

If you want an Ancient Rome location, this is right in the heart of things. Other Rome attractions may be a bit of a haul, but I find that no matter where you stay in Rome, it is always a haul to get somewhere...because there is so much to see!!!

Enjoy your trip to Rome!

Vera - There's a frequent bus (No.85) from the Colosseum to Piazza San Silvestro (-near Trevi) - 5 mins walk from Piazza di Spagna.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

P.S. You can also catch the 117 minibus from the Colosseum which goes directly to Piazza di Spagna.

Steve

That is helpful information. I inquired on the web site of Arena Guest House, but have not received an answer from them. Odd, since every other hotel has answered immediately. Vera

Hi Vera

IMO, I don't think the Arena Guest House is well located. It is on the "wrong" side of the Colloseum. Also for €120 a night it's a very basic room. The gimmick is the internet access. Unless you need it for business there are plenty of internet cafes you can use cheaply for your emails etc.

I've never stayed here but the B&B Blue Rose - http://www.babredrose.com/home.html - seems like good value for €80 a night and is well located for sightseeing.

Hope this helps.

My wife and I stayed at the Arena Guest House for 5 nights this last Aug 9-14 and paid 430 euro for a wonderful room overlooking a garden, on the ground floor, on a quiet street, and literally steps from the Colloseum. I was worried after reading some of the posts about it being on the "far side" of the Colliseum. However, that was a wonderful blessing in disguise. It took less than 5 minutes to walk to the nearst bus line (which we took to the Vatican) and less than 10 minutes to walk to the Colloseum metro. In any event, other than the catacombs, Vatican and Borghese, we walked to everything else.
I loved being on the "far" side of the Collosseum. No tourists, right next to a park, two police stations, a market, some good restaurants, two "bars" a tobacco shop, etc. My trip to Rome was much more enjoyable this time because of staying here rather than on busy Via Nationale, where I stayed last time in 2002.
It was wonderful having in-room internet to check weather, airport conditions (we flew from London to Rome the day before the terrorist thing), etc. Vincent and Barbara were tremendous in helping us make plans and get around. In contrast, I paid more and never saw the manager at my place on Via Nationale.
Also, I'm not sure why one poster said the rooms were 130 euro a night since we averaged 85 per night.
On this trip we visited Rome, Florence, Venice, Bruges, Dublin, Leipzig, Berlin and just over the border into the Czech Republic. While Rome was one of my least favorite places in 2002 it was one of my most favorite places in 2006 - due in large part to staying at Arena House.
Finally, between Rome and Florence we went on 3 ContextRome and 4 ContextFlorence tours. They were well worth the money and made all the difference between looking at pretty wallpaper versus understanding, enjoying and appriciating the art and architecture. I can't recommend them highly enough. Same with Arena House. I absolutely loved the room, managers, neighborhood and price. What more could one ask?

Branton

Hello Vera, I stayed in the area of the Arena Guest House one time and enjoyed it very much. But it was not my first visit to Rome. If this is your first visit do you enjoy using public transportation without getting frustrated etc?

One comment, the website sounds like the owners and staff are quite helpful etc. That is always nice. If you are big breakfast eaters you probably will not be happy with their breakfast. One other thing I noticed..in the photos of the various beds there are no nightstands or lights by the beds. Now maybe that has been rectified since the photos were taken but if that is important to you (it is to me) than I would suggest that you ask them about this. They do seem to really stress the free internet connection. That would not be my first consideration in chosing a hotel or a B&B..just for your consideration.

PS, is it a free internet connection or a free computer and connection? I didn't check that out on the website. If just a free internet connection than you would need to bring a laptop with you to Italy.

Just looked at the website again Vera, yes they do state they provide a PC in every room.

Try the Nicholas Bed and Breakfast if you want to be on the other side of the Colesium. We stayed there last year and really enjoyed it for 120 Euros per night. We walked everywhere but when we got tired we hailed a cab and it was not too expensive to get back.

I recall there being reading lights when we stayed there just 6 weeks ago.

The breakfast is like most B&B's in Italy. You get a voucher to take to the Bar around the corner for a capuccino (or whatever) and croissant/pastry/etc.

There is a computer in the room and the internet is free.

We stayed there 5 nights and over a weekend so the daily rate varied because of the weekend, but the average per night from Aug 9-14 was 85 euros.

Branton

For those who have stayed here, was there any issue when confirming your room? Did they require a credit card to confirm your room?

I had been in numerous email discussions with Vincent and Chiara (maybe one of the daughters?) and had even sent a note asking them to reserve me a room. They stated all they needed was a phone number, date of arrival and number of people, so I sent that as well as a note to book specific days. About 3 weeks later I get an email stating the double room is no longer available. After the initial panic attack, I send email back stating I had a reservation, even sending them the email where I told them to book the room again. They came back and stated that I could have a room for 3 of my 4 days and possibly the 4th, but if not they would put me up in another hotel close to Termini. I said fine and sent email a couple weeks later asking for confirmation that I had a reservation, which they said I did.

Due to this confusion factor, I am looking for alternative lodging but since we are 2.5 weeks out and things are booked up, I'm not feeling so good that my reservation is actually a reservation