Back from Italy : Part I - Rome
May 14th, 2002, 07:15 AM
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Back from Italy : Part I - Rome
I will start with ROme since we started our trip there and it was our favorite city. I did not expect to like it since I am from New YOrk, and wanted to escape to Italy, but it was wonderful. I loved the history of it all. <BR> Just a warning, like I said I am from NY, but I sure got taken for a ride. NOt even there 5 minutes, we took a train from the airport to Termini (easy) and hopped into a cab from Termini to the Hotel Due Torri when I noticed the driver did not put on his meter. When I questioned him he claimed he did not speak much english, but kept saying because it was a holiday (labor day0 it was very difficult to drive since roads were closed. He took us all over the place before finally pulling up at the Due Torri and when I pulled out 12 Euros( the rate the Due Torri advised me) he insisted the ride cost 30 Euros! I would have refused to pay except he put the luggage back in the car and started to drive off. In New YOrk I would have never paid but in Italy with an angry driver yelling in Italian we did. Thank god that was all the bad luck we had. Just make sure you go over the fare before you get in.<BR> Now for the Hotel Due Torri. With all the wonderful posts , we were a little disappointed. It is more of a bed and breakfast (although not much of a breakfast) than a hotel. It was the most expensive of the hotels we stayed, probably because of the location (Piazza Navona) but had the least amenities. Let mem first say this, the staff was very nice and accomodating but our room was a closet. It had room for a double bedm but nothing else. We had a small closet to put clothes away but no dresser and if it was not for the balcony we would have been claustrophobic and have no ventilation. The room was so stuffy! We requested a room change but so did several other guests and no one seemed happy with the options that were left. I did not think it was worth $179 Euros a night. I did however LOVE the location. We spent every spare moment a tthe Piazza Navona and Campo de Fiori. There is so much energy around there. We also went to a great restaurant arounf the corner from the Due Torri called HOsteria Orso 80. The antipasto alone is a meal. We were so pleasantly surprised by the prices of food and wine. We did not much mind the service charge added to everything because it still came out cheap! Many people go to a restaurant in the area called LA campagna and ALfredo's both were disappointing. <BR> We visited all the usual places and went on a great tour of Ancient Rome with Enjoy Rome. That was truly amazing after the tour we went into the colloseum. We spent our second day at Vatican City and the Sistine chapel and that is a fascinating (although crowded)way to spend the day. We had no trouble seeing the Pantheon, SPanish steps, Trevi Fountain and shopping all around the spanish steps as much as we wanted in our 3 days. We even had time to go to many churches to see additional artwork. We had Gelato (BLue Ice) and Pizza everyday. All in all we would not change a thing except maybe the hotel. I wish I had a recommendation for a better hotel in the same location but the only nice one I walked into was the hotel Genio for $205 Euros a night. I did not get a chance to see the Cesari, but it sounds good too.
May 14th, 2002, 07:18 AM
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Just wanted to add that we did not have or see any real problems with pickpockets. We did see the "gypsy" kids around but it is easy to spot them and keep away. Also, Americans can wear anything they want! I was stupid to not bring jeans or sneakers and that is all I saw Italians wearing. Everyone dressed just like they do here in New York and no one seemed to care what wnyone wore anyway.
May 14th, 2002, 07:32 AM
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Thanks, Sherry. Glad to hear that Rome was your favorite city. <BR><BR>I love the area around Piazza Navona & Campo di Fiori. Our favorite day in Rome a month ago was buying fruits and vegetables from the stalls in Campo di Fiori; bread, cheese, meat, olives and wine from nearby stores, and making sandwiches which we ate while sitting on the Giordano Bruno statue (I love the way he accusatorily faces the Vatican, the nice folks who burned him at the stake for "heresy") and watching all the activity. <BR><BR>Too bad about your ultra-small room at the Due Torri; sounds like our room at the Pensione Panda last year (although the Panda's room was only about 70 euros, so it seemed reasonable for what we had.) <BR><BR>That's too bad if your taxi had a meter but the driver did not turn it on (I wonder if it was, in fact, a real meter?) We made the mistake of taking an unmetered taxi from Termini to our hotel (near yours and one I'd highly recommend, the Hotel Primavera) but at least the driver held to the price he quoted us, 20 euros.
May 14th, 2002, 09:25 AM
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I think the taxi rip-off has happened to all of us. You are just so tired and it is so much easier to let them help you. I warned a friend of mine and still she fell for it. I am glad you liked Rome. It is my favorite city in Italy. I am currently in Positano, Italy and loving every minute. I have had a little trouble getting the settings on my laptop right, but now I seem to be able to read and post messages. I enjoyed reading yours. Kay
May 14th, 2002, 05:24 PM
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Just so you know.. the taxi was at the taxi stand was white and had a sticker that said Commune di Rome (or something like that). Alice, the weather in Rome was hot and we were not prepared for that. It was about 77 degrees and sunny & humid, but it cools down considerably at night. Definately bring jeans. I brought way too much black and was sorry. It was much cooler in Florence and Venice. I will have these reports next.
May 16th, 2002, 02:49 PM
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Sherry-<BR>Thanks for the trip report. I agree with you regarding the Hotel Due Torri. My finace and I stayed there in September. The location was great (including Orso 80--great restaurant) but the rooms were very small (even for a city) for the price. I also loved Rome. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and was unsure how I would enjoy Rome--turned out to be one of my favorite places. <BR><BR>Kay-- where are you in Positano? I also stayed in Positano in September and loved it! We stayed at the Hotel Buca di Bacco (sp?). <BR><BR>
May 16th, 2002, 03:29 PM
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Orso 80 was one of our favorite restaurants while in Rome. It is true that dining out is relatively inexpensive for great food and wine. <BR>I am quite amazed by the posts on this site regarding what to wear in Europe. Everyone wears jeans and sneakers.
May 16th, 2002, 03:45 PM
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Yes, totally agree about Due Torri. For me it was worth the money only because of the area and that I was travelling solo. It was very convenient to so many things and the staff was pleasant.<BR>My room (if you could call it that) was such that you could not take more than 3 steps (little ones). The bathroom was hilarious as I was wondering was more "hefty" types would be able to do with it. You were half in and half out the whole time. The shower was hilarious. I weight 110 pounds...can you imagine someone who weighed 130 or more?<BR>This is not a hotel for someone who wants a reasonably sized room and bath.<BR>This said, I still enjoyed my stay there. I would not book there again.<BR>When I got to Florence my room seemed like a mansion in comparison.
May 18th, 2002, 07:01 AM
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I only wish there were more posts like this about the Due Torri brefore we booked. Atleast we can help other people visiting rome inthe future. Our rooms in Florence and Greve were definately mansions compared to the Due Torri. All that said, I still do not know where else we would stay if we went back.
May 18th, 2002, 02:19 PM
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I stayed in Albergo Cesari a number of summers ago, and thought it, was on the small side-- but judging from your description of Hotel DueTorri, it wasn't anywhere near as small. We had a modest-sized doubleroom, but it had a small desk and large wardrobe in it. We could walk around the bed comfortably, but I wouldn't call it spacious. The bathroom was excellent; modern fixtures and very clean and well-kept. Definitely a plus. And we found most of the staff very helpful and accomodating. The location was excellent, too.<BR><BR>I suspect that many of the Rome hotel rooms are on the small side, though. And when I stayed there in '99, the exchange rate was closer to $180/night. I think the DueTorri was about the same price, too.
May 19th, 2002, 09:20 AM
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Sherry, We have reservations at the Due Torri this June based on all of the good reviews I read here. How small were the bathrooms? 3 people in my party are over 6'2". I am mostly concerned with the cleanliness and noise, I can deal with small. How was it?
May 19th, 2002, 11:33 AM
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Well, I guess it depends on your point of view. Our room at the Due Torri was one of the larger ones of our trip to Europe. It had a little entrance area with a small closet, twin beds attached to one headboard, a small desk and a fridge with a TV on top. It was a corner room on the second floor. The bathroom was fairly large and very clean. The shower was miniscule.<BR><BR>I loved the breakfast buffet. There were eggs, cereals, several kinds of breads, cakes, pastries, crackers, yogurt, juices, fruit, even chocolate candy! What more could you want?
May 20th, 2002, 06:33 AM
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Our room was on the fifth floor and had a balcony so it was probably the smallest. The rooms on the other floors definately looked larger, but not roomy. The showers in all rooms are very small. I do not know if it can accomodate 6'2" but it cannot fit an overweight person! I weigh 100 lbs and I could barely move.<BR> They must have changed their breakfast, i had read how great it was but we were disappointed. They had breads, and hard boiled eggs and cereal. No pastries (except croissants) or cakes or chocolate.
