I would appreciate if you could recommend a family friendly & safe hotel in Rome for July. We are traveling with 3 little kids.

I also heard there are some issues with gypsies and pickpockets.

Any advise is much appreciated.

Your choice of hotel has less to do with gypsies and pickpockets than what you can afford. What's your budget and how many days will you be in Rome?

You should re-post this over on the Europe forum.

And yes - when you do, include you budget.

Thanks for the note.

I am looking at around 250-300 euros/night and for 6 nights. Safety and access to the main attractions are our two main concerns.

I would consider an apartment with a family for that length of time. You should be able to get much more space for the money plus the ability to do some cooking and laundry. If you do a search I think you will find a lot of information on this forum

Our family of three rented from realrome.com and thought it was an excellent agency

How old are the kids?

I too recommend an apartment for your size family and length of stay. Rome has very few hotels with rooms that can accomodate five people and none that I can think of that will have that large a room, in high season, for around $200-$250 per night. Check out Slowtrav.com for good apartments in Rome.

The area immediately around the train station is where one encounters the worst problems with theft.

It is a false economy, with 3 little kids and luggage, to try to stay near the train station. When you need to get to the train, use a taxi, which will pick you up at the door of your hotel and drop you right in front of the train station. Taxis in Rome are not hugely expensive.

If you don't want an apartment -- and I also recommend one because with small children it is better to have kitchen facilities -- look for a b&b. Many b&bs have only 2 bedrooms in them, with a shared bath, and they are very cheap, but very clean. You could have the whole place to yourselves.

This place is a little further out, and I have not stayed there myself, but it may have family friendly pricing in your case.
http://www.casalasalleen.com/prezzi_en.html

You may want to try a quad room at the Hotel San Carlo. It's in a wonderful location. It's not too far away from a small supermarket, and be forewarned the hotel only serves a "continental breakfast". Here's their website, and the best way to contact them is by fax, preferably in the morning (their time):
http://www.hotelsancarloroma.com/index.html

The hotel is within walking distance of a lot of the sights of interest, and is also near a Metro stop and two or three taxi stands. Taxis are not terribly expensive, and there are taxi "vans" that would accomodate the size of your family.

In terms of gypsies and pickpockets, use the same caution you'd use in any large city; keep wallets and purses under your control at all time, and be aware of your surroundings.

Buon Viaggio,
BC

This hotel has quad rooms in your budget range. It's located just off the via Condotti, about halfway between the Spanish Steps and the river. Very safe.

http://www.fontanellaborghese.com/home_ing.html

I've stayed there several times but always in a double room, so I can't tell you anything about the size or amenities of the quad rooms. The included breakfast is pretty good, much more than just continental.

The Fontanella Borghese has special rates for the last two weeks of July through August. Quad room for 210 euros.

Thank you for all suggestion. As far as an accomodation area is concerned- would you recommend Trastevere or the Pantheon?

Also, I noticed the term "Quad"- does that mean 4 guests regardless of the age or does it mean 4 beds?

Take a look at Albergo Santa Chiara (google the name) in Centro Storico, right behind the Pantheon. I believe that they have a "family" room and it should be more or less within your budget. They also serve a terrific breakfast included in the rate.

In my opinion, you should stick with the area around the Pantheon, which is the historical center, and which should make it easier to manuever with the children around the important monuments of Rome.

Zepolle is absolutely right about NOT staying around the train station in Rome. It is certainly not worth the few Euro in savings.

As far as gypsies and pickpockets, be aware of your immediate surroundings at all times, which you will be anyway with three small children, and you will be fine.

Anna Roz

http://www.albergosantachiara.com/

Here you go..

Thank you.
What do you think about the Pantheon Inn?

Quad rooms in Rome are usually meant for only four people. The majority of hotels will not put extra people in a room designed for four people. The usual bed situation in a quad is a double (normally two twins pushed together) bed and a double sofa bed. You may get lucky and have the hotel add a rollaway into the room to accomodate the third child. But hotel rooms in Rome are not very large so I wouldn't count on the hotel doing this. If you want a quad room to work for your family, you will need to speak to the hotel and be clear about your situation and how they may or may not be able to work with you. Please do not book a quad and think you can "sneak" the third child in.
The Santa Chiara/Pantheon location is great but their quad and suite are over your budget, even in low season. The Pantheon Inn is in the same general location, which is good. You will need to determine if they can add a cot in the quad room.

I agree with Grinisa. I would also add to be careful about the term "cot", because in British English this means a crib, rather than a portable bed.

mallutexan,

with small children, i wouldn't recommend trastevere, only because it means extra steps.

stick to the center as much as you can.

Thank you very much for the wonderful recommendations.

Do you have recommendations for a hotel near CDG in Paris since we overnight in Paris before getting back to the US?