citychicnyc

My boyfriend and I will be in Rome in September and decided to stay in the Piazza Navona area. Our budget is max $150/night or 110E/night. After searching through all the "quality" apartments on rentalinrome.com, we have narrowed it down to these three:

High: Stylish Loft on Via del Collegio Capranica
http://rentalinrome.com/collegio/collegio.htm

Middle: 1 Bedroom Apt on Via Monterone
http://rentalinrome.com/sinibaldipal...ldipalaceb.htm

Low: Studio with Balcony on Via dei Baullari
http://rentalinrome.com/nidobalconys...conystudio.htm

Has anyone stayed in any of these apartments? Location wise, which one is the best? Also, I have looked on several sites like homeaway.com, sleepinitaly.com, and found that there weren't that many NICE low priced apartments. Are there any other sites besides rentalinrome.com that start low and advertise apts that are not super dated and depressing looking? Thanks.

Zerlina

RealRome specializes in low-priced apartments and has an excellent reputation.

As for location, Monterone and Baullari are closer to public transport, but Baullari is the main drag between Campo dei Fiori and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and likely to be noisy. The Campo is a major late-night hangout.

Zerlina

P.S. By the look of it, you will not be able to stand up in the loft of the Collegio Capranica apartment. The ceiling is not much higher than the length of a man's jacket.

ellenem

All of these are in locations I would consider. All of these choices do not have elevators. Therefore, let's compare how far you will have to walk:

Via Collegio on "2nd floor" (3rd floor U.S.)
Looks very chic, but I noticed only one window in the whole place near the kitchen.

Via Monterone on "3rd floor" (4th floor U.S.)
Sunny and bright. I'd be willing to climb stairs for these cozy looking rooms at this price.

Via dei Baulari on "5th floor" (6th floor U.S.)
I'm too old to put up with the actual accommodations here. The bedroom is almost totally taken up with the bed, and the bathroom sink is in the bedroom. The toilet is in a very small cubicle that doubles as the shower. The kitchen is in a hallway. The terrace is alluring, but if the weather is bad you stuck inside in 215 sq ft.

citychicnyc

thank you all for your input! i am now leaning towards booking monterone. but, before i do, again, are there any other highly recommended and reputable apartment rental sites? lastly, can anyone recommend a bigger apt than the studio i was considering with a nice terrace in my price range?

citychicnyc

how about this one in trevi fountain area?

Loft Studio on Via Palermo
http://rentalinrome.com/palermo/palermo.htm

ellenem

I like the other locations better than Via Palermo. The apartment looks nice enough. The one window looks almost like a sliding glass door. Since this is a ground floor apartment, I'm wondering what this window faces.

Another way to help you choose: in Googlemaps, you can use satellite view an then street view to explore the actual streets where these apartments are located.

Sorry, I have been to Rome plenty of times but not used an apartment rental agency--no recommendations to offer.

citychicnyc

ellenem: as usual, you are awesome and so helpful! i agree, i will go with my original plan - staying @ piazza navona. yes, i was just looking on googlemaps... great minds think alike.

unfortunately, the sunny apartment on monterone is not available.

i will keep searching for more apts for peace of mind before i book the loft on collegio.

ellenem

The Via Palermo location from the street doesn't look particularly alluring, but I know from experience that the area (called Monti) can be an interesting one, with shops and restaurants around the corner on Via dei Serpenti and Via del Boschetto. Still, ground floor in the type of building on this street may mean it is ground floor in a building courtyard.

I think it was a stretch for them to say that this was near the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps . . . it's a 10-minute walk and down a hill. Actually, when I saw the location I thought, "Oh, better for me than if it actually were near the Spanish Steps."

You have found some very interesting possibilities. I'm sure someone else will add suggestions.

Leely2

I like the Monti area too but I think the Monterone looks like the nicest apartment if you can handle the stairs.

I have rented from Rental in Rome. Who are you working with there?

NYCFoodSnob

Via dei Baullari is one of my favorite streets. If you're a young couple (assuming from the word "boyfriend") on a budget, I wouldn't hesitate and get this apartment. Where on earth can you find a place in Rome for € 45 each that offers a terrace for drinking Prosecco? Via dei Baullari is a classic old-Rome walking street with tons of great, inexpensive little shops. I would run, run, run to get that cozy love nest and I would have the time of my life.

citychicnyc

Leely2: I am working with Isaac. Great service from rentalinrome.com so far!

NYCFoodSnob: Thank you for your input. At this point, I am a bit undecided. The Baullari studio would be 90 euro/night, not 45 euro/night

What do you all think about this one?
1 Bdrm on Piazza Campo de’ Fiori
http://rentalinrome.com/lasapienzaapt/lasapienzaapt.htm

NYCFoodSnob

"€ 45 each" means 45+45=90. Oh my.

citychicnyc

NYCFoodSnob: i read your response wrong. 45 was for each of us so total 90/night. lol.

My only reservation about staying in Campo de Fiori is the noise level... is it as bad as people say it is? My boyfriend and I are heavy sleepers [and yes we are young] so we don't mind some noise. I just want a cute and romantic area... not a party scene.

NYCFoodSnob

<i><font color=#777777>"is it as bad as people say it is?"</font></i>

Nothing ever is. But this is especially true on this board because this board attracts a lot of competitive people who enjoy speaking in absolutes. Savvy travelers know how to sift and wade through this and make smart decisions.

I've traveled the world and I've yet to experience a nosier city than NYC and Tokyo. Tokyo has traffic jams at all hours. Rome is fun to walk at night but NYC streets have more people on them at 3 AM. No matter where you're staying in Rome, if your bedroom window is near a garbage pick-up, the trucks will wake you. And then there's those darn Church bells reminding you that the town is Christian. And, of course, Roman's love their motorinos. Be sure to travel with earplugs. Unless you know someone who has stayed recently in your first choice rental apartment, there's no way to know for sure what you can expect.

<i><font color=#777777>"I just want a cute and romantic area"</font></i>

I love the charm of old Rome but I'm not sure I would call it cute and romantic. Yes, there are plenty of young lovers around Campo dei Fiore swapping spit but you'll find that in every popular campo. The tiny streets around Campo dei Fiore are adorable, though. I would call Piazza di Spagna cute and romantic but the real estate there is very expensive. No such thing as a €45 terrace there.

citychicnyc

thanks to everyone for all of the helpful input! i have decided to go with the apartment on via del collegio capranica. it's available, close enough to piazza navona, and it doesn't have a toilet in the shower. lol.

NYCFoodSnob

Capranica apartment is actually closer to Piazza della Rotonda, which, IMO, is more fun than Piazza Navona. One visits Piazza Navona where as one hangs for quite a long time at Piazza della Rotonda.

At € 110, you're getting much more space. You'll appreciate that. The bathrooms look similar, except Capranica is newer and seems to offer a shower curtain. Neither is ideal. I hope your boyfriend isn't the size of a quaterback. Unfortunately, these bathrooms are very common in Rome. Watch out for the toilet paper. Wet paper is useless. The wet floor won't be much fun either.

Vttraveler

I would recommend checking out the realrome.com site for other affordable options. We had very good luck with the agency.

tedgale

Oh, no. No. That guy who runs Roman Homes is CRAZY.

About 3 years ago, there were about 10 threads on Fodors that mentioned the fact. Threads to which this nut responded, with incredibly bombastic defensiveness.

But... he does list nice apartments. So 3 years ago, I -- thinking forwarned was forearmed -- foolishly emailed the company to inquire whether apartment X was available for a given period.

Presently I got a response, in the affirmative.

This was the entire extent of our communication.

I emailed again a few days later to say we had changed our dates and to ask if the apartment was available for the new dates.

I got back a LONG flame from this guy about how I had entered into an agreement to rent the place, how I was now welching on this commitment and how difficult it would be to go back to the owner with this news.

To be clear: My entire communication with him was along the lines of: "Dear Sir, Is apartment X available for the dates A-B and if so, what is the rental price for this period?"

I tell ya, this guy is NUTS!

Maybe not nuts every minute of the day. He does run a successful business. But he can be a serious pain.

I would not take the risk. There are lots of nice apts out there and lots of decent companies, too.

Lorenzi

I would be leary of Rental In Rome. Just returned from a trip utilizing RIR. Apartment was much less then desired.
The never worked probably and response by RIR staff inaffective in dealing with getting it fixed, which wasn't while I was there. Lights stopped functioning in two seperate areas. Apartment not as clean as one would expect. Upon my return sent a Email to RIR Customer Service about the issues.
No response what so ever. Followed that with a Email to the chairman of RIR, again no response received.