downer

Because of our long-ish stay (10 nights), we're going for value (saving those Euros for the FOOD):

We're down to 2 choices:

Hotel Delle Muse in Parioli
B&B Colosseo at Via S. Giovanni in Laterano 60 (note: not the one at Via Capo D'Africa 59)

Parioli is far-ish...but the hotel has received reasonably good user reviews and positive endorsement by Frommer's, for what it's worth...

B&B Colosseo is obviously favorably located, but 1) they haven't gotten much in the way of user reviews (probably because they're new, and 2) emails to the hotel seem to be answered by some central administrative office that serves several hotels and dispatches customers to whichever place has availability. We could not get a straight answer out of the person and she sounded as though she was rushing us to just offer up the credit card. Maybe this was one person w/ not-super communications skills, but it does hinder our ability to just say yes...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

WillTravel

It looks to me like the B&B Colosseo has a shared bathroom. Are you OK with that? That said, the 42-Euro price is certainly appealing.

http://www.bbitalia.it/en/bb-rome/co...-labicana.html

Is this the place you mean?

What is the Delle Muse charging?

downer

Hey WillTravel,

Thanks for your reply. The double at the B&B Colosseo has a private bathroom (www.bbcolosseo.com).

We're getting rates in accordance w/ what both places have posted for a double, in the mid 100's...

WillTravel

This is confusing, because this site also says it is B & B Colosseo, but gives an address on via S. Erasmo, but maybe it's not the same one, as the name is hardly unique:

http://www.romabed.net/bed_and_break...o-colosseo.htm

This site has a review for B&B Colosseo (the most noteworthy part being that Service has a score of 2.0), but again, is it the same one? No address is provided.
http://www.zoover.co.uk/italy/lazio/...-and-breakfast

Anyway, if the B&B is where it says it is in its official site, at 60 via di S. Giovanni in Laterano, that is an area that I personally think looks less appealing and more run-down than the rest of historic Rome, although there are a variety of sites (including the Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano and San Clement and Santa Croce Gerusalemo). I did not visit Parioli, but I know it's an attractive, affluent district.

Have you considered a convent, like Fraternus Domus, right in historic Rome? Also, if you are spending in the mid-100s, that would be enough to get an attractive apartment, which might be worth it for a 10-day stay.

If you are down to these two only, this suggestion might not be useful, and it might be booked, but I know several Fodorites have posted very positively about Arco del Lauro B&B in Trastevere, which is below the price range you have just mentioned.

WillTravel

One other place I've read about, in the Laterano area also:
http://www.bbmilonga.it/eng.html

downer

Thanks WillTravel. We briefly talked about convents but didn't want to navigate curfews or other 'unwritten' restrictions - some convents don't have curfews, but the amount of work to dissect that individually doesn't seem proportional to the payoff...plus I don't want to apologize for my wine-fueled behavior coming home at night. *joke*

Thanks for the Trastevere suggestion - will check it out.