We will be visiting Rome for the first time this fall. Advice on where to stay would be appreciated. We are considering Hotel Artemide (Between Termini and Trevi), The River Palace (north of Piazza del Popola) and hotel San Anselmo. (near Circo Massimo). Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

We are just back from Rome and thoroughly enjoyed staying in the Albergo del Senato. Wonderful staff, great breakfast, and, we thought, a great location. We normally stay closer to the Via Veneto but would certainly use this hotel again.

Are these hotels in the same price range as the del Senato? If so, I would choose the del Senato based on its much more central location.

Another rave recommendation for Albergo del Senato. From a quick check online, it looks like Hotel Artemide costs MORE than Albergo Del Senato, unless you're booking suites.

Anyway, I've stayed at Albergo Del Senato many times, most recently last June. It's got an unbeatable central location for exploring Rome, (across a tiny street from The Pantheon), great staff, and lovely rooms, especially in the higher categories.

Unfortunately Albergo Del Senato is not available on my dates, but I will keep on trying.

If money were no object, then the de Russia or Raphael.

Albergo Senato is, indeed, in a great location across from my favourite fountain in Rome!

Other hotels to look at--Parliamento, Modigliani, Portoghesi, and Aberdeen.

Aberdeen is very hard to book as returning guests book for "same time next year" when departing.

Thin

de Russie!

Thin

We stayed at the Albergo Cesari, quite near the Pantheon and with a lovely rooftop bar/breakfast patio.

The area around Campo Dei Fiori or around Piazza Navana is a good area to stay, it is pretty central and there is a nice market in the Campo dei' Fiori area as well.

There is plenty of bars and restaurant around the area and it is also easy to walk to most of the attractions.

Hotel Portuguese - close to Piazza Navona and some great restaurants. Stayed there 2 times. If you ever saw the movie Eat, Pray Love with Julia Roberts, this hotel is right across the street from The place she rented in Rome. Small and nice. Rooftop breakfast room. Has A/C

another vote for von snoot's <b> Modigliani </b>, a favorite of several Fodorites including yours truly.

Well you mentioned option A ,B, or C and you are getting opinions D, E, and F! Maybe instead of addressing individual hotels, we need to address the AREA of these choices? To consider - how long are you staying and what are you doing?

We have stayed in the San Anselmo but quite awhile ago and while we really liked the hotel and LOVED the area, it was slightly inconvenient for major sights and often involved walking up a pretty steep hill.

For years I did not consider staying near Termini because it was often panned here but there is a big convenience factor, esp. if you are doing some day trips by train and for when you arrive / depart on your Roman stay.

I assume you have read the reviews on Tripadvisor for details on the hotels you asked about. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

IMO there is nothing wrong with the Artemide's location. The Piazza Navona which so many people including Rick Steves have gone on, and on, and ON about has that great fountain as well as anyone's definition of "too touristy" including those retaurants with carnival barkers outside.

The Pantheon across the street from the del Senato has the second third of all tourists in town and the rest are divided between the Trevi and Vatican City but that's Rome.

IMO you should stay where you think there's value for money and since you've gone all that way it will not kill anybody to get a taxi somewhere. Nowhere in the city is "close" to everything IMO.

2OnRway,

E-mail Albergo Del Senato. Sometimes their online booking site doesn't reflect what's really available.

Good points made in post above, but depending where you're staying, it can be hard to find taxis in Rome. We once stayed on Via Veneto ( never again!) and it was nearly impossible to find one after early evening.

The Via Veneto is the pits!

Faded glory.


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Pepper,

I totally agree. HATED the area, hated the fancy schmancy hotel with its closet-like rooms and pseudo-Italian food. UGH. Felt like I was miles away from anything real in Rome!

Same comments from me regarding the Via Veneto area. I was mistakenly talked into it my first trip to Rome and spent the whole time feeling like I was in another city. To me Rome was all about the historic center. I might as well have been staying in another town.

Greatly disappointed in the Piazza Navona on our last trip to Rome in 2007. It reminds me now of Fisherman's Wharf in SF with the live statues of people and tourist taking pictures with them. It used to be a great family area with nice cafe's but not any more. In fact I cried when I saw it in 2007.I mentioned that location as a point of reference to the Hotel Portuguese which is NOT in the Piazza but in that general area and easy walking distance to other things.

<< IMO you should stay where you think there's value for money and since you've gone all that way it will not kill anybody to get a taxi somewhere. Nowhere in the city is "close" to everything IMO. >>

My opinion differs from Dukey1's. Especially since this is your first visit to Rome. Staying in the Centro Storico, somewhere around the Campo dei Fiori/Piazza Navona/Spanish Steps means you can walk to the most famous sites. And walking around this part of Rome you stumble on ancient ruins and interesting sights. It really adds a lot to your visit.

Only you can decide on location versus cost - but if you are paying as much as hotels in a central location I think it's a major error to stay in a place not near the major sites.

No one is suggesting your stay IN the middle of Piazza Navona - but the general area - the historic center - makes sightseeing much easier. And there are a million places to stay and eat nearby that are not tourist traps.