Hi. I'm new to this site and I need some advice. My husband and I are going to be in Rome the last week in February and need to pick a hotel. I would like to spend around $200 a night with breakfast. One place mentioned on Trip Advisor was the Santa Maria in Trastevere. Another place I noticed was the Daphne Veneto. Anyone have any experience with either place? What do you think of their locations. Any suggestions for a great hotel in a good location? Thanks for any input!

Hi O,

While waiting for replies, enter <Rome AND hotel> in the "search this forum" box.

I stayed in Hotel Santa Maria and when I return to Rome, I'm staying there again. It is quite wonderful...the staff is helpful and friendly and all speak English. The owner is on-site every day and the breakfast is fabulous...the best we had in all of Italy's b&b's. They have a very nice wine service every evening and the rooms are well appointed, comfortable and very clean. We spent 250 Euros a night for three people. Go there. Trastevere is great too.

See http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34719831

Best wishes,

Rex

Thanks for the information. I am anxiously awaiting a reply from the Santa Maria for availability. the Daphne Hotel has availability at the Daphne Trevi, but not the Daphne Veneto. Anyone have experience with either? Any other suggestions for a great hotel?

Hi, I am just back from 4 nights at the Daphne Trevi. It's a B and B type of place, rooms are in an apartment building. Our room was small, but clean and comfortable with an en-suite bath. No TV in the room. The bathroom was small, but modern. Plenty of hot water, etc.

The breakfast was a good cold buffet, fruit, bread and croissants, cold meats, yogurt, cereal, juice and the best cappuccino I've ever had.

The staff is first-rate, friendly and helpful. We had very good sightseeing suggestions and wonderful restaurant suggestions. You are given a cell phone for your use during your stay, you only pay for the calls you make. Prices seemed fair for this service.

The location is just a block or two from the Barbarini metro station. It's on a quiet side street. But it is easy walking distance to all of the main sights.

I was happy with my stay at Daphne Trevi and I'd stay there again. Oh, and the price was a reasonable 130 euros/night for 2 people.

Thanks for the information on the Daphne Trevi. Still waiting to hear from Santa Maria. I am going to Rome the last week of February. So many places are booked up. I was a little surprised. It is the off season. I thought I would have more choices.

Oldmyst, I'm sorry I'm not familiar with either hotel you mentioned, but a very clean hotel with an excellent location (about 2 min. walk from the Campo dei Fiori, <10 min. from Piazza Navona)is the Hotel Smeraldo (www.smeraldoroma.com) My room overlooked an aromatic panifico - a real neighborhood feel! Price is probably not more than 140 Euro for a double in February. (I paid 170 for a triple in June.)
For bigger bucks: Albergo del Senato.

I would venture a guess that the end of the winter Olympics in Torino brings those fans to the major and not so major tourist attractions all over Italy.

Hi again. I heard back from the Santa Maria but they are already booked at the end of February. oh well. I am booked at the Daphne Trevi, and from our emails back and forth, they seen very friendly and helpful. I am just nervous not knowing what to expect just having a room and bath in a building, and no cable TV. I am assuming there are no common rooms also. I was also looking at the Hotel Ponte Sisto. There is just an issue of the cost (their rate vs. a better rate from a booking company) and whether they would give me a decent size room. They said they are around 19/20 m2. Does anyone know what that means? Are the rooms a hotel booking agency get less desirable than the ones a hotel directly books? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks, Elissa

If you want to stay in the Trastevere neighborhood, try this hotel:
Hotel San Francesco
It is a nice small-ish hotel, in an old building but renovated w/modern decor. Amazingly huge breakfast buffet, free internet access, TV (I think, I didn't watch it but I think there was one in the room), lovely big bathroom -- pretty much everything you need. Even a little rooftop bar (probably not open in Feb...). Trastevere is a very old part of Rome, now pretty trendy, with artists, cafes, music venues, and lots of restaurants, as well as some very ancient churches.

Another place I stayed that is very nice is the Nicolas Inn B&B. It is near the Forum. Also has a website and there is a lot of info on this site about it. (type the name in the search box). I would highly recommend either place.

Let me know if you have any questions about these hotels.

19 m^2 is just over 200 square feet. I presume that includes the bathroom?

Since I am totally avoiding the huge pile of work I have, I just checked the Hotel San Francesco site (sanfrancesco.net) and it looks as if they are having a special Feb 1-28 for 120 euros/double w/breakfast buffet. I don't know if rooms are available, but that is a great price for that hotel. Definitely check it out!

Thanks!

In my opinion, if you want to be near everything and i mean everything, then you should check out Tiziano Hotel on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, it's right in largo Argentina, the tram which is like 20 feet away, takes two minutes to trastevere and it's in a two block radius from Campo, Pantheon and Navona. Plus the taxi stand is across the street along with like 5 different bus line that will take you to the vatican, termini etc.

I wouldn't stay anywhere near Trevi or Veneto since most of your time will most likely be spent by Campo.

We really enjoyed staying at Hotel Teatro di Pompeo. It is one minute from the Campo di Fiori and within easy walking distance of everything, though we took a bus to the Vatican. The staff were excellent and our room (with AC and fridge) overlooked a quiet square. Breakfast was good, especially the coffee and the cost in August was 150 euros a night.

Still trying to decide between the Daphne Trevi, the Ponte Sisto, The Albergo del Senato and maybe, maybe the Santa Maria. They all seem nice. I have no clue as to their locations, and neighborhoods. Does anyone know what their particular locations are like? Does anyone have a hands down favorite? I am starting to lean toward the Ponte Sisto and the Albergo Del Senato because of other people's comments. Is the Daphne Trevi's area great? Which hotel do you feel is in the nicest neighborhood and rooms are the best?

The Daphne Trevi's location doesn't seem to be as popular on this board as other locations. But I stayed very near there and found the area convenient and enjoyable.

Oldmyst,

I'll throw in my two cents.

IMO, the Daphne Trevi's location is not in the same league as your other three listed. I would scratch it off the list.

Ponte Sisto and the Albergo Del Senato are both great, central locations in very charming areas. The Del Senato has a slight lead over the Ponte Sisto hotel in terms but I would go with whichever of the two has a better price.

The Santa Maria, across the river, is in a charming area but not quite as central as the Ponte Sisto and the Albergo Del Senato. I would describe the location a great for a second or other repeat visit to Rome.

...and while you are deciding, do check out the Hotel San Francesco; that price I saw yesterday is quite good for a "boutique" style hotel in Rome...

You mention tripadvisor -- it is (or was when I checked it out before my trip a while back) rated well, for what that is worth.