Meredith

My husband and I are trying to chose between the Hotel Internazionale or the La Residenza Hotel in Rome for September. We want a clean, basic hotel that includes breakfast. They both meet these requirements in the book I have. Does anyone have personal experience to give me? Thanks

richard j vicek

ood evening, Meredith <BR>Have used the HOTEL INTERNAZIONALE, 8 <BR>times since 1981., have always been <BR>satisified with it as a three star hotel. However recently on one of the <BR>travel bb did read a negative review. <BR>The hotel is in an old building, almost <BR>all rooms are different in shape or size <BR>some rooms have a tub, others a shower. <BR>The street side rooms, tend to be noisy <BR>from the traffic on the via Sistina, <BR>rear rooms are much more quieter. One <BR>of the best things, I think is its <BR>location, it is a half block down from <BR>the top of the Spanish Steps, the Trinita di Monti. Just around the <BR>corner to the left about one block <BR>down is the Pza Barberini and the <BR>bottom of the via Veneto. There are <BR>plenty of ristorantes and shops in <BR>all these areas, especially the Corso <BR>Condotti area at the bottom of the <BR>Spanish Steps. If you need and <BR>recommendations for ristorantes drop <BR>me an e mail and willreply promptly. <BR>Richard of La Grange Park, IL.. <BR>

clay

<BR>Hi Meredith: <BR> <BR>My wife and I stayed at La Residenza last May. We loved it. Small and out of the hustle-bustle with a very nice staff. We liked the location near the park. May I also suggest La Scale Reale (sp?) for walking tours. They're great at keeping the groups small and intimate. If Tom Rankin is leading one of the Introductory tours, take one of his. He's an American transplant / Architect and is a wonderful guide.

cynthia

My husband and I stayed at La Residenza a couple of years ago and loved it. It is on a small quiet street (although there is a night club across the street that can be a little noisy at night so try to get a room on the other side). The rooms are nice, the public areas are pleasant with a patio to sit outside and the location is good but the real draw is the breakfast. A large buffet with just about anything you could want.

Meredith

Just wanted to thank the people who responded. I appreciate your extra comments about the street side rooms, and the tour suggestion. Will definetly look into that. Thanks!

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Patrick

I would greatly prefer the Internazionale to the Residenza for its location. But we stayed at the Internazionale and were flabbergasted when we got to our room. We were told they were giving us one of their "very best rooms", but it looked like a tired old flop house. The bath was deplorable, there was even a broken rusty lawn chair on the balcony, and the walls were blackened and filthy -- although it looked more like smoke damage from a fire than just plain dirt. We spent a couple of hours searching for an alternative because we decided we could not stay there, but when every place was already fully booked we returned to the hotel and complained. They moved us to another room that was beautifully redone and well furnished -- but had no windows so was very dark. They asked why we didn't tell them there was a problem when we first got there and I replied that since they had already told me it was one of the "very best rooms", it didn't seem like it would make any difference. That's the time I learned to always ask to see the room first or return immediately if you are unhappy with the room.<BR>In all fairness, that's been about five or six years ago and I understand they've redone most of the hotel. I walked by it last summer and the lobby certainly is much improved.