I am planning a trip to Rome in early April and am looking at 2 different hotels, Suite Dreams and the Hotel Palladium Palace Rome. One of the members of my party is especially tuned into cleanliness and we are all concerned about being in a safe and comfortable area of the city; can you offer any information on either of these accommodations?

Do you have links for the hotels so we can see where they are?

http://www.suitedreams.it/

http://www.hotelpalladiumpalace.it/

Neither are in the best location or particularly attractive areas (actually the opposite). The Palladium is near the train station and Suite Dreams near the very busy Repubblica metro stop.

I would look at hotels more central to the historic area. I assume you mean next month? You've waited a bit late to look for hotels and if you will be there for Easter holidays then you might have trouble finding rooms. What is your budget?

How about Grand Hotel Beverly Hills Rome
http://www.beverlyhotelrome.it/en/index.htm

That's even further out. You want to be central - Piazza Navona area. Click on the location map on Suite Dreams and zoom out once. See where it says Roma (after you zoom out)? You want to be between Roma, the € symbol on the map and the curve of the river.

It would help to know your budget. There isn't much point in suggesting hotels without it.

This one is central.
http://www.albergodelsenato.it/

I'm a bit confused with the comments on this board about how bad it is to stay near Piazza Repubblica/Termini. I am booked in this area for four nights, in fact, in the same building as SuiteDreams, for mid-April. On Tripadvisor some of the highest rated hotels are in this area and people keep mentioning how wonderful and convenient the location is. Also, it appears that hotels in this area are less expensive than comparable hotels in the city center. I will, of course, report back on this board with my opinion when I return home, but would like more of an explanation. By the way, I choose the location because we will be arriving and departing by train and also plan on taking the train for a day trip outside the city.

We often stay in the Termini area, too, but NE and NOT SW. NE is much quieter and feels a bit safer. However, it doesn't really bother me much. We're going there in May and in September as well.

We really like Trasvetere area for the restaurants and such. Those are the two areas we always choose.

Positives on those areas is that it is usually cheaper. I have stayed in that area once before and it was ok, not great, but ok. Never felt unsafe. It is easy to get to metro and bus lines.

There are some very interesting sites in the area that are not overly touristed, which can make it nice. Baths of Diocletian, Santa Maria Angeli e Martyri, Santa Maria della Vittoria - home of the Ecstasy of St. Theresa just to name a few.

Not a lot of food choices, but once again, a few stops on the metro and you are fine, like Via Veneto area. We found a couple of little storefront cafes on side streets that were great.

Is the Navonna area better? Absolutely, but it costs a bunch more. You'll be fine.

I agree with daveesl. In fact, I'm getting to the point where I think I'd rather stay in one of these areas after so many visits to Rome staying dead-center. I love to walk all over Rome, so it doesn't bother me to have to hike someplace. There are some good restaurants somewhat nearby, not as touristy as those in the center, if you do your research (check egullet and chowhound and here).

calmflyer, I looked at suitedreams and then virtual-walked around the neighborhood using Google maps street view. Looks good enough to me if you like walking or are fine taking the bus/metro/taxis. It is not dead-historical-center, but that can be a plus or a minus depending on how you like to travel.

There's plenty to see almost <b>everywhere</b> in Rome, so find a hotel/apartment that's not too out of the way, meets your budget and comfort level and enjoy.

As Dave pointed out, you will have to bus or metro to things. If you stay in the center, you can walk. In the center are more restricted traffic zones, not so in the areas around the train station or Repubblica which have lots of traffic.

luvtotravel - I didn't say Reupubblica was bad although locations around Termini can be quite seedy. Hotels are cheaper in the area because they aren't as convenient and because the surrounding areas aren't as nice. The piazzas have traffic where in the historic center, many areas/piazzas are pedestrian only or traffic is limited to permits/residents,etc. Stay Repubblica one trip and Navona, historic center, or Trastevere next trip. Then you can compare the difference.

I think it also depends on how many days you'll be in Rome and what your sightseeing priorities are. If your schedule is tight, you might not always want to be dealing with public trans to get everywhere you want to go. Part of my enjoyment of Rome is exploring/enjoying the immediate neighborhood around my hotel.

If you're staying more than 3 nights, I recommend Hotel Fontanella Borghese which offers one free night for stays over 3 nights. We've stayed at this hotel multiple times over several years. It's located about halfway between the Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona. There is a sister hotel nearby a few euros cheaper with the same free night deal.

http://www.fontanellaborghese.com/home_ing.html
http://www.hotelduetorriroma.com/home_ing.html

Thanks for the feedback. kybourbon, I didn't mean to imply that YOU said the area is bad. I've been reading posts on the board for months and it keeps popping up.

Jean, thanks for the recommendations. These two hotels look nice, but I am the only one staying four nights. The other three ladies are leaving a day before me. With four nights, these hotels look to be great deals.

I'm going to keep up at Termini as we will be at the station a lot -- arriving, departing, day trip. Two of us want to go back to Orvieto where we stayed three years ago. We also want the other two ladies to see something of a hill town (a big one, I know).

I agree that length of stay (and season) increase or decrease the importance of staying in the center. On a longer trip with pleasant, not-too-hot, not-too-cold weather, I'd be more inclined to stay out a bit to save some money and experience something different. On my last trip we took taxis to dine outside of the center for our "best restaurants" anyway.

I also think your fitness level and comfort walking relate to this too. I live in a walkable city and so walk everywhere almost every day, am a runner, etc. So I certainly don't mind walking what I gather some people consider quite far, especially in Rome. If I stayed at Suite Dreams, mentioned above, I can't see myself needing to Metro or bus anywhere unless it was pouring down rain. This last trip we stayed here:

http://www.rentalinrome.com/bramante/bramantemap.jpg

and another trip at Albergo del Senato. Both those locations felt almost uncomfortably central to me, but not for a few of my traveling companions, including my mother who is in her 60s and lives in the suburbs and, while fit, is accustomed to driving most places. She wants to get where she's going.

So...hmm, what was my point again? Different strokes?