Need Advice on choosing apatment over hotel in Rome
 

I am in the middle of a dilema & need input on an apartment I'm looking at which is located on Via del Corso close to Via Vittoria not far from the Spanish Steps. It is the only apartment that apeals to me so far & I've looked at tons of them. We have already reserved a room at Residenza Cellini over by Plaza della Repubblica, but I wanted to be in an area with little shops & restaurants as well as transportation. The apartment is 120 EUs a night & the hotel is 130EUs. I keep going back & forth about the advantages/disadvantages & can't decide so I thought I'd get more input so I can go entirely crazy! Thanks

I am not sure what apartments might be available, but I would suggest the Campo di Fiore area. Such a great location. You can walk to so many areas and the buses are very close by. Markets in the day, restaurants at night. Near the Vatican, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, etc.. Try www.reservationinrome.com, hopefully they can help you. Have fun!!! It's a great city.

I too loved the Campo de Fiori area. The pros and cons of renting an apt vs. a hotel have been discussed at length on here. My take on it, is if it's your first time, and you don't have a family, I'd probably recommend a friendly hotel. An apt can feel a little lonely. Sometimes it's nice to have a familiar face in yhe lobby and someone to help you out now and then. If you're there a long time or if you're traveling with a family then an apt can be very economical and convenient.

We rented an apartment from a person who felt very accessible. He had good recommendations for restaurants and was available by cell phone (which he loaned us). So that worked out well too.

Rome is small and very walkable, so don't worry too much about transportation.

The previous poster makes some good points. Even with my cell phone, sometimes it was hard to call and find things out, check on a reservation and order a taxi, and I had taken Italian for a year. Our first time to Rome the front desk did all that for us.

The apartment we rented had a tiny waterheater and the landlord recommended we shut the water heater off while running the washing machine so we didn't blow a fuse. Also they do not have dryers in Italy so in cooler weather it wil take a while to dry clothes. Our apartment was nice, in good condition with a full-size fridge, so we had a great deal. But there will be little quirks.

On a plus, the freedom to make your own dinner if you have picky kids cannot be underestimated, however.

5alive, you are incorrect about there being no clothes dryers in Italy - I have rented an apartment with one in the past!

I love renting apts if at all possible whether I'm alone or with someone. You really feel settled in. It doesn't matter whether you want to cook or not - I just like having more room and feel like I'm "living" there rather than being confined to a bedroom in a hotel. Other than a studio apt, you have a living room area with kitchenette. Very nice for for coffee making, cocktails, snacks, etc.

Last May I rented an apt near Campo di Fiore and in Pienza, Tuscany for a week each with hotels inbetween. Loved it. I also rented an apt (studio) in Paris a few years ago for a month with a couple of visitors and earlier in London for 2 weeks by myself.

If you know where you want to go, anywhere in Rome is probably fine. Just catch a taxi or hoof it. You don't really need a concierge.

Interesting about the clothes dryers.

On Slowtrav it mentioned that they were a rarity or nonexistent, which is what we found. Last month we rented three different apartments and had investigated two or three more, and none had a clothes dryer. Too bad, we could have used one!

I never saw an apartment that had a dryer listed either -- but it didn't matter as it was VERY hot when we were there (and we often didn't run the AC when we weren't there) and the clothes dried instantly. Our apartment came with a HUGE clothes rack and a washing machine. (Very handy.)

Also, our apartment had an instant hot water heater, so it really couldn't run out. Our Paris apt had the same thing, so maybe they are somewhat common in Europe?

Most of the apartments and villas I have rented in Italy and in France have had dryers. The last apt. had a washing machine that switched over to a dryer at the flip of a switch.