Need rome hotel advise--Nicolas Inn,Fellini B&B,Relais Banchi Vecchi,All Opera, Antica Locanda , All Orologio, or Daphne Inn???
 

I am having difficulty in choosing which hotel to use in Rome. I like helpfullness and accessiblity of staff,Clean rooms, easy walk to major attractions and easy accessiblity to the subway and bus stops. Any suggestions?

I suggest you skip the B&B's- the staff is usually not there.

You can't go wrong with the Nicolas Inn.

5 of us loved the Nicolas Inn last May. Great breakfast, nice contemporary rooms & baths, soundproof windows, good location near the Forum, and really helpful owners (American woman and Lebanese/French/Italian husband). However, they do not live there, and while they were around most of the time, not 24 hours, if that is an issue for you. They did say we could call them anytime if needed. I would highly recommend the Nicolas.

We stayed at the Daphne Inn in May and loved it. The staff is incredibly helpful and friendly. The rooms are clean and tasteful and the breakfast is yummy! There are two locations, both are sweet. Enjoy!

ttt

We stayed at the Banchi Vecchi in August 2004. It's a lovely place - big beautiful rooms, great a/c, and a terrific location.

However, if you are looking for accessability of staff it may not be for you. We didn't see any staff after we checked in except for when they brought us breakfast. Other than that, there was no staff there. I think others have posted on their experiences and seen a greater staff presence, but there's a chance you won't get much interaction. It was fine for us (my husband and I), but my father in law definitely wished he had more interaction. It's really just personal preference.

Best wishes,
Sally

I would second "henryandcasper" on the Daphne Inn. We stayed in October at the Daphne Veneto for three nights. One-half block from the Metro station, and one-half block from the Piazza Barberini, (buses) - great friendly staff - owners Alessandro and Elyssa were delightful, very helpful, give all guests a cell phone to help them communicate, all other staff equally helpful, v.v.nice breakfast, free Internet access on each floor - neat, clean contemporary rooms. We loved it.

Ditto for the Daphne Inn-Veneto. We spent 4 nights there this past March and loved it. This location has about 10 rooms over 4 floors and has a lift, albeit small. Their other location doesn't. The owner's and staff's friendliness and helpfulness was incredible. The location is also pretty good as far as hitting the major sights so long as you don't mind walking a bit. Frankly, you'll probably have to walk no matter where you stay. To help narrow your search, you might consult tripadvisor.com if you haven't already.

We stayed at Roman and Italian B&B.

Wonderfull staff, clean rooms, 12 minutes walk to the Coliseum, 6 steps from the Metro station (Manzini Stop)... you can't go wrong with them.

Very helpful with arranging tours, restaurant recommendations... can't wait to go back!

We stayed at the B&B All Orologio in October. Location was perfect (between the Vatican and Piazza Navona). The room was big. Clean. Breakfast was excellent (and brought to the room at the agreed-to time). We walked from there to: Vatican, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popollo, the Forum and the Coloseum. I guess it depends how you define "easy walk".

If it will help, download Google Earth and measure the distance betweem the B&B and the various attractions.

However, accessibility of staff might be an issue, as we saw the owner maybe twice during our 4 nights stay. She was very nice, though, and very friendly.

Hope this helps.

Bender

We just returned from Rome and had a lovely stay at Nicolas Inn. The Inn is clean, the rooms are big and the location is convenient. We had 1.5 days in Rome and we got an excellent briefing on what's possible in the time we had; the best times, where to purchase tickets, fastest way to see sights; recommended restaurants. We actually got to see quite a few sights...Palantine Hill, Colloseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon and The Vatican City.

Four of us stayed in two rooms at the Nicolas Inn in late September. The hosts (husband and wife, as noted by others) were very friendly but not around during the evening hours - we were given keys to the front door of the building, the door to the Nicolas Inn itself, and our room key. Breakfast was a fairly standard affair. The hosts offered to help on all things having to do with touristy things, but we'd already made all our arrangements for tours. The greatest advantages of the Nicolas Inn, from our point of view, included (1) location (location, location), being a couple of short blocks from the Colisseum and the Forum, and then one walks everywhere else (except possibly take bus or cab to the Vatican); (2) cleanliness; and (3) price.

Have fun, wherever you stay.

KC

We stayed at Banchi Vecchi around last New Years day.

Nice enough room. I developed bronchitis and stared at the coffered ceilings for three days straight. The marble in the bathroom was fancier than one of the Pope’s tombs.

They sent us to one of the local bars for breakfast. Not bad food, better than your average breakfast fare.

No one mentions those damned noisy scoters that wake you up throughout the night and early in the morning.

A pretty central location. Great place for walking. If you couldn't walk you can could take a bus nearby.

The staff, when they were around, was pretty grumpy.

One thing I missed was having someone who could call us a morning cab to the airport. It was a pain going down the street on a cold morning to the designated taxi station.

I decided to go with the Nicolas Inn. It had many great reviews and the owners seems very helpful. The location also can't be beat! I arranged for pick-up and drop off service from the airport with them as well. Anyone used their service before? I'm kind of worried about the drop off since our flight LEAVES at 6:35am! I'm assuming I need to leave the hotel around 4-ish??? Any suggestions?

We had the owners arrange for a cab from their B&B to FCO and it worked fine. The "cabbie" was an older gentleman, showed up a few minutes before he was supposed to, and got us to FCO with time to spare. Although we didn't leave until much later than you, our friends left a day earlier with an early flight and also used this driver with no problem. As far as what time you should leave the Nicolas Inn for your flight, I'd be inclined to let the owners know when your flight is, and they will suggest when your driver should pick you up - they (and "their" driver) have lots of experience with the traffic situation and will know best about when you need to leave (I'd assume getting to FCO 2 hours before your flight is about right). And with no traffic I'd think 30 minutes from the hotel to FCO is about right too.

I'd have no hesitation in letting Nicolas Inn arrange your transport to FCO.

KC