Opinions on these Rome apartments?
 

They all have air conditioning and washing machines, 2 must-haves on my list. We are young and fit, so we don't care about whether or not the building has a lift.

#1 http://www.sleepinitaly.com/files/apt_vicolocinque.html (In Trastevere but seems to be near a bridge for easy walking to the Campo de Fiori area and beyond) 120 Euros/night

#2 http://www.sleepinitaly.com/files/apt_farnesi.html (Not really my style, looks a little cluttered, but has very good reviews on slowtrav about the apt/its location/very helpful owner) 120 Euros/night

#3 http://www.sleepinitaly.com/files/apt_cappellari.html 120 Euros/night

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Or, for 150 Euros/night, I could stay in one of these two - I know some people will highly recommend Via Guilia, but this apartment is 30 more Euros a night and isn't even, IMO, all that charming, esp. compared to the second one on Volpe.

#4 http://www.sleepinitaly.com/files/apt_giuliaA.html

OR

#5 http://www.sleepinitaly.com/files/apt_volpe2.html (looks to be such a cute place!)

Saving 30 Euros per night would be nice, though it does look like you get a lot nicer of a place by spending a little more.

Any suggestions on which one to pick???

Personally, I woulds not want to stay in Trastevere, not becasue itisn't nice [it is, in a slightly run down way] but becasue you will spend all yopur time walking away from it!
THe others are all in the same area, which is where you want to be.
I can't see why the last two on your list are more expensive than the others, as they all have roughly the same facilities. THe only advantage with the second to last one is the terrace, which the others don't seem to have.
When we stayed in Rome at Easter, we found that it was lovely to have some outdoor space, and we used our terrace a lot, even though it wasn't that hot at night.
so depending on what time of your you are going [you don't say] you may want to go for an apartment with its own terrace or large balcony. IMO, that is worth paying extra for!

Keep in mind that if an apt has any natural ligt, then the photos will try to highlight that.

I actually like all five of them (and I'm somewhat picky), especially #5 and (best of all) #4 (you did say you were fit?).

We're going from June 8-14, 2007 (6 nights).

Yes, we're fairly fit. Plus, Rome will be coming towards the end of a month-long trip to Europe, so we will have a lot of walking and stair-climbing in by then. (We had no problem doing stairs on our Paris trip - to climb the tower at Notre Dame, or up the Arc de Triomphe, etc.)

Anyone else stay in any of these or have any opinions?

Tara, it's so funny because we narrowed down our apartment search to most of the same ones on your list for our trip next March! We finally decided on the Vicolo Cinque apt., in large part due to the positive reports about the Trastevere area on this and several other boards. Plus, the apt. looks SO updated and clean - some of them looked a little seedy and "campy" to us. Faxed our deposit today! FYI, I went to Mappy.com and did walking-time comparisons, and it looks like less than a 10-minute walk to Campo de Fiori, and about the same time (or even less) to St. Peter's and/or Forum. Plus, the benefit of many less-expensive eating establishments to choose from. Have fun choosing!

DH and I have stayed 3 times in the last 2 years at the apartment on Via Farnesi and absolutely love it and will stay there again.

It all depends on the "flavor" you are expecting. For us this apartment really captures Rome. The location is superb...the daughter of the owner very welocming and helpful. We have always found it so well stocked. Last visit Michella even had proseco and cheese waiting for us as a welcome gesture.
The bed is very comfortable which is a "biggie" for me. On the downside there is noise from the street but we soon got used to it....the small electric bus runs past regularly and people walking back to the Pont Sisto pass by late at night. The bathroom is very small but very complete...even has a hairdryer and the kitchen is almost too small to cook in. We only use it to keep juice, wine cheese. One visit did go so far as to make a salad. I get "homesick" for Rome just thinking about the place. Hope this helps. One more thing...my jusband just loved the fact that they recently installed a flat screen tv with satellite.

Tara,

I have just booked the Giulia A mainly based on location, price, charm (a matter of opinion obviously :-) ). I will be staying there in early Sept of this year so will post a report when I get back.
Jen V

I can't wait to hear trip reports from those of you who will soon be staying in one of the apartments I listed - especially JenV, since September is still early enough for me to make changes to my plans.

lowcountrycarol - Thank you for the recommendation for the Farnesi place. If you've stayed there 3 times in 2 years, that says a lot! To be honest, I am leaning towards this one. It is my favorite of the 3 @ 120 Euros.

Hopefully you'll see this, but I wanted to ask about the round bed... You said it was comfortable. How large is it? DH and I are kind of small people anyhow (he's 5'10, 155 lbs), so I don't usually worry about bed size, but at the same time, we're not one of those couples who are comfortable cuddling-while-sleeping.

Does it have an iron and ironing board?
Does the A/C work well?
Does the shower have plenty of hot water and water pressure?
Is the washing machine just for washing or is it one of those washer-dryer combos?

THANK YOU for any info you can give!!

tara,

FWIW, I have never seen an actual dryer in any of the apartments I'e rented in Europe. Don't ask me why, but just from my perspective they are a rarity. I usually rent upper mid-range apartments. Hopefully the Farnesi will prove me wrong.

Topping in hopes that lowcountrycarol will see this...

our Rome apartment had a hairdryer; [and a tea-pot they had purchased specially for us!] i suppose that if it is a priority, you could e-mail the agent/owner and ask them?

I wouldn't insist on a dryer. Most Italian dryers are not very efficient; in good weather, clothes will dry faster on a rack, particularly if it can be put outside.

It's not really a priority - I'd just like to have an iron because when you let clothes air-dry, they tend to wrinkle pretty badly.

Hi Tara,
I have just returned from my trip and wanted to let you know what my experience was with Giulia A. I was not impressed and would not book the apt. again. If you would like more details I will provide however I am still suffering jetlag and cannot pull all my notes and/or thoughts together right now. I will check back tomorrow when I am not so delirious (hopefully) to see if you need more input.
JenV

Hi Jen,

I have reserved #2 from my list, based on several good recs from people who have stayed there.

I'm sorry you weren't impressed with the Guilia apartment, and would still like to hear about it, if you have the time and energy to give details sometime. (No rush - get over your jetlag!)

Hi Jen,
Welcome back!! I have been waiting to hear what your experience was like since I have been thinking about renting the same apartment! When you get over your jetlag, please report!! Thanks!!!

Look forward to hearing your report, too. I am staying at Vicolo Cinque in February 2007. We've been to Rome before so we are actually looking forward to staying in Trastevere.

ttt for JenV :)

Ok, well I guess I can’t drag the jetlag thing out any longer (I finally slept through the night last night, yah!) so here goes…

In the interest of full disclosure we got in very late at night, with no luggage (thank you Alitalia) and were very cranky and tired but, I do not believe that any of my opinions of the apartment were colored by this.

What I didn’t like about Via Giulia A:

Steep and narrow staircase with no lighting part of the way (very dangerous)
The entryway has two flowerboxes filled with cigarette butts (how difficult would it be to throw a few geraniums in there?) this does not make for a good first impression
Tiny kitchen which would not be suitable for preparing meals if you needed that
Second bedroom basically fit the bunk beds and not much more (ie small)
The main bedroom had a very dirty/stained bed cover
The street below was very noisy and we had to keep the windows open due to the heat, the website listed a/c for an extra charge, however, the representative that opened the apt. told us not to touch the wall control??
Regulating the water temperature was a nightmare; it took forever to warm up then just when you thought it was safe to get in – ice cold water! Then boiling hot! We finally figured out after much screaming and hopping about that you had to have another faucet in the apt. running during showers to keep the temp even.
The apartment was very dark with all the lights on and at night it was impossible for me to read comfortably anywhere except in bed
It wasn’t very clean – floors left our feet dirty when we walked barefoot, saw dirt and dust in various places
The rooftop balcony that seemed a draw beforehand was not a place I would want to spend any time, dirty old roof basically with a few plastic chairs

I did not feel that overall the apt. was as warm or charming as the pictures seemed and the street which was hailed as the “prestigious Via Giulia, one of the most exclusive, elegant and beautiful ancient streets in the center of Rome… inhabited mainly by “jet set” people in some of the most expensive houses in town” did not seem all that special to me, especially the very “exclusive” wall covered in graffiti that was just outside of our door. However, the anit mafia bureau across the way was amusing.

Regarding the Campo de’ Fiori area; I prefer Piazza Navona/Pantheon and Spanish Steps areas and would not stay in this neighborhood next time. At night the CDF is loud and raucous and reminded me of high school with much more alcohol, trash and broken bottles.

What I did like about Via Giulia A:

We arrived much later than expected and there was someone there to greet us and let us in (after 1 am), however it did cost us 40 euro.
The company Sleep in Italy was easy to work with and responsive

The café around the corner was our local spot for morning cappuccinos and they greeted us like old friends every day we visited plus they made the best capps of the whole trip
The apartment was spacious except for the exceptions above

Phew, that was long. Hope it helps. Let me know if anyone has additional questions, hopefully I will be posting a full trip report in the near future.
JenV