Has anybody stayed in any of the apartments at Palazzo Olivia, via dei Leutari, in Rome? They look quite nice online but you can never tell. Thanks for any info!

Hi Jonofor,

I know there are many people on this board have stayed there. Have you put Palazzo Olivia in the search function above? If others don't see or respond to this, you should be able to at least pull up some threads this way.

Yes, Jonnofor, you will find a number of positive comments about the place here, which is where I found out about it, and we just stayed there for a week in early June.
We loved it. Friendly and helpful reception from the manager and from Stephan, the owner, who lives in a "penthouse" on top. Spotlessly clean and comfortable. We were pleasantly surprised by a washing machine in the apartment. The big concern was air-conditioning as there is none. We took a chance and were fine, despite the temperatures mostly in the mid to upper 80's and above 90 a couple of days. When we first entered the building I was sure there was AC because it was actually cool. The building is OOOOLLLDDDD and has very thick walls, and truly does remain surprisingly cool. We opened the windows sometimes, but ended up closing them at night as it was quite cool without them. There was also a large standing rotating fan (which we mainly just used to help dry our clothes on a drying rack). The manager mentioned that the lack of air is somewhat of a problem for some people, particularly if the weather is incredibly hot as it was much of last summer. She also mentioned that the top floor apartments get quite a bit warmer than the lower ones. They are adding air conditioning to that top floor only. The problem is that being in the historic district there is literally no way they can add airconditioning to that building that will work or would not be incredibly expensive to install and to run. Frankly, I'd even chance it again, except maybe in August.

The location couldn't be beat. In fact we left Rome by train and actually just took a bus to Termini. One stops right across the street from the place and goes directly there. Had we known, we probably would have taken a bus there as well upon arrival, as it stops practically at the front door.

There had been a few comments about the cheapish "IKEA" type furniture, and yes, I guess that's what it was, but the sofa was comfortable, as was the large bed. There are nice terra cotta floors and beamed ceilings, as well as thick old doors, which give the place a lot of character. And we loved our walk-in, glass enclosed shower with a steady and solid stream of hot water. Each bath has its own water heater, so you don't get scalded or frozen if someone else in the building flushes their toilet.

We highly recommend the place and will definitely stay there again next trip to Rome.

Patrick,

Glad to hear you loved it! You know I follow the Rome apartments and I was wondering how it worked out for you.

Did you post anything on your visit/impressions this time in Rome or have I missed this?

My posts have been minimal as I'm still traveling. In rainy Paris this week, finally to return home next Sunday, after three months. But will only be home five days before heading to Oregon and California, so I'm not sure when I'll get caught up on posts or trip reports.

Thanks, Patrick, that is so useful! Only after I posted did it occur to me to search for Olivia so I did but none of the comments were as thorough as yours. We're going in late Oct so not particularly concerned about the A/C. My only concern is that it looks kind of dark (we were offered the Fiorello room only, on the 2nd [3rd] floor). Got anything to say about that?

I am staying there in early October and have no doubts about the place. Our email correspondence and payment of deposit went off like clockwork.I have not read one negative comment about it on this forum or on Slowtrav.com You may want to check out reviews on slowtrav also if that would set your mind at ease.

Hi Patrick,

Enjoy reading your reports very much.

Where will you be staying in California & Oregon?

Thank you,

==Mike