The Accetti is what I posted links for above with the link for the review by Kristina.

I would select an apartment based on location, two real bedrooms and two bathrooms. Four people sharing a bathroom isn't easy when everyone needs to get ready at the same time.

The Domus Int'l apartment is listed on other websites--I think posters jamikins and BikerScott stayed either at that one or its twin (in the same building, slightly different configuration) and liked it. I'll see if I can find their report. Coincidentally I tried to rent it in the past and it was already booked up. Same with the Accetti! :)

Sorry, I cannot seem to locate Jamikins' extended review of that apartment but they rented it through romepower.com (called Moon apartment by Rome Power) and were well satisfied. Here is a brief synopsis. I know I read a longer review from her but cannot seem to dig it up.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-rome-4.cfm

hi 'mom,

here's the link to the apartment we're renting in Feb:

www.lacasadiclelia.webs.com/

i didn't realise til someone here pointed it out that the bedrooms are underground! But given that the light outside is not going to be great in February anyway, I'm not too fussed. and otherwise, it ticks all our boxes. catherine, who owns it, is very user-friendly and responded to a my enquires very quickly and patiently. [and in excellent english - she is actually french].

good luck,

regards, ann

Annhig, that apartment looks great! Please let us know how you like it.

annhig, I also have my eye on that apartment for our stay in Rome in 2011 (tomorrow I can say it's next year!). It looks lovely and even better that the price is in our budget - I wonder how small the mini flat is? Maybe you can check it out for me, I will look forward to reading your comments.

macdogmom, good luck with your search, it sure is very time consuming trying to find "just the right place".

Best wishes
Maudie

hi, KT and Maudie,

i will certainly report back. Maudie - have you looked at the photos of the mim-flat on the website? it certainly looks bigger than any hotel bedroom, for a very reasonable price. if I get the chance, I'll see if I can get a viewing!

annhig,
I emailed the owner earlier today and hopefully will hear back soon. Do you know if there are any windows in the ground floor part of the apt? Looks from pics as if the front door is the "window" for the living/dining area.

I am now contemplating throwing budget to the wind and staying at the Residence Giubbonari pink apartment.

http://www.residenzagiubbonari.com/home.html

Terrace is beautiful and I think that it is also in a good location. Still haven't completely figured out Rome layout yet. I am going crazy with all this and our Paris apartment just fell through. I am thinking of just staying in a hotel for Paris (in the Marais somewhere) since there will only be two of us there.

After Rome we go to Amalfi Coast and I need to start researching places for the 4 of us there. I had thought Postiano, but am starting to get concerned about how touristy it is especially since we are going in June, not in May as originally planned.

Yes I have looked at the mini flat too, its only two of us and though it looks small, as you say, its better than a hotel room. We don't really have a problem with a dark bedroom, in fact we prefer it, maybe it will be quieter! I am having a hard time trying to find something that we like, in a location that we like and stay within our budget, even a fairly basic B&B is €130 which is $210 AUD per night, yikes! This is the one I was looking at:
www.littlequeen.it/littlequeen_eng/home_eng.htm

macdogmom, I have the Giuddonari in my favourites list - I think it looks great. Wish they had a smaller apartment, I would just give up my search and book it. Hope it all works out for you, let us know how you get on.

Best wishes

maudie--have you looked at realrome.com for apartments? Their rates are very reasonable. The owner is very pleasant and helpful.
We rented a 2 BR apartment on the Via della Reginella right near the Little Queen. It is a great location. There are other smaller apartments in the central historic area and Trastevere.

hi again, mom,

first of all - the area. relax - you have got it spot on. having not stayed in the right area last time, I am pretty confident that for a first -time visit you want to be in the area of Rome which is bordered by the river to the west, and an imaginery line which runs north-south just to the east of the campo dei fiori. whether this particular street is all you would wish I don't know but the double-glazing should keep most of the noise out.

secondly - the apartment. I do not think that there are any windows besides the door at la casa clelia. that doesn't bother me too much for February. as for the residence have you looked to see if it's on slowtravel? many of them are. or read the reviews on the website.

thirdly - the price. I do sympathise with you wanting it to be "perfect", and actually if you are going to splash out on a terrace, June would be the month to do it - you'll get maximum value due to the long evenings and warm mornings for those breakfasts on the terrace. and with a lift, the lads shouldn't mind going out to get the cornetti. [though my DS, then 15, happily took it upon himself to get our breakfasts when we were 4 floors and 89 steps up!] it doesn't look too uncompetitive - we paid about €1400 for a week at easter 3 years ago, so €320 a night doesn't look bad at all.

frankly, if this is the right apartment for you, I would go for it - I knew immediately I saw ours that they were the right ones for us!

I can't help over the choice of accommodations for the amalfi coast part of the trip, but there are a number of recent threads, including a current one, on just this area. amalfi itself seems to be well-recommended.

Maudie - i have only ever stayed in apartments when we have been "en famille". I'm not sure that I'll continue to do this - the mini-flat is quite a lot cheaper than the B&B you quote, and you get more for your money.

regards, ann

PS - in fact, I've topped the review of one of the apartments on fodors from 2006, and here's the review of two of the apartments from slow-travel:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/vr/review.asp?n=2683

thanks so much everyone. I just reserved Pink apartment at the Residence Giubbonari. Looks great and I get a reduction in price by paying cash on arrival. I think it will be a great place to stay for our first trip to Rome. And I will find more economical spots in Florence/Tuscany and Amalfi coast now!

Thanks to everyone for their help. Such a great resource.

A few more comments re R.G.

1. We used the car service/van arranged by Christina, the landlady and it was quite handy. When we arrived at the address mid morning tired and hot nobody answered the doorbell. The driver had no intention staying, and we feared we'd be stuck on the doorstep with bags and tired kids. The driver had her cell phone # and called. She was out, but a friend/relative who lived nearby came over and let us in. Not saying you should use that car service, but lesson learned is to make sure you have a contact cell phone # to call upon arrival. I do recommend using a car service, however. Nothing beats seeing your name on a sign as you exit customs, walking to a car right outside, and getting brought right to the door.

2. When we arrived we had only a few (100) euros on hand since the ATM at the airport wasn't working. We weren't sure if we'd be able to get enough cash the 1st day to pay for the whole week. Christina said that was no problem - we could pay over a few days, and pointed us to the nearby ATM. (3 or 4 within 5min). Turns out we used 2 different debit cards and got the full amount of euros right away. I'm sure we aren't the 1st Americans to arrive sans euros in hand.

If you want more info feel free to email me at j62ny at yahoo. I don't check it everyday but often enough.

Thanks for all the info. We will actually be arriving by train from Tuscany. Good to know that she will let us spread out payment if we have to.

Congrats on getting your booking, that's great news.

Here's one I have found for Florence just to get you started but I'm sure you will get many other suggestions:
http://www.ilgigliodoro.eu/ - I love the walled garden.

Vttraveler: yes I have spend many hours on rental apartment sites but I shall have another look at your suggestion, thank you.