Ponte Sisto Hotel - Rome
 

Thoughts?

Location seems good, right? (Close to the nightlife of Campo and Trast.)

Is this a "high-end" hotel?

At 360 euros for a double room? Well, by my pocketbook that qualifies as high-end.
http://www.hotelpontesisto.it/web/

This is a great hotel in a great location. Very nice but not snobbish.

I've stayed there on my last three trips to Rome and hesitate to stay anywhere else.

I stayed here for a couple of nights almost three years ago and really loved the hotel. Very friendly and a great location. I would definitely stay again on my next trip to Rome (I've stayed at 4 different hotels in Rome)

Don;t know what you mean by a "high-end" hotel. It is a 3* hotel that gets generally good reviews on web sites - inlcuding those personal experiences listed here.

But it isn;t a 5* hotel. If you're looking for truly deluxe name brand hotels you would have to spend about twice as much.

Hi Tuna Taco (yum);

I have heard wonderful things about the Ponte Sisto from many people that have stayed there including people on this forum.

We will be there for six nights this coming October in a deluxe suite facing the garden. It's quite pricey: euros410 per night including breakfast and taxes. And that was after a bit of negotiating them down. Their original rate was much higher. It is our big indulgence for this trip and I can't wait. The location seems perfect, too. The communications with their reservation department have been lovely and easy. I don't think you can go wrong with this one.

The hotel has a great location and its website says it's a 4* hotel, but it doesn't appear to be a deluxe type of property-just my opinion. And I find 410 euro to be pretty steep even if it's considered to be something of a bargain rate.

Thanks for the replies.

So what hotels in Rome would you consider deluxe?

The Hotel de Russie.

The Hassler

How does Ponte Sisto compare to Albergo Del Senato?

Fodor gives the Ponte Sisto his highest rating; it's a Fodor Choice.

I stayed at the Hotel Ponte Sisto this past August. Eventhough it is a nice hotel it is NOT worth the rack rates or the rates they are willing to confirm if you book directly with them. The standard rooms are VERY small although the bathroom is very modern and has a good size.

We booked through an Italian booking service which offers considerably reduced rates on this hotel:
www.reservationitaly.com

If I had paid their rack rates I would have been very disatisfied but since I paid 50% less through Reservation Italy it was fine.
To me the best feature the hotel has is their interior courtyard, very pleasant ( but I assume it is not open during winter).

Cruiseluv, does that mean that you wouldn't recommend Ponte Sisto for our December stay?

Reservationsitaly is quoting, for 2 singles and one double for 3 nights, 1140 Euros total. That's an average of 126.66 Euros per room per night which sounds good for that location. I thought this hotel would be the nicest affordable option for the Campo di Fiore/Navona area.

Judy,

At those prices, certainly I would recommend it. That's about what we paid. I just wouldn't pay the rack rates they ( Hotel Ponte Sisto) charge.

I really liked the location. There is a small supermarket next to it which is very convenient for buying water and wine and any other "essentials".

Have a great time!

Bless you, Cruiseluv, for being there when I need you. After all the research I've been doing I'm embarrassed that I hadn't discovered Reservationitaly until just now! I do tend to do things bass ackward and waste a lot of time.

Judy,

You're quite welcome! I found Reservation Italy through this forum as well so I'm happy to spread the word!

The funny thing is that prior to finding Reservation Italy I had contacted Ponte Sisto directly for quotes and found they wouldn't budge ( eventhough I was going in August which is considered low season). I had written them off and then I read about Reservation Italy. As you saw, the difference in price is staggering!

Have a great trip!

Thanks, Cruiseluv! I wrote a "begging" e-mail to a few 4* hotels saying I know how elegant their hotel is but I'm hoping for a special offer so that we can stay there. Results have been good. Apparently Reservationitaly doesn't handle Albergo del Senato.

TunaTaco, I too have that question about the two hotels. Del Senato is #6 in popularity on TA, Sisto is #30. Both are well located. Don't know which to choose. Will do more research later.

Cruiseluv, I booked the PS with reservationitaly.com. I was going to go for the Cesari, but shied away from the ongoing construction. I don't need that!

Do you think the room you got from reservationitaly was an inferior one? I'm hoping that the hotel won't be fully booked so we'll have a choice. My sister, with whom I'm traveling, is very charming and has great powers!

Thanks for the tips!

We had 3 rooms in the Ponte Sisto: 1 double, 1 double for single use and a triple. The A/C in the double for single use and the triple was not working properly. After several calls and visits to reception we were shown 2 other rooms of similar size ( the double was slightly larger) but at least the A/C was better( we were there in August so for you this will not be an issue).
It took so long to resolve this that I didn't want to hassle anymore asking them for a bigger room. We had booked standard rooms and these were standard rooms. But you don't lose anything by trying!

bookmarking...thanks for the Reservation Italy rec!

I e-mailed the Ponte Sisto asking if there was a difference between the rooms booked through Reservation Italy. He replied no, to go ahead and book through them. Previously he told me he couldn't match their rates. I tried! Hope we like it. The courtyard is less important in the winter but still a nice feature.

I checked Reservationitaly for Venice and Florence and they had almost nothing in the areas where we want to stay. They had a nice one in Florence, but the website states they're replacing the elevator during the winter and I'm avoiding construction sites!

Yes, it's too bad that they don't represent more hotels in other cities. I also visited Florence and Venice but wasn't interested in staying in the hotels they represent.

You can always try once you are at the hotel to see if they have something available that is larger ( and if they'll give it to you at the same rate). It doesn't hurt to ask. I would have if it wasnt that I had already wasted so much time with Reception finding a room with A/C that worked!

I just love the look of Ponte Sisto. It is on a REALLY old street, and then you look in the door and get just this glimpse of shining brass and flowers. It is well located for some great restaurants too - don't miss going over to Trastevere for more reasonable food options.

Our favorite restaurant near Ponte Sisto was Pierluigi. Fabulous. (Not cheap.)
http://www.pierluigi.it/EN/home_en/index_en.php

We liked Pierluigi too!

The proximity to Trastevere is definitely part of the appeal of the hotel's location.

Three of us four traveling are vegetarians. Is Pierluigi still a good bet?

I think I read that Ponte Sisto doesn't serve capuccinos at breakfast. I could have confused them with another hotel I read about. I've been hanging out at this forum and TA far too much! Anyway, is there a place nearby to go to first thing in the morning before breakfast to pick up a capuccino?

I'm sure I'll find out by wandering about the first day. Just thought I'd ask.

Thanks, Wliwl, for the link to PierLuigi. And to you, Cruiseluv, for seconding the recommendation. I checked the menu and there's plenty for vegetarians to eat! I'm excited. I'd rather have fabulous than cheap any day of the week!

I got my walking shoes for the trip. Two pairs of Keens. My first. I think I'm going to love them. They have a nice spacious toe box and good arch support. Of course the trade-off is that it looks like I have duck's feet.

We always went to Campo de Fiori for "breakfast" and sat at a cafe. They have a big produce market in the mornings that was fun to watch.

Here was a bakery nearby that we liked:
Il Fornaio, 5/7 Via dei Baullari

There's actually a map on this web site of where Il Fornaio is:
http://www.romanvacations.com/pizzerie.htm
(Scroll to the bottom.)

I have no idea about vegetarian eating...I do know that if you go to Pierluigi and just have them make suggestions they will bring you a wonderful meal - but again, I'm not sure about the vegetarian part.

I have just returned from 3 weeks in Italy and 6 of those days was spent in Rome at the Hotel Ponte Sisto. Just so you know the breakfast is lovely and there are as many cappuchinos as your heart may desire upon request they are happy to accomodate. The servers in the breakfast room are very nice and very accomodating. They will even bring you your cappuchino out to the courtyard.

Everything about the hotel was perfect from the moment we arrived until the moment we left! I negotiated a rate with them on a suite and they came down considerably on the price. I preferred working with them directly. Their staff is excellent and were very helpful with all kinds of things.

However, there is nothing to stop you from having more lattes and coffees at the Café Farnesse, just next to the campo di fiori a short walk from the Hotel. Cafes in that area are plentiful so don't worry about that. I very much liked the location of the hotel. The campo and the surrounding area is beautiful and very happening and fun. We were very happy to be in that part of Rome; it was easy to get anywhere from there. Most nights we ate over in Trastevere. When I do my trip report I will have at least one restaurant name but am not good at writing those things down. Everywhere we ate we enjoyed the food.

JaneRebecca: Thanks for weighing in on Ponte Sisto. Sounds like your trip was great.

Ditto, JaneRebecca. I'm excited about being there in December even if for only 3 nights. Hope it doesn't rain! And if it does, we'll have a great time anyway.

Hi Judy;

We had perfect weather in Rome-- actually very warm, which they said was not the usual. But everywhere else it rained or was cold or both with lots of humidity. (bad hair!) And in Venice we had Acqua Alta and talk about a mess! But the truth is that when I think about our trip (we just returned last Saturday, so it's recent) the weather never crosses my mind. We had the right outer and inner clothes, shoes, and umbrellas and never let it hold us back. I hope to do a trip report soon.

I have thought about going back to Italy in the winter to avoid the huge crowds. I would hope that winter would be better.