Surfergirl

Both are available at the end of June. Surprisingly, the Albergo del Senato is slightly less than Albergo Santa Chiara.

Has anyone stayed in either of these accommodations? I'd be interested in knowing the general size of the room or rooms and any other info. to help me make my selection.

Thanks

MFNYC

We stayed in a quad (not the bigger and more expensive apartment setup) in the Santa Chiara a few years ago. The room we had was at the end of a hall facing the street (some rooms I think face an inner courtyard), it may have been the 3rd or 4th floor, down the hall from the apartment. It was a 2 room suite, 1 room had a queen (or double, I can't remember) bed. For Europe standards, I'd say it was an average size room, certainly not tiny, but not huge either. If I remeber correctly, it had decent enough closet space. I don't think it had much drawer space. There was also a small refrigerator in there and TV. There was street noise with the window open, but with the window closed it wasn't a problem. They also would have the a/c on in June so noise shouldn't be an issue. The bathroom was off this room. It was an OK size bathroom with a tiny shower stall. The other room had 2 twin beds, 2 small closets and a desk with a sky light instead of a regular window (this room was no facing the street). We didn't have any kind of terrace, or much of a view. The public areas of this hotel are lovely (like the photos on the website). The room decor is fairly generic. The breakfast buffet was outstanding and the location is very good.

MFNYC

I just looked on their website. If you go to the page for quad rooms, the 2nd small photo I beleive was the room we had. From what it looks like, there are 2 of quads as well.

Surfergirl

Thank you MFNYC; that was very helpful. Was there one t.v. and one bathroom? Would you stay there again? (I live on a busy street in L.A. and don't have a problem with noise).

Melissa1

Go to tripadvisor.com and put in your hotels. You'll find lots of comments there.
Melissa

MFNYC

There's was 1 tv (in the master bedroom). I would consider staying there again (but I have no idea when I'll ever be there again ).

MFNYC

Also 1 bathroom off the master bedroom.

Surfergirl

Okay, so now I just found out that Del Senato has only doubles left, which would make it nearly twice the cost. I have my eye trained on the Santa Chiara, but do they take their time in responding to emails and faxes? The other hotels I have dealt with responded right away.
Thanks

italylover2004

i have had the hardest time getting the Hotel Santa Chiara to respond also. I tried Venere.com today and they have 48 hours to respond to confirm my reservation! I don't know where i am going to stay if they don't respond. i really want to stay here. Keep me posted if you ever get in touch with them and get a reservation.

MFNYC

Did you try contacting them through their website or calling? I used their email years ago and they were quick to respond. For cheap calls to Europe, use the prefix 101 6868 011, then country area local. Good luck, I'm sure somehting will work out. Other hotels in the same price range that we found quads in were Due Torri and La Residenza.

francophile03

To Italylover, are there no other hotels you want to stay at besides the Santa Chiara?

italylover2004

not really... the location of the santa chiara is primo! and the price is too... we are looking for 2 double rooms. My husband and i are traveling with my parents. i will try to call again if i don't have any luck with venere.com. Thanks for all of your help and i will look into the other hotels you mentioned, but the bar has been raised by the Santa Chiara!

francophile03

There are other hotels that are comparable to Sta. Chiara and probably even better. But if Sta. Chiara isn't responding to your emails you should fax them.

Surfergirl

Italylover and the rest: I have emailed them twice through their website; once directly; and faxed them once. Still no reply!

I did get a good price from another place right away, the Hotel Modigliani, which is somewhere between the Spanish Steps & Via Veneto.

But I would have liked to have been closer to the Pantheon and Navonna area.

If anyone has any other secrets in getting hold of Santa Chiara, let me know. I was going to call them, but heard from another poster that they were hung up on! I'm already starting to feel like a loser getting a response from that, and I think being hung up on would seal the deal.

But we need a place with air conditioning because we are going when it will be hot hot hot.

francophile03

What is it that is so attractive about Santa Chiara that you won't let it go? If you've tried to contact them and they won't respond, just find another place-seems like you're doing that. It doesn't sound promising if reception hung up on a prospective guest. Also many hotels in Rome have a/c not just this one.

Surfergirl

francophile, you're absolutely right. My obsessing has gotten the better of me. I give up.

Do you or any others have other suggestions for a quad with a/c in that area that you've liked?

francophile03

I'm sorry, I never need a quad so I don't have any particular favorite hotel. I'm sure others will be able to assist you.

sera

Have you considered renting an apartment?

MFNYC

Do a search on 'rome AND quad', there are some threads with alternative hotel possibilities. Here's one that a few places mentioned: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34448318

I notice Santa Chiara changed their web site, I preferred the previous one. Maybe they are having some computer problems but in any case, I would keep looking. Good luck and let us know where you book.

italylover2004

So i booked through venere.com and got the Santa Chiara. They recently revamped their website and it had been going down a lot, so that was some of the problem with trying to get in touch with them directly. I would try through venere.com if you want to book at the Santa Chiara!