sofakitty

Hello, my boyfriend and I will be driving from Florence to Rome in late August
to catch our flight home from FCO. We'd like to find a hotel north of Rome, no more than an hour or so away from the airport, to spend the final evening of our vacation. The idea would be to find a romantic place to unwind and regroup and remember our vacation before heading back to the real world.

We are not inclined to return to Rome proper, but that might be considered if other alternatives do not appear.

Any suggestions of specific hotels or cozy towns? Budget would be 100-200 Euros for a double. Something historic or atmospheric or unique would be nice, but the main thing would be to have a nice romantic evening to finish off the holiday.

Many thanks for any suggestions or leads.....

bobthenavigator

Look at Locanda Rosati just outside Orvieto. Be sure to have dinner there which is a unique experience. When you leave going to FCO take the back roads to Tarqinia and A-12 into the airport and miss the GRA which is under construction.

lowcountrycarol

I love Locanda Rosati and have stayed there twice but not sure I would call it romantic.....sorry Bob, I always find you are such a great resource. The meals are served at one big table for all the guests, delicious and interesting, the charming and interesting owner usually eats with the guests.

The grounds are nice but not particularly "manicured" and the rooms are comfortable but I think simple. This is what my husband and I prefer but not sure it has all the "romance" you may be looking for.

zeppole

Is the idea to spend the night an hour away from the airport so you can leave the next morning, drop off your car and catch a transatlantic flight?

If your flight leaves before noon, that is a risky plan.

On the presumption that you aren't looking for a spot an hour from the airport to catch a morning flight, then you might consider this (I've never stayed there personally)

http://www.hotelvillaclementina.it/en/home.php

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ano_Lazio.html

But I'm gussing it is a more than an hour's drive to the airport (use mappy or via michelin) and I personally would not attempt it if you'd be leaving there to fly out before noon.

zeppole

PS: The reason it is risky is because traffic heading into Rome in the mornings is fierce, especially since the major ring road around Rome (the GRA) is under construction, forcing traffic elsewhere.

bobthenavigator

OK--more utilitarian than romantic, but I do love the driving strategy and the food.

sofakitty

Thank you everyone - bob, zeppole, lowcountrycarol - for your replies. I appreciate your suggestions and the warning about the traffic around Rome and the airport, and the current construction.
That *was* what we had planned - to stay about an hour away and get up very early to drop the car off by 8:00 and be at the airport by 8:30 for our 11am flight. So we will give it a re-think based on the information about the construction and its effect on the traffic.
It will be a Saturday, but I suppose that wouldn't make it that much less congested.
I will make note of the traffic advice and see if we can take back roads to the airport.
Thank you for the hotel suggestions as well...keep 'em coming, but perhaps we'd better consider something less than an hour away from Rome, or something in Rome. Still looking for something "romantic"....
many thanks.

zeppole

For me, a romantic finish to a trip that essentially ended in Firenze would be either to take an afternoon train from Firenze into Rome, or drive south and have a lunch enroute, dropping off the car in Chiusi or Orvieto and taking the train into Rome.

Once in Rome, one romantic idea might be to book into a nice hotel in or near Trastevere and have a nice dinner near the hotel and enjoy the piazza and the church, that's it, No big sightseeing. Trastevere is more village-y than most of the rest of Rome.

But what I'd personally probably do is to have picked up in Tuscany -- either inside the San Lorenzo market or on the road in Tuscany -- an entire dinner of wine, salame, cheese, produce from the market, bread and sweets from the bakery. I'd book the terrace room at the Hotel la Rovere (in an obscure corner of Rome bewteen Trastevere and the Vatican) and have my nice dinner with wine with a view of the Roman rooftops and the Tiber.

Either way, I'd take a taxi to the airport in the morning.

To be at the airport by 8:00 am on a Saturday morning in the last half of August, you really do need to stay in Rome.

zeppole

http://www.initaly.com/agri/hotels/l...e/larovere.htm


Be aware that le Rovere really is a small family run hotel and a rather unusual choice. I wouldn't want to mislead you. I find it relaxing to be tucked into this tiny corner of Rome in what feels like a very private space.

TCC

We did this a couple of years ago.
We had a very early (somewhere around 7:30 AM)connecting
flight from FCO.
We stayed the last 2 nights at La Locanda della Chiociolla
near Orte, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hrs from FCO
www.lachiocciola.net
It's a beautiful inn with a very private pool area, and a great reataurant.
I remember leaving at about 4AM and having a very easy drive to FCO. Got there in a little over an hour. The car rental return was closed, but they had a drop box for your keys.

sofakitty

Thanks again everyone for the advice.
TCC's suggested inn looks lovely and the kind of cozy atmosphere we were looking for. It may be a winner and we just get up really, really early to make our airport connection.
Any more suggestions for similar places in Rome or on the coast? Is there anything similarly atmospheric near Santa Marinella or Fiumicino?
I'm still mindful of the traffic advisories...and grateful for all of your suggestions.

zeppole

If you are willing to get up at 4 am, then you have lots of options. In august, you should look for a place with a swimming pool, I think!

These places are closer than Orte:

http://www.fontanadelpapa.it/bed&breakfast_tolfa.htm

http://www.valledelmarta.it/Sezione.aspx?Lng=2&ID=30

But you might consider staying in Castel Gandolfo, which is only about 40 minutes from FCO

http://www.villagermaine.com/index.php

You could also think about staying in Sabaudia on the coast. It's actually south of FCO, but you could leave your hotel at 6:30 and be in FCO by 8. The seaside might be nice in August.

http://www.ilsanfrancescohotel.it/en...riferim=camere

If you do a google search with the terms "rome italy agriturismo", you will get a google map pinpointing no end of accommodations with the "cozy atmosphere" of the place in Orte, and you can locate ones that avoid the GRA ring road entirely. You'll see which side of it you want to be on.