I have been trawling the posts for recommendations for B&Bs or hotels in Rome and the noise factor is much discussed! Where can we stay in Rome where the noise factor is bearable? We will be there in mid September for 4 days but it seems to be pretty heavily booked then.
We are good walkers (well OK strollers!)or I guess there's buses and an underground??
The closer the better really, but a bit of peace to sleep is very important to us.
We would prefer a quality B&B or an apartment rather than pay for the amenities of a hotel we don't need.
Many thanks Sally

I can recommend an apartment on via di Panico (right by the Ponte Sant'Angelo) where we had no vespa or other traffic noise that bothered us. It was a pretty quiet street in March. It was out of the way, yet close to many sights. And, it was on only the second floor with elevator.

I booked thru sleepinitaly.com if you are interested. Reviews at slowtrav.com. Nothing fancy, but it was fine for three women (one bedroom with loft bedroom above).

I forgot to mention that we had the living room windows open often (over the street) and still had no noise that bothered us.

Thank you for that. We had a terrible time in Siena with noise all night. When you're on the go all day and evening,it's nice to be able to sleep!
I don't know how Italians manage.

Sally

We stayed at Hotel Albergo Cesari, Via di Pietra 89A. It is located on a pedestrian street (no Vespas!) between the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. We liked it very much and would definitely stay there again. I believe that it's a 3-star, so it's not the cheapest, but well worth it in our opinion. We walked everywhere from there.

You don't mention a budget, but for a quiet hotel (with breakfast) I can recommend the Fontanella Borghese. We've stayed twice at this hotel and are booked there again in October. I don't remember the rate we'll be paying in euros, but at the time I booked (about a month ago) it translated to $240.

The hotel is on the upper floors of a building that is a bit like a donut with a paved courtyard in the middle. The hotel is located on the back portion of the building, and on both prior occasions our rooms have been on the back side overlooking a small street. There is a restaurant with outside dining at the end of the block of this street and traffic is permitted, but we never saw or heard much. I believe there are also rooms facing the interior courtyard. The hotel's windows are modern, dual-glazed and have heavy shutters outside and curtains inside that can be closed. There is an individual A/C control in the room.

The hotel is about 3-4 blocks in opposite directions to the Spanish Steps (where there is a metro stop) and Piazza Navonna and a bit farther to the Parthenon and Trevi Fountain.

Umm... learn to wear earplugs? We live in a generally very quiet location out of town, but the neighbors' dogs bark, the occasional scooter goes by, etc. Earplugs bothered me at first, but I got used to them and now they're lifesavers.

best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

beginningwithi.com

Sal,

I'm a super light sleeper. What you need is a place with double-paned, sound proofing windows and A/C. It's hard to escape the traffic noise.

I stayed in just a 2* that offered these key amenities so you should be able to find them too!

Buon viaggio!

NO NOISE!!, NO VESPAS!! NO NO NO !!!
PERPHAPS YOU SHOULD STAY HOME!!
COME ON... YOUR ON VACATION.. ENJOY
EVERY LITTLE OF BIT. HOW ITALIANS HANDLE IT? WELL, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THEY HAVE BETTER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT.
LIKE THE COUNTRIES ECONOMY.. JOB FORCE... POLITICS..... WORLD VIOLENCE...YOU NAME IT.

I also stayed at the Albergo Cesari on my trip to Rome. It is worth noting, that while it is quiet late a night, there are restaurants on the street below the hotel which will be open (and a bit loud!) in the evenings. If you go to bed early, this could be an issue. Otherwise - lovely hoted, great breakfast room...I'd go back in a heartbeat!

I just got back from 15 days in Rome and stayed at the Hotel Portoghesi — great location (just north of Piazza Navona and within walking distance to the Vatican) and very quiet. I never slept so well in a foreign city. Not only were the sounds of the city minimized, I heard almost nothing from my neighbors on the same floor, except when they were coming in and out. I would recommend the hotel and a notice to them that you want an especially quiet room.

Great suggestions here. You also may want to search for an apartment in a courtyard or a hotel with interior rooms. You lose the view but make up for it with a good night's sleep.

Here is one apt. a Fodorite was considering recently. I bookmarked it because I thought it looked very quiet.

http://www.domusintl.com/front_end/prodotto.php?ID=2

My street-facing room at Hotel Julia was very quiet.

We also stayed in an apartment through Sleep in Italy, and it was fairly quiet. It was on one of the mazes of side streets about a five minute walk from Piazza Navona. It was on the ground floor, and the room was fairly small (though adequate) , on an alleyway with no cars, making it very quiet. There were lots of great restaurants nearby. http://www.sleepinitaly.com/files/apt_sangiuliano.html

Tracy

We stayed at the Albergo Cesari, in a corner room to the right. There's an alley there, which saw a lot of Vespas. And we had asked for a quiet room. (It was early October and warm, and of course the air-conditioning was off, so we opened the windows.) I still like this hotel; it has a great location, but I understand it to be undergoing a large amount of remodeling at present.

The Albergo Cesari is closed for renovations until November and has cancelled the reservations for many who had booked there.

Many thanks for all the information. It's amazing how heavily booked Rome is - regardless of the time of year it seems.

Sally

Here's another in case you haven't yet decided. We stayed here early Sept. 2004 and it was relatively quiet. We had the windows open and closed them when the hotel delivery trucks came by in the AM. There is AC so you don't need the windows open if you like.

Hotel Sant Angelo, near the Pont St. Angelo and within walking distance of Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and the Vatican. Actually, we walked just about everywhere, but took a bus when we got tired. And we did take a bus to the colosseum area.

A hearty breakfast is included in the price. It's set up buffet style with various meats and cheeses, cold cereals, yogurt, fruit and rolls.

They also provide luggage storage after check out. They were very accommodating to our group even though I don't think they realized we were a high school group when we booked.

http://santangelo.hotelinroma.com/main_en.htm?source=

It's receiving positive tripadvisor.com reviews.

We just stayed at the Hotel Due Torri (often recommended on this board). We found it very quiet -- it's on a tiny street with practically no traffic. The loudest noise we noticed was birds twittering in the morning. The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful, too. We had a room with a balcony -- heavenly views.

I think the suggestion of traveling with earplugs is an excellent one. Even in a quiet hotel, the sounds are different than you are used to at home.