Rome Apartment
 

I am writing this regarding the rental experience we had this past week. My wife and I have been to Italy 6 times in the <BR>past 10 years, so we are not neophytes when it comes to traveling to Italy. We have stayed in a variety of accommodations there, from the Danielli in Venice, the Hassler and the Eden in Rome, to an apartment in the country side in Tuscany, among other places. This past week we stayed in an apartment on via San Salvatore, managed by Mauro Sachetta Cali, and his wife Giulia (omtour.com), and the price was around $125/day. The experience was wonderful in a variety of ways. The location (near Campo di Fiori), has easy walking access to most of the major sites, and allowed us to experience the true feel of Rome. The restaurants, the small side streets, the open-air market in Campo, and the cooking one nite in our own kitchen, made us feel a bit more local than most tourists do when they visit the Eternal city.<BR>The most enjoyable part of our brief stay was the hospitality, the ability and the accessibility of both Mauro and Giulia.<BR>Their recommendations, whether it was restaurants or sites, were always on the mark. The pick-up and drop-off to the<BR>airport, and the use of a cell phone also made the stay more comfortable. The apartment itself was exactly what we expected, and in an area that gave us a feel of a real residential Roman neighborhood. But most enduring in our memory will be the evening we spent at dinner with both Giulia and Mauro. The food, the conversation, and the experience of dining with 'real' Romans was great! So if you are looking for a most enjoyable vacation with the added twist of living right in a neighborhood, get in touch with Mauro. I think you will be quite happy with the results.<BR>

We just returned from vacation in Europe including one week in Rome. We traveled with another couple and rented 2 apartments from Mauro, one of them on Via del Pellegrino #81 3rd floor and the other on Via Vetrina #23. I am not going to comment on the apartment?s quality, however, I will say this: If you are thinking of some Palazzo with marble floors and painted ceilings think again. These are 400-500 years old small apartments with very little improvements done since. Out of the 2, the Pellegrino apartment is the better one. The reason we choose Mauro?s apartments was the very enthusiastic comments made on this website as well as other message boards. With a few exceptions, every posting I read was very flattering to Mauro and his apartments. However, our experience was different. We found Mauro to be rushed, abrasive and sarcastic. His attitude discouraged us from calling him or asking him for anything. We arrived by car and didn?t need transportation from FCO, but I needed a ride at departure. When I asked him, he replied very irritated saying that we have a car why he should take me to the airport. The only thing resembling some type of tourist assistance was a tour guide left in our room printed in 1996. Mauro is not a horrible person, and his apartments are just okay, however, we did not witness any acts of great kindness or hospitality that some of you are writing about. Fell free to email me if any of you wants details.

AG45 - yes i would appreciate more details I am on the verge of trying to rent in florence and Rome - of course a picture paints a million words - if you have any to post..If you know of 'nice' aprtment at reasonble cost - i would appreciate yr thoughts there too

I rented an apartment near Trevi Fountain for 5 nights last year through Rome Sweet Home. We were very satisfied, and I liked having an apartment over a hotel. Their website is romesweethome.com

Does Ron's apartment report sound like an ad to anyone else?

There's lots of information on slowtrav.com and slowtalk.com about apartments in Rome. These are two noncommercial websites where travelers post their experiences.

I, too, am p1anning to book an apartment for me and my fami1y in Rome for next year. I've 1ooked at s1owtrav.com and found this Mauro guy and his website to be &quot;recommended&quot;. I wonder if there's some biased opinions somewhere? Same true w/ a Dr Abate of Roman Homes. We11, i emai1ed this Romanhomes.com doc regarding our p1ans and what I needed - and came a rep1y that shocked me- he said his apartments are not in my '1ow' price range. I gave him a price of about 40euros per person per day! Neverthe1ess, i figured this guy is not getting any penny (or euro) from me. I'11 keep searching...

Petite -

Longtime users of this forum are familiar with Dr. Abate....

The most interesting posts seem to have been either deleted or lost, but here is one:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1292486

Type &quot;roman homes AND abate&quot; to find a few others.

Lesli, I tried to plow through that thread you listed, but gave up. Talk about a lollapalooza! It went on and on and on and on...

Last winter, before I even knew about using this forum, I found the romanhomes website while searching for apartments in Rome. It's a great looking website and the apartments interested me. Of course, there is no price information whatsoever, so I requested such. Twice. No answer.

Be what he will, this Dr. Abate did not get any of my vacation money. I found another company, www.sleepinitaly.com, who answered my (many) requests promptly and efficiently. We haven't made our trip yet, but I have no worries at all about our choice of accomodation with them.

http://slate.msn.com/id/75791/

This article re romanhomes and Dr. Abate reflects the tone of the thread....

1es1i: -
thank you for sharing the 1ink above regarding RomanHomes. That just about sea1ed it for me.

D1n - and anybody e1se out there -
1et us know how it goes with s1eepinta1y.com - i've checked their website but haven't actua11y gone any further than that - another messageboard had recommended this website as we11... thx again.