Hi all,

I am in the VERY beginning stages of planning a trip to Rome (7 days in Rome followed by a 7 day cruise). I am wanting to rent an apartment this time, but am a little clueless as to where to start (I have been reading old threads though). I would just like some general advice as to whether my approach is right:

1. Figure out what neighborhood I want to stay in - this will require much more guidebook reading to familiarize myself with Rome.

2. Search rental agencies
- Which ones? I come across sleepinitaly a lot. Are there other reputable services?

3. Read reviews on apartments
- Is tripadvisor your only bet? Or are there other websites?

Are there any special things I need to know about apartment rentals? That is, how do deposits typically work? Should I stay away from places that demand non-refundable deposits, etc.?

Thank you very much for all your help!

There are I'm sure lots of agencies. You can use trip advisor to do some research. I rented a fine spacious apartment from Italy Perfect last spring. Not cheap though. Site:italyperfect.com

Try www.romanreference.com and www.vrbo.com

vrbo-vacation rentals by owner click Europe, Italy/Rome

Pantheon location gets good reviews-centro storico.

If you find the location you like you can repost with that location asking for apt. recommendations.

For reviews-Fodor's and Trip Advisor are both good or can type in the name of the apt. up in google and see what links come up.

the website www.slowtrav.com gives apartment rental reviews. We have used sleepinitaly twice and been satisfied both times. We gave a deposit with credit card and paid balance in euros upon arrival. Alot of the agencies work that way. We stayed in Trastevere both times and loved it.

I am finding that most all apartment rentals require a non-refunable deposit. So, if you want an apartment, you pay the deposit, I guess.

Well, yes and no on the deposit. As an example, with Sleep in Italy, while the deposit is not refundable, it can be used with another rental, so all is not lost.

dave

THank you so much everyone!!! Good to know re the deposit....I'll probably hold off until we make final payment on the cruise. Or do apartments get snapped up really far in advance? We're going mid-May of 2011.

When an apartment is available is a coin toss. Kind of like airfares or exchange rates. It may or may not get booked, but you can usually find something else comparable. The owner may or may not decide to take it off the market for a certain period of time, but once again you have other options.

dave

Take a look at Owner's Direct website. I've used these properties personally with success and have a friend who owns properties in Portugal and rents out using this website. Make sure that you understand completely what the owners offer as my experience is that some property owners don't offer the same amenities as hotels - unlimited towels, paper products as basic as toilet tissue and toiletries as basic as bath soap. The flip side is that you have the use of (generally) a lovely furnished apartment that is so much more conducive to a family or friends gathering and usually at a fraction of hotel cost.

Thank you Dave and coray!!

Re deposits: I agree with opal.

We've rented apartments several times, and each time the procedure was to give a credit-card deposit, usually about 30% of the full rental. The agreement was that if you were a no-show, they'd hit your credit card for the 30%.

I've seen posts here in which people describe paying the full nonrefundable amount in advance. I won't do that, and I won't rent from agencies that require that. It's not because I worry so much about losing the money. It's more about having some leverage if I show up and the apt. is a dump. (That's never happened to me, btw.) If they already have all my money, what do I say to convince them to make good?

I wouldn't worry too much about apts. getting "snapped up" though you should allow some reasonable lead time to start trying to book.

Another vote for the Slow Travel site. Not only does it have reviews of individual rentals and rental agencies, there's lots more info there about self-catering and about travel in Italy in general.

I prefer to rent from agencies where I can use a credit card -- as opposed to renting directly from the owner. Yes, you pay a little more but you get 2 levels of reassurance. The agency would soon go out of business if its rentals were no good. And I can always dispute the charge on my credit card if the apartment is not as advertised.

Last year was the first time I rented an apartment in Rome. I used the agency Rome Capitol Apartments (I found it through another Fodorite's trip report).

Since it was my first apartment rental experience I liked the fact that I could make the deposit with a credit card and then I could choose to make the final balance payment upon arrival/check-in with cash or credit card.

That experience worked very well for me and since then I've rented an apartment in Paris last spring and will be renting an apartment in Bologna next month.

Thank you k9 and Mimar. I definitely wouldn't prepay the whole thing in advance....way too paranoid to do that!

LowCountry: Thank you for the name of that company!!!

We had very good luck renting through realrome.com. The owner, Tim Pearson, is helpful and easy to deal with

Ditto to those who have recommended doing some thorough reading on slowtrav. The first time I rented in Rome I chose an apartment that had been reviewed there. More recently I've used realrome.com and rentalinrome.com for apartments. The more homework you do, the more prepared you'll be if there are any bumps/unpleasant surprises.

That said, my apartment rentals in both Paris and Rome have always met my expectations.

Have a great trip!

I highly recommend Sleep in Italy, and in particular, Piazza Rondanini 29, which was in a tiny, quiet Piazza one or two blocks from the Pantheon, and in the direction of Piazza Navona. We did have to put down a small deposit by credit card, then paid cash on arrival. It was $130 euros for three people in high season, for a one bedroom apartment. There was a sleeper sofa in the living room for the third person. We stayed there a week and a half ago, and won't ever choose a hotel again. It was nice to have a bedroom and living room, along with a small kitchen, and large dining room table. We also arranged transportation from the airport with Sleep in Italy and it was $55 euros, not much more than a taxi, and the driver was waiting for us right where we picked up our luggage with the car right outside. Then, when we arrived at the above apartment at 10:30 in the morning, the manager was at our apartment waiting to let us in. Very easy!

Thank you k9 and Mimar. I definitely wouldn't prepay the whole thing in advance....way too paranoid to do that!

It's a very standard practice when dealing direct with the owner and one I don't have a problem with

Ali: Good to know....I'm just not comfortable prepaying that much money in advance....too many things can happen (yes, I buy insurance), on my end and on theirs.

I used Rome Capital apartments this past December and absolutely LOVED them. The apartment I rented was highly suggested by several members here on this board and now I see why

http://www.romecapitalapartments.com...gli/Miguel-157

We stayed in the apartment for two weeks for our honeymoon and the views from the two balconies were stunning! Not to mention the fantastic location to all the main sites, we walked everywhere and never took public transportation.