Planning our first trip to Italy this coming October, I am debating btwn an appartement or an Hotel, I'd love to stay at the Inn on Spanish Steps, it looks so lovely. Although an appt is much cheaper I'm wondering if we'll feel really "on vacation" since we'll have cater to ourselves in ternms of grocery shopping and finding "this extra special nice restaurant", but on the other hand,an appt is much bigger than an hotel room to unwind at the end of a busy day. Money is not really an issue and since we only take one vacation a year we like to indulge a little bit. So any feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks
Julie

You have stated the issue exactly -- and perhaps started to answer your own question.

It's a trade-off. Now:

Which is MORE important to you, service or space? Privacy or back-up in an emergency? Access to restaurant advice or feeling like a resident of the place?

Habitual hotel-users, we rented an apartment in Rome (just west of P.za Navona) last month. It was not perfect but it was very, very good.

From now one, I would always tend to choose an apartment in Rome. And there are some really fantastic places available, some with roof gardens or terraces (still usable in October).

Rome has tiny neighbourhoods too, even in the centre, where you can feel like a local. That counts, with me.

And space and access to the amenities of home are important to us.

Principal among the latter, I discovered, was having a washing machine! What a relief!

The only "hotel" thing I missed was having someone make breakfast.

But oh, the freedom and the privacy!

BTW: If price is not a consideration, check out the 2 privately owned apartments on www.romit.com.

Owner is American I believe -- I found the listing on a website for Princeton alumni, nestled in among the notices for "Will rent my 12 bedroom Loire chateau" and "Mayfair townhouse available for short lets".

For daily rentals there are lots of companies who are brokers for owners. We used sleepinitaly.com.

www.romeby.com is a prety high-end company with one top-floor place in via Monserrato (Near P.za dei Ricci, hence near P.za Farnese) that is to die for. Unavailable when we went, alas.

BTW: The same unit was featured on sleepinitaly at a somewhat lower rate, which shows you may want to shop around.

I don't understand the comment about having to shop for groceries. No one says you have to cook just because you happen to have a kitchen. I've been renting apartments a lot, and other than once boiling some water to make some tea for iced tea, I've never turned another stove on. I do like the refrigerator for having cheese and juice however.

You might check www.palazzo-olivia.it

While it is a small building of nice apartments, there is normally a delightful manager in the office downstairs who gave us more help and better suggestions than we've ever gotten from any hotel in Rome. I do somewhat understand the concern of being too much on your own in an independent apartment. This solves much of that problem.

We loved the place and will return there next time we are in Rome. The only drawback seems to be the lack of air-conditioning, but that is no problem in October. The location between Fiori and Navonna is perfect also!

take a look at rentalinrome.com they look pretty good.

Go to www.slowtrav.com to find reviews of many apartments in Rome, with links to the web sites.

3littlepeas: Perhaps, before taking any counsel from purgaowner, you should check out his other posts -- just click on his name.

You will see that he is not a traveler; he posts only to slam rival accommodation-providers.

The current conjecture is that he is the owner or manager of a much-maligned place on via Cavour.

If so, the derivation of his Fodors name is clear: Owner of a hotel that many guests have compared to Purgatory.

I've rented twice in rome, but this was after something like 5 trips to the city. Since money is not an issue, do a nice hotel. Have you checked out the deRussie? It's not too far from the spanish steps.

I think for a first visit to a city as multifaceted as Rome, a hotel is good for most people. It's great to have a person who can answer questions,give directions and help you settle into the city.

Hi 3,

My Lady Wife says, "I am on vacation. I do not cook, shop, make beds or wash dishes".

I, OTOH, would love to go to the markets and cook my own food. I would even wash the dishes.

Just got back from 1st Italy trip and, like you, had debated between hotel & apartment. After much research, we went with an apartment I found on vrbo.com. It was wonderful, and so much more luxurious than a hotel in our price range would have been. The hosts, Pietro and Marina, met us at check-in, provided all the info and orientation we needed, and were available for questions. It has a beautiful terrace adjacent to the main bedroom, with a view of the colosseum. Small grocery store, patisserie, and markets are just across the street. If you are interested, you can check it out at:
http://www.vrbo.com/32035
Pietro also offers guided tours, which we did on our first full day, and it was one of the highlights of our trip. From doing both hotels and apartments in Italy and Spain, I would say an apartment is preferable, but only if you find the right one!

"Message: I think for a first visit to a city as multifaceted as Rome, a hotel is good for most people. It's great to have a person who can answer questions,give directions and help you settle into the city."

What a great idea, massagadiva. You mean like the on site manager at the Palazzo Olivia APARTMENTS?

I was thinking an apartment might not be a quiet solution. I suppose there are problems in this rental..Noisy neighbors, clogged sink, something broken. Is there a person to talk to? A hotel staff is at least there.There have been many discussions and critics about Sleepinitaly.

Julie, we had the same questions as you when we made our first trip to Rome. In the end we opted for an apartment (we got ours from www.sleepinitaly.com - great to work with). We liked having so much space and privacy. We didn't do a stick of cooking though we had a kitchen. We did use the fridge, much the same as Patrick noted. The apartment owner showed us how to use the expresso maker, gave us maps and sightseeing tips, and even took us to the train station when we left! It was, all in all, a great introduction to Rome.

Sorry..review agency on Fodor's.

Well,Patrick,I don't know. I've never stayed at the Palazzo Olivia apartments.When I've rented apartments in Italy,I was pretty much on my own.

Yes, I know. That's why I had already mentioned above that Palazzo Olivia is nice for that very reason. We got more and better advice from the manager there than we've ever gotten from any hotel in Rome. She'd write out bus numbers and routes, suggest restaurants, offer to call for us, look up train schedules, told us about a nearby travel agent where we could book our train tickets and not stand in line at the station. It was great.

I have advocated for this Apt. as well. Patrick pointed me in this direction a few years ago and it was a fabulous experience.Palazzo Olivia's location is perfect for someone who wants to be in what as known as the Centro Storico ( Historic Centre). The Piazza Navona is just 2 min. away.
In answer to the original posters question "wondering if we'll feel really on vacation since we'll have to cater to ourselves in terms of grocery shopping etc". i would say absolutly. It is a wonderful experience to go to the grocrey store and pick up a few items to stock in your apt.The beauty of it all is you can! In a hotel you usually dont have the luxury of a small fridge and cooktop.
An apt. is much bigger to unwind at the end of a busy day. It also enables you to open that bottle of wine, pull out that delicious looking cheese from the store, tear into that fresh baked roll and have your afternoon snack!
I will never, ever stay in a hotel in Rome again. In my opinion, the apt. experience was part of the allure of being in and experiencing the Eternal City.
As for one more plug on Palazzo Olivia, in addition to the girl who was in the office at the time, the owner Stephano was always around to cater to your needs. He speaks perfect english and is a wealth of information.
I arrived at my apt. around 11:30 pm. and he was there to greet me and let me in the apt. He will give you his cell phone and you can call him anytime.The best conciere service you can have.
So, with all of this i would say go for it, stay in an apt. and enjoy the sweet life of Rome.

Sign me up for the Palazzo Olivia! It sounds like the best of both worlds!

I looked into Palazzo Olivia last year and seem remember I rejected it because it doesn't have AC. But maybe I'm remembering wrong. Patrick?