Rome: B&B recommendation
 

Hi,
I am looking for accommodation for our family (2 adults & 2 kids) in Rome, for 4 nights in June. Some of the available responses I have received are from Inn Laterano Deluxe near the Colosseum, Kimama B&B in Trastevere, and Cicerone 28 near Vatican. Have any of you stayed in any of these B&Bs? Any comments? If not, on a location basis, which would be best?
Thanks in advance,
Ciny

Did you check tripadvisor?

The historic centre is usually the best place to stay, especially if this is your first trip to Rome. That would include the areas around the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, the Campo di Fiori, and the Jewish Ghetto.

Trastevere and the area around the Colliseum are still within walking distance of most sights, and are also popular areas to stay. The area around the Vatican is a bit far away from the things that would most interest a tourist (except for the Vatican of course)

Since you're a family of four, have you considered renting an apartment? An apartment would give you a little more space and a kitchen which can come in handy. It may also be more more economical than getting two rooms at a B&B.

I was very happy renting from realrome.com and there are lots of other agencies that posters can recommend.

Thanks for your responses. I do have some apartments shortlisted from realrome too. But was wondering if it would be better to stay in a B&B so we have some local contacts.
I did check on tripadvisor. The B&Bs have ok reviews though not on top of the popularity scale.
Is Trastevere and Colosseum pretty much the same, covenience wise? Hard to find good places in the historic center now!

We stayed at Arco del Lauro in Trastevere in October 2006. Loved the accommodations, loved the area. If this is your first trip, though, I'm not sure Trastevere is the ideal place to stay.

Re: having local contacts. Really not necessary, imo. Everybody speaks English, everybody is helpful. Italy is a very user-friendly country!

a link for Arco del Lauro:
http://www.arcodellauro.it/index.php?lang=en

Hi ciny,

Some parts of Trastevere are more convenient than others and I'm sure the same is true for the area around the Colliseum. Promixity to bus/metro stops can a difference as well. Do you have the exact addresses of the B&B's?

I've only been to Rome once so I'm no expert but there are lots of posters who know Rome very well. If you post the addresses of the B&B's someone can comment on the specific locations. In fact, you might even want to start a new thread with a title like "Please help with the location of these B&B's in Rome" or something similar. It might catch the eye of the Rome experts who can then give you more help.

Regarding local contacts, everyone has their own comfort level but I stayed in an apartment alone in Rome and I don't speak Italian, and I felt fine. LucieV is right, many Romans know at least a bit of English and in my experience they are more than happy to use it.

In case of emergency I knew that Tim, the manager of Real Rome, was only a phone call away (English is his first language). I also had contact numbers for the owners of the apartment. In fact the owners had put together a book of information for renters with practical stuff about the apartment and also maps and recommendations for restaurants, different kinds of shops including grocery stores, bus routes, etc.

Where ever you decide to stay, I'm sure you and your family will enjoy Rome. When I was there this past winter, I remember thinking what a great city it was for kids.

Hi again,

I just took a look at the Inn Laterano Deluxe, which appears to be right at Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano.

The Kimama B&B says they are at no. 18 via Morosini, in Trastevere. It's southwest of S. Maria in Travestever, maybe about 600 metres to a kilometre away.

I don't know anything about these specific locations. You would have to use public transportation to get to most sights, but the bus system in Rome is very good.

Hopefully someone can be of more help regarding the locations.

The Inn Laterano Deluxe lists more amenities, including air conditioning in every room. But they don't have any photos of the bathrooms up on the website. The Kimama B&B has more photos with pictures of the washrooms.

I don't know which one looks better. From what I've read, B&B's in Rome are often just an apartment where the rooms are rented out individually. The owners may or may not be in the same building. They might make breakfast for you, or they might just leave things like coffee, juice, and pastries in the kitchen for you to get yourself.

Personally speaking, I would feel more comfortable booking a "known quantity", but I realize it can be hard to find something available and within budget.

Thank you so much for your detailed responses.
I was hoping someone on this board might have had some experience with these places. Anyways, let me check into the apartments a bit more and also check LucieV's recommendation for availability.

Thanks again!

ciny,

If you want a fairly reasonable place, in a great location, and with a super helpful owner - look into Il Giardino Rome. It's a little 2 star place on Via XIV di Maggio, in between Trajan's Market and the Quirinale. Katy, the owner, is an Englishwoman who has lived in Roma for 30 years. She and her staff are very welcoming and helpful. They answer e mails quickly. It's small, like most Rome hotels, but clean and cosy. Their street facing rooms have double-paned windows and completely shut out the noise. No elevator, but just 2 flights of stairs.

I was very happy there for 5 nights.

Thanks Dayle, will check that too.
Arco del Lauro did not have availability!

ciny, I don't know what your needs are vis-a-vis having definite reservations well ahead of time...so ignore this advice if not helpful:
the last two visits to Italy, we made several reservations at the last minute. We also asked to be put on waiting lists in case of cancellations. Both methods worked really well for us. (That is definitely how we managed to get into the Arco del Lauro!)

I guess my point is this: just because a place tells you they have no availability NOW does not mean they won't have availability two or three weeks from now! Lots of people reserve 2 or 3 places in one city, then wait until the policy-approved cancellation date to cancel the places they no longer need.

Thanks for the tip LucieV!

Ciny,

You cant go past B&B BALDASSINI just near the Pantheon. It has fantastic reviews on Trip Advisor as well.

You can use my discount code BBB777 to receive a discount on accommodation.

Your family will love this place.

http://www.baldassinibeb.it/eng/index.html

Great rates, great host.

Melissa

Melissa

If you are really out there: you only have two posts on Fodors, both for this B&B. That sounds an awful lot like fake advertising, but the B&B actually looks good.

When was your stay? What else can you tell us about the place?

Thank you Melissa but they don't seem to have quad rooms :-(

ciny, here is where we stayed October 2008.
http://www.residenzacanali.com/01english.html

It is right in the heart of Rome's historic center, and it is as lovely as Rome gets, imo. The only "drawback" (and the reason its prices aren't higher) is that there is no elevator; we stayed in the topmost suite, which required our climbing up and down 4 flights of stairs several tiimes a day. (For us, the lack of elevator is always a plus, because it allows us to justify those gelatos!) Climbing those stairs also allowed us to have a room with an enormous and elegant patio overlooking the rooftops of Rome...perfect!

We saw several families staying there when we were there.

The owners and managers speak perfect English, so communication is a piece of cake.

Thank you LucieV. No lift might be an issue with the kids at the end of the day :-(

One more vote for Residenza Canali - my husband and I stayed there, my friends stayed there, and my husband's cousin with children stayed there. Everyone loved the place and the location. Plus there has been someone at the desk 24/7. If you have little ones that you have to carry, perhaps you would mind the steps, but most kids are fine. Only you can tell.

Inn Laterano Deluxe may be a bit far from centro historico. Laterano is several city blocks from colosseo and even further from other sites. You may want to get closer to center if possible with kids. Are hotels a possibility?
Hotel Campo dei Fiori is a nice place where english is spoken.
Most hotels have an english speaking staff. Hotel Smeraldo is another small hotel near center. Trastevere locations are all across the river from centro, again more time and travel with kids.

All hotels seem to be beyond our budget range :-(

We took our two kids (16 & 21) with us our first trip to Rome.
We got 2 rooms next door to each other ( twins in one, a queen in the other). http://www.hotelnavona.com/eng/zanardelli.php
Rez.Zanardelli is on Via Zanardelli, between the Tiber River and Piazza Navona, excellant location. It's on the second floor with a small lift and stairs, only 7 rooms, and serves
a nice little breakfast. We paid 150 euro for each room, still cheaper than 2 hotel rooms. Good luck. Genie

ciny,

Have you tried the Pensione Barrett? Some friends of mine had an excellent stay there and it is a great location, with AC. It was about 100 euros as I recall.

Check out the quad at Hotel Portoghesi--just north of Piazza Navona.

ciny,

I now see that you are looking for a quad. A lot of B&Bs in Rome are in apartments, sometimes with only two bedrooms, and if you can share a bathroom, you can save a huge amount of money.

do a google search for bed-breakfast rome or b-b rome

http://rome-hotels.tripadvisor.com/H...ome_Lazio.html

Here's another one to look at (: .

Thanks again everybody. I will check out the places you mention!

G'day Tuscanlifeedit,

One should never jump to conclusions!!!!

Ok, so here it is!

I am an ex-Qantas Airways Air Hostess (Hostie, Flight Attendant, Trolley-dolly, call me what you like!) currently living in sunny Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I recently retired from our national carrier, Q.A.N.T.A.S - Queensland And Northern Territory Aerial Service after 19 years service to the industry.

I retired to spend more time with our 12 year old son who is growing up way too fast!!! My husband still flies with Qantas and it made sense that I finished my career to look after our boy.

I believe I am well placed to review hotels and restaurants as I am now a freelance Food and Travel writer. Prior to my flying career I had almost finished a Journalism degree and it is with much happiness and enthusiasm that I now pursue this role.

And, during my Flying career with Qantas I also worked as a professional model which took me to various European locations.

I have stayed in, possibly, thousands and thousands of hotels in my 19 year career and it is with this knowledge that I come to Fodor with the express purpose of imparting the very vast knowledge that I obtain.

I am actually a TRIPADVISOR member who has over 1, 000 posts to my name (Aussiegirl68)but, I thought, an intermittent change of environment might be nice. My son just rolls his eyes when he asks me, "What are you doing?", and I answer, "I'm on Tripadvisor" LOL!!!!!! So, now I can say,"I'm on Fodor's".

Tuscalifeedit, I always say, "Never assume anything".

Here is a little story just for you:

As a Senior Flight Attendant in charge of a large cabin crew we once had a passenger on board who seemed to be 'drunk and disorderly', well at least it seemed that way to the crew I was supervising.

However, after many years of service and maturity I looked at the other possibilities. The fact was the passenger was hypoxic (a lack of oxygen to the brain) which resulted in an appearance of being 'drunk and disorderly'.

So, what I am saying is, we should never assume anything in this life without weighing up the other possibilities.

Tuscan, it is with almost 100% certainty that I would be far more travelled than yourself, however, I would never criticise any contribution you could offer to this forum!

So, if anyone out there would love some hotel recommendations, must-sees, bars, parks, tour guides for Rome, or for that matter ANYWHERE in the world (Australia of course included)just contact me.

Oh, that's what I wanted to ask, is it possible to private message people here on Fodor's like on Tripadvisor. So, if any of you have a personal question are you able to contact me directly??

Anyway, I will be back at B&B BALDASSINI in March 2010 with some Flight Attendants and other friends for a girl's holiday - oh, my God, can you imagine! This will be my first trip ever away from my son (not counting work trips), I know I'll spend half the time crying because I miss him lol!!!.

At the end of 2010 my husband will have leave and we will return to Rome with our son, but, this time we will stay in the B&B's new apartment which takes from 1 - 5 people, (5 people max). It looks really nice and I will check it out on my return in March.

So, once again, if you want to use my discount code (BBB777) you are most welcome to do so. It's not a huge discount but it will buy a nice meal as I have said before.

Ciny, the apartment for 5 people may suit you, have a look at the website or contact Francesco. www.baldassinibeb.it

It is no wonder I have so many contacts around the world - that would be because my whole life has been devoted to the national and international travel sector.

Happy holidays and may your time in Italy be filled with much fun and happiness!!

Buon viaggio,
Melissa