Rome Hotel Decision
 

I'm starting to plan our trip to Italy in May 2007 and am having the worst time picking a hotel in Rome. We don't want to spend more than $250 US/night. We would like to be in a good location (that isn't too noisy at night) and still be able to enjoy a nice room. All of these hotels have gotten excellent reviews on Trip Advisor. The three hotels I have narrowed it down to are:

Hotel Due Torri
Residenza Cellini
Daphne Hotel

Thanks for any feedback!

I just got back from Rome, and we stayed at the Due Torri. It was wonderful - excellent location, friendly staff, decent breakfast, relatively quiet for Rome. I would absolutely stay there again.

We stayed at the Due Torri a few years ago and also liked it very much. We now stay at Hotel Portoghesi, which is a block away from the Due Torri. It is less expensive than the Due Torri, yet very similar.

We walked by the Portoghesi several times - it looked lovely.

The Due Torri never gets a bad review. The location in perfect, the staff is friendly, it has a good breakfast and it is on a quiet street. Do it.

Both Daphne hotels get good reviews on this Forum. But I think their minimum stay is four nights. It sounds any of these three hotels would be a good pick. Good luck.
:)>-

I, too, am looking for the right hotel in Rome for next May, and thought the Daphne sounded perfect. I was really surprised to hear from them last week that they already were completely booked (both of their hotels), 7 months in advance!

We stayed at Daphne Veneto this past summer. I can recommend it heartily. Good location which we found very quiet, nicely located near the Barberini Metro stop, 10 min from Trevi fountain, comfortable beds, good breakfast, a nice, empty mini fridge in each room for your use, staff who sincerely like to respond to guests' questions, good A/C, and a great in room safe (you set the combination) which relieved me of the responsibility to wear a nasty money belt in 100 degree weather. The only things that may or may not be an issue: it's more of a B&B (staffed from 8-8, but not 24/7), You get a cell phone for your use around town but no room phone. The elevator is tiny; we only used it for luggage. (Not an issue if you stay on the ground floor.) I would definitely stay there again.

We stayed in Residenza Cellini for several days in Oct., 2003. It was the BEST place we ever stayed! We felt it was a good location, as we walked to everything (except the Vatican.) Small hotel (6 rooms I believe), very elegant, extremely quiet, and the nicest, most down to earth, helpful people we've ever met. They treated you like family!! We plan to go back to Rome someday and wouldn't stay anywhere else.

We also stayed at Residenza Cellini,last April. It was wonderful and agree that we were treated like family. They had great info and restaurant suggestions.

They have an elevator, which was very helpful!

Residenza Cellini always gets wonderful reviews. I'd actually booked it for a trip in 2003 which we unfortunately had to cancel. They were wonderfully gracious about it. I tried to book again when we finally went in 2005 but it was unavailable. It's very popular so I'd try to get it right now if I were you.

We ended up staying at the Hotel San Francesco in Trastevere and loved it!

We'll be in Rome during mid-May 2007 on our first trip to Rome. I've heard back on double room availability and daily rate from
Residenza Canali ai Coronari E207
Teatropace33 E200
Hotel Portoghesi E190
Hotel Santa Maria E220
Hotel Due Torri E195
We're leaning toward Due Torri, esp. becuase of feedback we've read on this forum and others and its location near Piazz Navona
Hope this helps

We too are heading to Italy in May, spending 5 nights in Rome. After much research we decided to save our money for food and a few great tours and try the hotel Arenula for 125 euros per night. I asked about it on this board but didn't get much response. There is very little past info on this board about teh Asrenula either but the few reviews on trip advisor are all good. They say it's very simple but very clean. It is a small, family run place that includes breakfast. I assume the rooms are small and who knows how tiny the bathroom is, but they have been so friendly and helpful through our email inquiries and our reservation process and the location looks great, central to everything. It's right off via Arenula, on the edge of the Jewish Ghetto. Looks like a 10 minute walk to piazza Navona in one direction and the colosseum in the other. Also a short walk to Trastevere.

Again, any feedback on this hotel or this area from anyone would be helpful.

I stayed at Portoghesi in 2001, and I loved it. Great service, great location, very pleasant accommodations. Stayed in Trastevere on this year's trip, and while I wasn't able to land a room at Hotel Santa Maria, I did go check it out, & it's reallllly lovely...an oasis! (Personally, after 6 trips to The Great City, I happen to think Trastevere is the coolest place in Rome, but I know there are many here who might disagree!)

re: Hotel Arenula
There are 33 reviews on Tripadvisor.com

Plafield,
I stayed in Arenula 2 weeks ago. The location is excellent - very easy to walk to the Pantheon, Navona, the Ghetto, Campo de Fiori, Trastevere. And actually, the single room no. 207 wasn't at all small, I didn't think, and certainly the shower was very adequate and quite spacious. The room was very clean, as well. Decoration is simple, indeed, even somewhat depressing. Breakfast room is small but the meal is OK (and for great pastries, you can always cross the street to Bernasconi, at Piazza Cairoli 16).
I did find one of the staff to be unpleasant - he wasn't pleased when I asked him to fill in my details right away and hand back my passport, but did it anyway. The rest of the staff were fine but mostly cold. So although the Arenula had better amenities than the Giardino, where I'd stayed last March, I would gladly go back to Giardino but not to Arenula. Having said that, I don't think you should cancel your reservation; I arrived in Rome after 10 days in Turin and Bologna, where I'd stayed in one lovely 3-star and one great B&B, and it was hard to come to terms with the fact that for so much more money I was getting what I thought was quite a bit less. Maybe if I had gone straight to Rome, my impression would have been a different one. For my next trip I'll opt for a 3-star in the Monti area, around Santa Maria Maggiore. Having strolled around there a bit, I like it, plus hotels tend to cost less, and the area is not close enough to Termini to feel unpleasant or too far off from the center of Rome.

Actually, I think this issue is more about one's sense of self (and/or distortion thereof!) If you are secure, confident, not overly absorbed in yourself, less concerned about your image than your essence, AND if your regard for your fellow human being is genuine & heartfelt...then the way in which you decorate/protect your body is really rather trivial, no matter who you are, where you are, when you are there.

Not to say I'd show up at a Maori funereal ritual wearing my husband's boxer shorts, but hey there are some who could probably even pull that one off...;-)

Oops!! Posted this on the wrong thread, SORRY!

The Due Torri has a lighter atmosphere than the Canali which can be oppressive with the bitterness of the desk staff (who are the owner and her daughter). If the daughter takes a disliking to you, watch out (this has been affirmed by the hired staff). The grande dame is not much better but she does have a slight notion of customer service. At Due Torri I get the feeling the staff wants to work there and accommodate the guests.

Thoughts about staying at Hotel Portoghesi compared to Hotel Due Torri? Right now, I have a reservation at Due Torri for mid-May 2007. Hotel Portoghesi also has availability for the same time period. This will be my first trip to Rome. Both hotels have been quite responsive by e-mail in terms of answering questions and providing details about their availability, rates and services.