jim and camille

we are starting to narrow down our choices for 3 nights in rome in september.

santa chiara,raphael,casa howard,residnza farnese.

we want to be near the pantheon,pza navona and spanish steps.

we would like to spend 200 euros for a private bath,airconditioned room in a safe and nice location.

jim and camill

elaine

Hi
If you do a search here on any of those you will find many past comments.
I've stayed at the Santa Chiara. Perfect location as far as I'm concerned. My room was small, but manageable; I had a single. bathroom was good, shower stall only coffin-sized. Excellent buffet breakfast. Hotel offers all necessary services. I would stay there again in a heartbeat.

Rex

While you never know what promotions you might find, it would be a big surprise if you can get a room at the Raphael for 200 euro per night (note: the correct plural of euro does not contain an "s").

The Raphael is a luxury boutique hotel, and I have never actually stayed there. The reports about it - - here on this forum and elsewhere - - consistently rave about it. So if you should be lucky enough to get it at that rate, I feel pretty safe in saying that you should jump on it.

Best wishes,

Rex

jim

rex,

thanks for the clearification on the euro issue.

we would like to spend about 200 euro per night. i realize the raphael is more(we can get a double for about 270 euro)but would need to go through a company at www.ehi.com. have you heard of them. not comfortable giving a credit card number to an unfamiliar recipient, which is what they wanted.

jim

Beth

I stayed at the Raphael in '99. Booked through a website for "Small Luxury Hotels", www.slh.com. I had no problems with them. I liked the hotel very much. Room was small, but pleasant. The rooftop restaurant was great, and a very pleasant place to go for an early evening aperitif on a hot summer day.

I will say, the allwy on which the Raphael was located was a challenge for the taxi drivers to find. we took the car service from the airport, and he circled a couple of times trying to get there, and ended up backing up the alley to get us to the doorway. (Fortunately we had a fixed rate, so the 3 times around the block didn't cost us anything but time ).

Richard

have you considered Hotel Julia...excellent location and walkable to spanish steps and trevi. Very safe and clean hotel. Great rates. I just stayed there. It is in the Piazza Barbarini area.

Book Chick

You know I'm all for Casa Howard, where I stayed in January. It's a 2-minute walk to the Spanish Steps, and about a 7-minute walk to Piazza Navona. See if you can get the Green Room or the Pink Room, they're the largest. (And don't be put off by the pink, it's really salmon-colored.)

Buon Viaggio,
BC

Isabella

Just back from Rome and had reservations for the Raphael Hotel after hearing so much from this forum.
We were very disappointed at the small plain room and uncaring staff & decided to not stay. Luckily, we were able to get a room at the Hotel de Russie for just a little more than we were planning to spend.

Jon

Jim,
Why don't you e-mail the Raphael direct ([email protected])? We love this hotel; great charm, location, & service.
Have a great trip,
j.

Michele

Jim and Camille,

My husband and I stayed at the Santa Chiara in September 2000. The location was wonderful. The room (a double) was small but had a nice bathroom. It does have a nice breakfast buffet(inclusive). It is not a luxury hotel but it is perfect for a homebase in Rome. You can easily walk to most areas in the city. We would stay there again.

Ciao!