Just to reply to all, we have been to Rome several times and have stayed in different hotels that have been recommended and also have rented a apartment, only to find the hotels not that great and the apartment lacking the true feeling of being on vacation.

My wife and I work in a very demanding field with long hours and go on vacations to relax, and enjoy our time away from home.

On our last trip to Rome, we discovered the Del Senato, and then searched here for reviews. Sitting on our balcony at 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.(we are night people) was something we really enjoyed, it may not be for everyone, but for us it was a real treat.

If this is not something you enjoy, more power to you, but after reading this forum for several years, I believe we will no longer respond after seeing all the negative responses people post to others.

I was under the impression that this was a forum for people to share experiences and advice for others, only to see it turn into a forum for some to belittle others for what they enjoy.

I very much appreciate your first-hand, helpful information about the Del Senato. That is one of the places on our short list, and it is great to hear about personal experiences and impressions, especially about specific rooms. Please don't let other people's value judgments deter you from posting! By providing those details you enable us to decide for ourselves whether it's worth the $$$ ... or not. Thank you for sharing!! Please don't stop.

If this nonsense continues, this forum will self-destruct.

jsquared,

Aren't you a wee bit sensitive? This IS a place for sharing advice, and my advice is this, unless your income is in the neighborhood of a million dollars a year, spending over $500 a night on a hotel room in a city is a complete waste of money. Although I suppose exceptions might be made for those, like a certain someone I know well, who are in dire need of impressing their dates.

I am sure there are plenty of people who make well over a million a year that don't spend $500 a night on hotels. Maybe that's why they are millionaires. Nina, are you calling those people cheap because they can afford expensive hotels but choose to stay in more modest accomodations? And who are you to tell a honeymoon couple with more modest means that saved their money for months or years to spend it on the honeymoon suite at the Cipriani that it was "a complete waste of money?" A vacation is meant to be enjoyed and if part of that enjoyment comes from sleeping on Frette sheets and lounging in an Hermes scented jacuzzi at the end of the day in a $500+ hotel room, then it's not a complete waste of money; it's money well spent.

A sincere thank you, Grinisa! One of my pet peeves about this forum is that when higher-priced accomodations are suggested, they are often met with derision by other posters. Not everybody travels the same way. Some people enjoy splurging on luxurious accomodations, and what if they do?

I agree that a vacation is meant to be enjoyed. One of the reasons I can take several vacations a year is I don't spend $500 a night on a hotel room. I just finished a great 3 trips to Europe in 5 months and I will be going again later this year. So, for me, I prefer multiple trips to spending a lot of money on lodging. Why would you go all the way to Europe to sit in a jacuzzi in a hotel room and spend $500 a night to do that? I go to Europe to take in the culture, history and the sights and to spend time with friends - not to sit in a hotel room.

I can't see that there's a right or a wrong answer to this. Cheap or expensive, whatever works best for your situation and your purposes.

WillTravel is right, there is no right or wrong answer just as no one should tell another person how to spend their money. If rj007 gets enjoyment out of several vacations on a shoestring a year, great. If someone can only get away once a year and wants to be pampered at fine hotels and restaurants, that's great too and how much money a traveler has or chooses to spend should not make any difference.

Gee Grinisa, ya think? I'm not going to get into my personal financial situation with you, but suffice it to say, If your assessment of my logic were correct, I'd be calling myself cheap.

Indeed, anyone can spend anyway they like, it's their money, don't put too much stock in what others say. I have very good friends and neighbors who recently came back from Italy and stayed at the Hassler and La Posta Vecchia in the owners suite to the tune of over $1500 a night. I told them right to their faces that I thought they were out of their minds, and guess what, we all had a good laugh over it and they're still our good friends. We're going to a cocktail party at their home this weekend. Nothing wrong with sharing ones views, I don't say anything here that I wouldn't say to someone's face.

I still say spending that much on a hotel room is nuts. I've got a lovely bedroom and whirlpool in my bathroom at home that I can use for free any night of the week. I'm with rjoo7, I'm just back from a trip to Italy and planning a trip to Nantucket for next month. I'll be able to pay for a house for the entire week on the savings from not "splurging" on an overpriced hotel room on my last trip. And I didn't travel on a shoestring, we had a very nice trip in very nice accomodations, and ate very good meals. I guess its all a matter of priorities.

By all means, book those high priced rooms, just don't talk about the second or third mortgages some of you complain about to do so.

I have never considered my travels as travel on a shoestring. I equate that type of travel as backpackers staying in hostels which I definitely do not do.
I prefer B&B's in quiet residential areas and those can be found all over Europe. I also enjoy stays at nice little 1* star hotels such as Paris' Gran Hotel Leveque in the 7th on a traffic free cobblestone street. Some places will give you a discount for staying a certain number of nights or by paying cash. Except for my recent trip to Iceland, the most I have ever paid to fly to Europe from California has been $525 and that was on my first trip in 1995.

As Nina states, it is a matter of priorites. And my priority is to travel as much as I can and see as much of this vast and diverse planet as I can.
There is a wonderful quote in Patricia Shultz's great book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die -

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the places and moments that take our breath away.

-Anonymous

At any rate.....there is a very wide berth between shoestring and over the top splurge. I love the Aventine hotels, Hotel San Ansemo, Hotel San Pio. They are beautifully furnished in a lovely neighborhood that some people think is too out of the way, but I love it, just a 10 minute walk to the colusseum and 15 minutes to Campo di Fiori. They are easily as nice as the over $500 hotels right in the center of Rome at half the price or less. Take the savings and have a fabulous dinner...or two.

Another alternative is the Hotel Turner in a suite..also beautiful rooms but in the northeast section of Rome. Suites are about $200.

Yikes! Went away for a few days and look what happens!!!!

Thanks to all of those who genuinely tried to offer helpful suggestions. Most especially to jsquared, whose message really gave me the info I was looking for.

I wish everyone could remember that e-mail conversations aren't the same as face to face conversations and require a little more care and sensitivity. It's one thing to be direct and honest with people you know. They have the benefit of a relationship with you. They know your personality. They can see your body language, your facial expression and hear your tone of voice. Full candor in e-mail can come across as insensitivity and, without intending it, judgemental.

I used to be someone who could stay anywhere (and with my budget then, I had to). As I get older, as my husband's health fails, I find that the room, it's location, view, and comfort, are increasingly important. And as my husband's health fails, being close to the things we want to see is more and more essential. So, just for me and my set of circumstances, the Del Senato was the best choice. Don't worry, I wouldn't put a 3rd mortgage on my house to pay for this trip. (That was an attempt at humor.) And for me, that would be nuts. But, also for me, staying in a balcony room overlooking the Pantheon, would be wonderful. I simply don't have 480e to spend.

I've booked a "superior double" on the 6th floor of the Del Senato, with a balcony and a view of the Pantheon for 265e.

As I sit on my balcony, while my husband rests after taking his medication, I'll sip a little wine and eat a little cheese and feel very very lucky.

Are you are a member of the Costco discount warehouse chain? They give discounts on hotel stays in the major European cities including Rome. Surprisingly they only work with the upper end hotels starting at 250+ a night. Check them out, it may bring a luxury hotel within your price range.

Thanks for the tip. I always thought the Costco travel discounts were just for tours. I'll definitely check it out!!