I have gone through many hotels in Rome and I am getting over-whelmed between no vacancy and high prices. We will be there September 21 for 2 nights before taking a cruise and are looking for something relatively inexpensive - that seems to be under $200. I would really appreciate any suggestions! Thanks.

How cheap and basic do you want your hotel? Try Hotel Trastevere. Very basic. 105 Euro for a double. The web site says the rooms have been renovated but the price is the same it was several years ago. If you like Trastevere (which I do), it's a good location. Very inexpensive restaurants and bars near by. Near a tram and you can always have the hotel call a cab.

I couldn't check availability on the web but you can send them an email.

http://www.hoteltrastevere.net/en/index.html

Thanks for the information Adrienne - I just sent an e-mail to the hotel. I hope I hear from them as I have sent several e-mails to other hotels and they never responded.

Hi, nanauno. My husband and I stayed at the Residenza Canali (right around the corner from the Piazza Navona) in 2007, and we thought the location was perfect. I think we paid 130E (it would have been more if we hadn't paid in cash). They were very good about responding to my emails.

They don't have an elevator, but the location couldn't have been in a more central location. We definitely plan on returning there on our next trip to Rome.

They have a shuttle (I think it's 45E) to pick you up from the airport.

We always stay at the Villa del Parco and will be there again this October. It is not in the tourist area but there are several neighborhood restaurants and a supermarket a few blocks away. The bus is right on the corner and we never had to worry about pickpockets as it is not a bus that would be filled with tourists.
We prepaid and got a much cheaper rate.
http://www.hotelvilladelparco.it/hot.../en/index.html

If you strike out with the above recommendations, try the Beehive Hotel. It's also well within your budget although not as centrally located to the main sights. (It's near the train station, owned by an American couple and very clean.)

http://www.the-beehive.com/english.html

The Beehive is quite cool, but keep in mind that it doesn't have en suite bathrooms.

I just went to Venere.com and plugged in your dates and price and found a bunch of available hotels and B&Bs. You can try there, as well.