Hi again. I know there are lots of postings on Rome hotels but a lot of the suggestions are out of our price range for this leg of our trip. We're in Rome for 2.5 days. It's short but we decided to spend more time and money in Sorrento and Florence.

I'm having a hard time finding the right price/quality/location combination. I've been reading a lot on TripAdvisor.com but someone always has a negative comment so it's hard pick.

We're used to staying in nice hotels in the US but something equivalent in Rome is out of our budget. I don't need anything fancy, but the place has to be clean and ideally no more than 200 Euros a night. We prefer to stay somewhere between the Spanish Steps and Colloseum. I'm sure that location is more expensive so we're willing to compromise a little on price and location. Some places have special offers so that seems promising.

Any suggestions? We'll be there at the very beginning of Oct so we needed to book awhile ago.

Thanks!

If you go to www.venere.com you can put in your dates and even pick a part of the city - that should narrow down the choices. There are reviews and maybe even a price filter. I do think it is hard to find nice bargain hotels in Rome but I'm sure you will enjoy your stay!

The Hotel Portoghesi should be right around your budget. I'm not sure if it's where you want to be (that's a big area you are talking about between the Spanish steps and the Colosseum), but it's in a great location near P. Navona. The hotel is pretty basic but clean and comfortable and the neighborhood is great.

PS: www.hotelportoghesiroma.it

If you could lengthen your stay to three nights you could rent a decent apartment in your price range, and you could also save money by eating breakfasts in your apartment. As far as hotels go, I looked for hotels in the price range and in the area you're considering for a trip in 2007, and I couldn't find much. I think you'd do better by looking in another neighborhood, for example Trastevere.

With those requirements, I would probably bid for a 5* hotel on Priceline, or maybe take a 4.5* or better on Hotwire, for a city center hotel. See www.betterbidding.com .

Check out www.hotelmodigliani.com

I don't know what their current prices are, but they were well below $200 a night when I last stayed there (on a Fodors recommendation) in 2006. I loved the place.

"I've been reading a lot on TripAdvisor.com but someone always has a negative comment so it's hard pick."

I doubt if you will find any hotels anywhere without at least one or two negative comments ... it's the nature of the game that anyone who is dissatisfied is far more likely to post a review than those who had no problems.

I've used TripAdvisor over the years to check out hotels prior to booking, and I really try not to obsess over a few bad reviews if the rest are good to excellent. Sometimes people post the worst review ratings because of some trivial issue that wouldn't faze me in the least.

With the exchange rate, 200e is actually rather pricey, if you are talking American dollars.

Try Pensione Barrett. It has a website. It is Michelin-recommended.

I'm considering Hotel Apollo. The location and price meet my requirements and the reviews seem good on Venere and TripAdvisor.

http://www.hotelapollorome.com

I've never faced so many hotel choices. Thanks for the tips.

Convent Domus Nova Bethlem is spotless and meets your guidelines. Private rooms, private baths, AC, curfew 1am, 120€ for a double, short walk from forum. English version doesn't work. From the pictures of the rooms, I'm not sure you will find anything cleaner. It's looks spotless.
http://www.domusnovabethlem.it/index.html

Try Hotel Capo d'Africa. I have stayed there 4x, most recently 9 months ago and I love the hotel and the location. You can sometimes book a standard room at that rate and their standard rooms are larger than many other hotel's superior rooms.

You might consider the San Anselmo as well.

We stayed at Hotel Duca d'Alba for 2 nights in August 2007. The hotel has pretty good recent ratings on Trip Advisor. It is located a short walk from the Colosseum.

Oh cool. I didn't see your post freberta till just now but I found that hotel earlier today. For 2 nights, it seems like it will be good. We are booking now. Thanks! Now I just have to book the rest of the hotels.

There was a small restaurant a block or so from Hotel Duca d'Alba that we enjoyed very much -- it was called Wanted. We ate dinner outside (we had just arrived in Rome from the US so we stayed close to the hotel for dinner). There's also a gelato shop a block from the hotel. I am sure you read all about the Irish bar directly across the street from the hotel. We never heard any noise coming from the bar, even at closing time.

I just realized that we spent 3 nights at the hotel, not 2. During our stay there, we never took a cab, subway or bus. We walked everywhere, including to the train station on Sunday morning with our two kids (ages 10 and 13 at the time) and two large suitcases on wheels. We found the hotel to be convenient to everything.

Breakfast was pretty good, although we don't usually eat a lot in the morning. It was one of the best we found in Italy. Hopefully it still is the same two years later.