desireepratt

All right Fodorites, I'm now trying to book our room for Rome during our honeymoon June 18-21. I've narrowed it down to these two hotels. I know that neither are extravagant nor romantic probably, but we are going to Greece after Rome and would prefer to splurge on a nicer hotel room there. In Rome, we are just looking for a clean budget hotel in a good location. Are these hotels in the similar locations? Any knowledge about either of them? I will say that Residenza San Panataleo is about $30 cheaper per night. I look forward to your comments!

MaureenB

Have you searched this forum for each of those hotels? I can't say that I've heard of them, but that's no indication of anything. I'm certainly no expert on Rome, having only been there once and stayed at the Domus Julia, which we liked. Good location, reasonable price.
Have fun planning your honeymoon! Please post a trip report from Greece-- that's high on my list of places to visit next.
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zoecat

I could only find an apartment with the name of Residenza San Pantaleo. Can you please post the link to the hotel website?

I have stayed at Relais Banchi Vecchii. It is not a hotel. It is a B&B and does not have anyone at reception, except at the arranged check in. You get a key to the building and your room. Someone does bring breakfast to your room in the morning at an arranged time.

None of this bothered me when I stayed there and I would stay there again in a heartbeat. The rooms were clean, well furnished and had a nice style. Very comfortable and large bed. Great A/C. The bathroom was large and modern. I liked the area- a true neighborhood (you'll feel like a local), yet very close to the sights of central Rome. There were places to eat and shop right outside the door.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any specific questions.

Zoe

DOCK

Hi desireepratt, we stayed at R.B Vecchhi in July 2005. Booked 2 rooms. I found the property ok, no problems with checkin, just made sure to advise them of arrival time. If you do a search thro my posts you should find our opinion about it. Good value, but I actually do prefer to be even closer to P.Navona, even tho this was not too far. But if its the top end of your budget I would not hesitate to stay there. Easy walk to P.Navona, Trevi, Spanish steps, Vatican, Da Baffetto(great pizza) We also spend time at Residenza Canali on that trip, location was closer to P.Navona, but I felt Banchii Vecchi was better value.

desireepratt

Thanks for the feedback Zoe, that's great info about Relais Banchi Vecchii. I do wish there was someone at the reception desk to make recommendations, give directions, etc. However, I do think its a little nicer than Residenza San Panataleo ( and their website is: http://www.residenzasanpantaleo.com/home.html ) Just trying to see if I think its worth the cost. I have search this forum on both these hotels and both seem to get pretty good reviews for the price. Just wondering if there was anyone out there that knew both of them and could speak to which one is "better". Maureen, I couldn't find info on Domus Julia, is that in the same price range?

MaureenB

Domus Julia is the annex to Hotel Julia. Here's how I described it in my trip report from May 2006:

"I took the hotel shuttle to the Domus Julia, a nice little B&B type hotel, just below the Barberini Palace and very near the Spanish Steps, at via Rasella 32. Domus Julia is a great value and nice little hotel. It’s the apartment annex to the Hotel Julia, so you check in and have breakfast buffet at the hotel. It is a fine little place, in a great location, at a very reasonable price. We had a double/twin room, which was large enough by European standards (and is pictured on their website quite accurately). It was 170EUR, with a private bath, and including the breakfast buffet. We entered our room via a nice dining room/kitchen common area, which was available for our use. There were two other units which shared that space, and I think they are larger apartments and might suit our family of four. They offer a 13EUR shuttle from the airport, which is a big cost-savings."
I hope this helps.
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MaureenB

I forgot to post the website: www.domusjulia.it

I didn't see your budget, but these other hotels looked nice, too, but are probably more expensive than our Domus Julia:

La Lumiere di Piazza di Spagna (Spanish steps), has rooftop dining, is in an old mansion on Condotti street. More expensive than our Hotel Julia, I'm sure. www.lalumieredipiazzadispagna.com.

Hotel Barberini, Via Rasella 3, a four-star just up the street from the Domus Julia, across from Barberini Palace and near the Spanish steps. [email protected]

Hotel Bramante, near the Vatican in the 'ancient urban neighborhood of Borgo Pio". www.hotelbramante.com.
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desireepratt

Hi Maureen~

Thanks for all your recommendations. Unfortunately, I think that all of those hotels are out of our price range. Residenza San Panataleo is only E125/night and Relais Banchi Vecchii is E150/night.

MaureenB

Desiree, also try Hotel Panda in Rome. It is very inexpensive, centally located, and I've read good reviews about it. Good luck!
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desireepratt

Thanks to everyone for your feedback, we have booked Relais Banchi Vecchii and are very excited!

Girlspytravel

Desiree-I think you'll like the Relais better- I actually know the owners of the Residenza San Pantaleo, who are a very nice Roman couple, and several years ago, I was going to stay there, BUT, they decided, (because I spoke Italian, and they liked that) to give me an apartment that was on the floor below the Residenza. And let us just say, that this apartment, was GORGEOUS-it normally rented for, at that time, around $2,000/nt.-my bedroom had yellow silk walls, and beautiful 18th century frescoes on the ceiling-loved it-for $85.00 USD a night! (as I say, it pays to speak the language...)

The Residenza itself is located about 500 yards from both the Campo dei Fiori across the Corso V.I., and the same distance walking around the back to the Piazza Navona- the rooms themselves looked fairly spacious-but those pictures on the web are a bit deceptive-those hallways are tiny-it's like being in a house-which I didn't like-but good budget accomodation, if you like to be in the middle of Rome's historical center.