Rome-location vs. luxury
 

I need help!
I'm traveling to Rome in two weeks and don't know which hotel to stay at - Hotel Locarno or the Mercanate Palace? From what I've read Hotel Locarno has gotten great reviews for its location (near the Spanish Steps) but it's not exactly luxurious, and the Mercanate Palace is luxurious - but maybe a little bit out of the way? As this is our first time to Rome it's hard to estimate how important location/luxury are! Does anyone have an opinion on that?

Do you have to limit yourselves to one of those two hotels?
I would chose a nice hotel in a central area, such as the Res. Canali which is right near P. Navona.

Consider Minerve?

Best wishes,

Rex

I don't mean to be rude but why on earth is it so important to you? Are you going to Rome to see Rome or spend a lot of time inside a cookie cutter hotel room? Why not get a room in a convenient location such as the Spanish Steps, Fontana Trevi, Piazza Novonna, The Pantheon or Campo Fiori and if you save a few bucks, spend it on fancy dinners at great restaurants or some nice Italian shoes at the glitzy shops near the Spanish Steps.

But have fun whatever you decide.

Larry J

Location is primary importance. I could live out of a shoe box, so long as I am right there, in the center of things.

Xuliette, I don't know what your budget is, but we're staying at the Hotel Nazionale a Montecitorio on our first trip to Rome because it has a central location and is also a nice hotel. Web-site is www.nazionaleroma.it Address is Piazza Montecitorio, 131. If you look on a map you can see it's right in the middle of everything...surrounded by spanish steps, trevi fountain, Pantheon, Piazza navonna, etc. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about hotels. As for me, I have a better time if the hotel itself is special in some way. (I think we've chosen a hotel that is wonderfully central, and is also very nice.) I like to be at least as comfortable on vacation as I am at home, and even better if I can be more comfortable! That's how I see it. I prefer an interesting family-run B&B, but for Rome I wanted location and comfort, since it's the first place we land in Italy.