Rome---which hotel?
 

In planning our 8/26-9/8/15 trip to Rome, we're torn between 2 hotels---Boscolo Exedra Roma Autograph Collection and Hotel Manfredi. Would appreciate insight regarding both hotels. Thanks very much.

I would much rather stay on Via Margutta than Piazza Reppublica.

Way out of my price range but if you want my opinion, the Hotel Manfredi would win, hands down.

Unless you're planning several trips by train, then maybe the Boscolo Excedra would suit you better.

What is that you are torn about?
Manfredi is better located if you are interested in usual attractions, much better reviews in booking.com, and cheaper. What interests you with the hotel at Piazza Repubblica?

It's like comparing apples to oranges. The Manfredi is a chintzy-chic, cozy, romantic, 3-star, 18-room boutique hotel, hidden away on a quiet, charming street, just a few blocks from Via Condotti, Rome's most famous shopping street. (I adore my experiences at the Manfredi.)

The Boscolo Exedra is a large palace with 238 rooms, featuring a Business Center for conferences, and a weird mix of modern leather and Rococo wood/plaster flourishes. It's just around the corner from Termini Station, between the Baths of Diocletian and the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Historically, it's an interesting neighborhood, but not a place I wish to call home.

"Torn" in what way? As noted, they are not comparable really and in very different locations. Your question as written makes no sense to me whatsoever.

And people say that the Lounge is a tough crowd? The only polite response above is from a Lounge regular…..

and I'm not usually that polite... ;-)

<i><font color=#555555>"The only polite response…"</font></i>

Frank and polite are two different things. This is an internet travel forum, not a religious house of worship. Although, it has become a religion for some.

Actually, I meant to type "frank and impolite," but since this board doesn't offer an edit feature, writers are forced to type extra "correction" posts, which is a complete waste of bandwidth. Oh, the cost of code writing these days.

NYC, to me there is a big difference between frank and just plain mean…..and I am certainly not addressing only your reply.

I have been on here for 10 years (hard to imagine!) and my very first query ever was entitled, "Strasbourg or Rouen?" I had endlessly researched a destination to add to our Paris trip and my mind was spinning with info, when it occurred to me that one of the major travel guide companies might have a message board. Fodors was the 1st one I found and the replies I got were so helpful! Someone (politely!) explained to me that these 2 destinations were so different from each other, but that she as a seasoned visitor would have picked Rouen but that as a newcomer to each of these places (altho not new to Paris) that she would suggest Strasbourg.

Had I received answers like the ones above on my first time on these boards, it certainly would have been a very brief tenure of my being a Fodorite!

socialworker, I have to agree. I just spent months on the Asia/Japan forum planning a long trip to Japan and only got the most helpful and gracious information. With no attitude. People went beyond all expectations to provide me with much detailed information and their objective experiences. There is something happening here that I simply don't understand. That help had a huge impact on the success of my trip. I've hesitated to ask many questions here for an upcoming trip to Italy.

Perhaps one of the reasons responses have changed over time socialworker is that people have got over the novelty of an online forum and become more direct in how they respond. Regular forum users may also have got tired of senseless questions that get repeatedly asked.

Personally, when a question is a stupid question (which even the most intelligent person can ask), I see no insult in someone saying the question is stupid. It is NOT saying the person is stupid however many people might take it to be doing so.

I wrote, "Your question as written makes no sense to me whatsoever." I would imagine that my response is not the one you consider to be 'polite' when you wrote, "The only polite response above". Yet, my response is not impolite, simply an honest response. I could have easily written, 'it's a dumb question.' From my perspective, I was cutting the OP some slack.

The fact is, some people seem to leave their brain at home when they post a question rather than taking the time and making the effort to ask a sensible question for which they can expect a helpful answer. It is that lack of effort on their part that results in the terse and frank responses they may get. I know that is certainly the case for me.

I don't always agree with NYCFoodSnob but in this case I do. People get what people deserve, whether they like it or NOT. Suggesting as you in fact are, that they should be treated nicely because they're just lazy is a dog that won't hunt.

You are not correct, IMO. There is room for civility in every discourse. You are not obligated to answer a question that you deem stupid. If you, or anyone, does respond solely or mainly for the purpose of enlightening the poster to the fact of their question being stupid or senseless, then the only reason I can see in having responded is to be insulting. I see plenty of queries/posts on here that makes me roll my eyes or bore me with the fact that I have seen similar queries many times before, or I see posters who are asking this board to do all the work of their trip planning or they ask a question so naive as to astound me and so I ignore the post and move on.

I am NOT suggesting that you treat them nicely. I am suggesting you do not respond at all!

Just as a simply stated question can be interpreted as stupid, "I don't understand your question" can be interpreted as obtuse. Asking a simple question, which one would assume is the purpose of a travel forum, is merely a request for others' opinions as an aid in thinking through to making a decision. Being unfamiliar with Rome, I appreciate hearing from those who have been there. Some people are friendlier and more helpful than others. To assume (and state) that I'm too lazy to have read reviews posted elsewhere (which I have, extensively) is pretty arrogant and petty, to say the least. Many thanks to those who have been willing to share their opinions in answer to my question. You've been very helpful.

I'll add that NYC's first response was the most helpful, as was tuscanlifedit's.

I don't know if you are interested in a third option, but we are very fond of Hotel Due Torre.
It has a great location on a small quiet dead end street between the Piazza Navona and the Tiber river. It is small (as is our favorite room), intimate, charming with an excellent breakfast and kind staff. Downstairs public area is charming, it's a 20 minute walk from San Pietro and we walk almost everywhere when we stay there. More expensive but in the same location is the Relais and Chateaux hotel Raphael.

Thank you cmstraf---We do appreciate suggestions and will definitely look into yours. :-)

If you decide on them, you want a room on the 4th or 5th floor. We prefer the fifth because it has terraces. In fact we prefer room 501, which is VERY small, but has interesting shapes and a large terrace which you reach through a minuscule bathroom. I think the 4th floor rooms are larger. Last summer I sent some of my best friends--they loved the hotel but were somewhat horrified by the size of our favorite room. I like the slanted ceilings, etc.
It is only a 3 minute walk to the Piazza Navona.

If you haven't seen it already, try to go to mass in Trastevere at Santa Maria di Trastevere. It is my second favorite church in the world, has beautiful mosaics and is much more intimate than St Peter's. Although we are not religious, I very much like seeing churches doing the job they were built for.

I wish you a wonderful trip!

Just looked at the website of Hotel Manfredi. It's gorgeous, but I prefer the Piazza Navona neighborhood (in part because the Spanish steps I have seen empty only at 8 in the morning). Take a look at the website of the Hotel Raphael as well--they have both traditional and classical rooms.

Thanks again cmstraf!