Rome with teens
 

Hi, we are planning a trip to Italy for June with two 17 and older boys. We would like them to have their own room but this limits us because of budget. We found a good deal in the Vatican area. Is this an ok area or is it too far from everything? We'll have 3 days there. Any suggestions?

Personally, I would stay somewhere closer to the "Trevi-Pantheon-Piazza Navona" axis. Even if it means one less night in Rome (but not less than two), and making up for it by trying to dollar-cost-average your lodging costs - - staying one MORE night in some rural part(s) of Italy.<BR><BR>But it IS a matter of personal taste.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Gaye, it seems a bit far from nightime wandering, one of the joys of a Rome visit. You could overcome it with taxis, public transportation, but wby if an alternative can be found? You might want to check out the Piazza Navona area, or even the Spanish Steps. If you tell us your budget range, others here may have specific hotel suggestions. We stayed at the Aberdeen Hotel, very reasonably priced around $100/night, including breakfast. It was spotless and the bathroom was enormous! It is family owned & run and staff was very helpful about calling taxis, making reservations, getting tickets to the opera which is only one block away. However, the Aberdeen's location (on Via Firenze)is a bit of a hike from Piazza Navona also, though close to bus and metro. Try a search on this site for other suggestions, and have a map of the old central city in front of you as you do it.

We have about $300 total for 2 rooms per night. I would welcome suggestions. I want something clean and comfortable but not fancy. Thanks!

We stayed in the Vatican area w/ our 12 yr old son because we really didn't have a feel for the layout of the city till we got there. I knew I wanted to be able to get to the Vatican early to get a good place in line for the opening of the Sistine Chapel. Even though it was not the most convenient, we still walked everywhere and saw everything we wanted to see. There were only a couple of times we took a cab back to the hotel. I agree that other area mentioned are "cooler" and have a lot more character (like the Piazza Navona area) but it certainly won't ruin your stay. We stayed at the Hotel Spring House (Via Mocenigo, 7) and it was $160. USD for the 3 of us.

I have now stayed in 4 different hotels in rome in the past 3 years, plus I have some familiarity with two others. And none of those six matches your criteria.<BR><BR>So I scanned through what is listed on Fodors Rants'n'Raves, and it looks like the Smeraldo comes closest to matching for you. It's a "Fodors' choice", priced at under 250.000 ITL (hope that's up to date), good comments on Rants'n'Raves - - and you can find positive (and recent) comments here on this forum as well.<BR>

What about staying in a apartment. Try http://www.domusjulia.it/. My friends stayed there for 3 nigths last year and liked the location /in the historical centre of the city between Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and Via Veneto /.

Hi Gaye--We're also going with our two sons--ages 18 and 22. We'll only be in Rome for 3 nights (first night and last 2 nights), so I booked a quad room at the Hotel Isa which is located between the Vatican and the Spanish Steps, for about $200/night. I would have preferred having two rooms, but this was most economical, and we're spending most of our time in a villa near Lucca anyway. <BR>So what sights do you think your boys will be interested in? We plan to go to the catacombs under St. Peter's, as well as the Capuchin tombs in Rome as a break from all the art museums.. <BR>I'm almost done with the plans--reserved the hotel in Rome, airfare, villa and car...

For what it's worth, Gail, there are some very positive comments just today, regarding the Smeraldo, on this thread:<BR><BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&tid=1336336<BR>

Gaye, why don't you and your hus stay in a nice hotel and send your young men to a youth hostel?? Rooms there are very cheap, plus your sons will be independent and be able to meet others their own age and be able to go "out on the town" with them. I can remember going to Europe with my parents at 17 and I just couldn't wait for them to go to bed so I could sneak out and go to a disco and meet some hotties. Im sure your young men want to do the same. :)