Selecting a neighborhood for hotels in Rome?
 

Greetings~

As this is my first post - please bear with me if my question is drivel or <eyeroll> worthy.

My husband and I are traveling to Italy, May 18 - June 2. We are staying in Rome the first four days and are struggling to select a neighborhood to search for hotel accommodations.

Our key points of interest include the Vatican/Scavi Tour, Ancient Rome (Coliseum, etc...), and Trastevere (at the minimum). What neighborhoods would you recommend we search for hotels in (aiming to spend between $150-200)?

Thank you for your assistance!

Hi Prospero,

Ok, first thing is to get yourself a detailed streep map of central Rome (centro storico). I like the laminated Streetwise series available from Borders or Amazon. It will have all the main sights marked as well as parks and all the zillions of churches. Sights are also listed and indexed to easily find them on the map.

Next, a good hotel search engine is www.venere.com. You can sort hotels by price, location, stars, etc. Excellent help to find locations of hotels even if you don't use them book.


Happy hunting

Trastevere, by all means!

Piazza Navon and the Pantheon are are excellent areas but can be more expensive. Look also in Trastevere and the Campo di Fiori area. I would suggest doing a search here by putting in "Rome hotels" in the search field and starting there. You can also do a quick google search, once you know the areas you're interested in.

I believe there's a hotel that's in the Pantheon area that fits your budget, but cannot recall its name...anyone?

That should read Piazza Navona.

The other hotel I was thinking of that lots of Fodorites recommend is:

Albergo Cesàri
EUR150 to EUR225, Pantheon
Book It Guest Rating:
4.8
Rate It

The exterior of this intimate hotel on a traffic-free street is as it was when Stendhal stayed here in the 1800s. Inside, the hotel has been renovated and there's no patina left from the days when Garibaldi and Gregorovius were guests, yet most rooms are sweetly embellished with old prints of Rome and soft-green drapes and bedspreads, creating an air of comfort and serenity. Furniture is new, yet traditionally styled. Bathrooms are done in smart two-tone blue marble. www.albergocesari.it. 47 rooms. In-room: safe. In-hotel: bar, laundry service, parking (fee). AE, DC, MC, V. Full breakfast.

Address: Via di Pietra 89a, Rome 00186, Italy
Phone: 06/6749701
Fax: 06/67497030

Go up to Hotels at the top of this page, navigate to Rome and search by price.

We'll be in Rome beginning on May 16, 2007. We decided on staying in Trastevere because of the local neighborhood. Reservation at Hotel Santa Maria at 180 euro/night.

Try this hotel:

http://www.hotelteatrodipompeo.it/Tariffe.html

We didn't stay here, but stayed a few doors away in an apartment. It's a GREAT location.

I think the prices are really reasonable here as well, and supposed to be charming.

Check out this recent post about renovations the Albergo Cesari is doing until July 2007:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34899438

And beware of being shunted across the street to the Teatro di Pompeo's annex.

I rented an apartment in Trastevere: it was afffordable and nice!

We stayed at Hotel Lancelot, which we loved. It's very close to the Forum and Coliseum. The rooms with balconies are wonderful, as are the hotel staff. Very good inexpensive restaurants in the area.

http://en.venere.com/hotels_rome/kol..._lancelot.html

Since no one mentioned www.tripadvisor.com yet, I'll chime in. Great to check out reviews, which is especially handy once you've narrowed down to a few choices, especially in your price range, its another tool in your toolbox.

We stayed in an apartment very near Campo Dei Fiori.

It was a 20-30 minutes-ish walk both to the Vatican (one direction) and the Coloseum/Forum (in the other direction). Within 20-30 minutes walk (including stops and window shopping) you will pass Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and finish at the Spanish Steps.

We enjoyed this location. Campo Dei Fiori has a daily market which was an awesome place for bread, cheese, meat and olives for snacks.

Prospero:

As it is your first trip to Rome, you might consider the centrality of a hotel near the Piazza Navona. You’ll be able to walk to many different sites and neighborhoods from a hotel in that general area. (You’ll be able walk just a easily to the Vatican or Spanish steps as you will to the Trastevere, where you will get a more “neighborhoody” feel.) Guidebooks and websites, to say nothing of suggestions from Fodorites, will point you to plenty of excellent choices for hotels — and restaurants.

Note that you can sometimes get a discount for paying in cash at your hotel, if you book with the hotel directly, not through venere.com. Although venere.com is a helpful tool, as well.

We stayed near the Spanish Steps and the Barberini Palace, at the Domus Julia. It was a nice, budget-type boutique hotel on a quiet side-street, with a nice breakfast room and meal included.

I wouldn't worry too much about what neighborhood you stay in (so long as fodorites don't warn you against a particular place), because you will need public transit for at least one site in Rome, regardless of where you stay.

We walked from our hotel near the Spanish steps to nearly everywhere, but we did take the underground to the Vatican, and a taxi home one night. It's easy to use public transit there. And a taxi ride in Rome is an unforgettable (and hair-raising) experience!

Here's my Rome trip report from last May, with hotel details and restaurant suggestions:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34813272

Have fun planning and enjoy Italy.
:)>-

I agree being near the Pantheon is one of the best locations, but with a budget of $150-200, Albergo Cesari is out of the question. There is a nice little B&B called Pantheon Views that might work well for you: http://www.pantheonview.it/.

Buona fortuna!