flfig4

I am learning the different computer sites for 1st time travelers to Italy. (Fodor's has been great) What site do I go to to find a rating on an apartment? I am looking at Casa di Daniela in Trastevere. We were ready to book at Arco del Lauro for 2 and now have 4 cousins that seem to be committed to joining us so an apartment may be a better choice.

worldinabag

Hi

I don't know of any except Trip Advisor. I checked the Casa di Daniela website - http://www.casadaniela.it. If you're going in Summer ask about air conditioning. I must admit I never visited Trastevere. I hear alot of good reports. However as a first timer in Rome I would stay the other side of the Tiber. This is where most of the tourist attractions are.

janisj

there is a basic problem - a hotel will have hundreds or thousands of guests every year. But an individual apartment will have fewer than 40 or 50 if it is booked most of the time. Maybe 80% of its renters will have internet access, and only a small % of those even know that sites like tripadvisor or fodors exist.

So finding reviews of individual properties is not like finding hotel reviews on TA. Your best bet is really just asking on here and hopefully someone has stayed there - or at another flat w/ the same owner.

janisj

oops - posted too soon. Even IF you do find an apartment review someplace like TripAdvisor, the sample size is so small you probably can't really depend on it being accurate/unbiased.

Kristina

Try also looking at www.slowtrav.com
They have hundreds of apartment reviews for Italy

charnees

It seems janisj is looking for a statistical compilation of apaartment reviews and she is right that there are not that many people who stay in an apartment and review it and so you can't get a good statistically significant rating number to guide you.

However, qualitative reviews can be very helpful -- such as if there are several and they all complain about how noisy or how dirty or how worn it is. And sometimes there can be bad experiences with the owner or agent. Or the opposite, when they rave about its location, its comfort, etc. That's the best you can do. But to me it is worth a lot. That is why www.slowtrav.com is useful.

janisj

sure - if there are several reviews and a trend/common theme.

But so many people are worried when they don't find reviews of small B&Bs or individual apartments/cottages. The chances are not that good for a really small property getting many reviews. And one bad review could be relevant or totally meaningless.

tuscanlifeedit

I tend to do my reviewing here on Fodors, although I check slowtrav.com and tripadvisor.com for feedback.

Janisj's thoughts on this were very helpful to me when I was worried about not seeing any reviews of a property I was interested in.

flfig4: are you sure you want Trastevere? We are staying there in May, but this is after several trips to Rome. I'm not sure I would recommend that area to first time visitors. It depends on a couple of things: how handy your apartment will be to public transportation, and where that transportation goes, is certainly one of them. In a very general way, I would say that the closer to the Tiber, the better.

Casa Daniela seems to be a decent location, judging solely by Google maps. I don't know the neighborhood.

flfig4

thanks for imput,to be honest I thought Travestere area sounded like a good area by reading many other postings. If I am way off someone please tell me now before I book this apartment for 6 of us.

tuscanlifeedit

I didn't mean to sound negative. As I said, we are staying there in May, at Arco del Lauro.

The part of Trastevere you are looking at is actually much better located for sightseeing than any of the areas around Termini, where lots of people stay who are looking for less expensive lodgings.

It's just not the Piazza Navona/Pantheon area that has sort of been the traditional first choice. That area has become generally very expensive, and there aren't any really decent budget accomodations.

Your choice is much better located than many of the far flung budget options that are asked about here. Trastevere isn't part of that traditional first choice area, but
it's not that far off. You will enjoy it.

How long are you staying? Is there one bathroom for six people?

goddesstogo

Just a quick post to say that we stayed in Trastevere for our first visit to Rome and we loved it. (Hotel San Francesco) Every night we either taxied, trollied or walked 'home' from the historical centre of Rome and it felt like we were coming home to a real neighbourhood.

eliza3

We stayed in an apartment in Campo de Fiori last October which we loved- both the apartment and the location.

We walked to Trastavere about 3 times and it was a pleasant 10 - 15 min stroll. We would certainly consider staying there in the future.

I have read that many people consider Trastavere less touristy than the other areas more centrally located but I must say we didn't find that to be the case. Nor did we find eating there any cheaper - in fact the contrary but maybe we went to the wrong places.

flfig4

the apartment says 3 seperate sleeping areas,2 bathrooms. Has anyone stayed there? I am waiting for a reply from them before booking it. I haven't found an apartment around Piazza Navonna for 6 that is reasonable for us. it does sound more conveinant

tuscanlifeedit

flfig: convenience would depend on bathrooms, I think. If the more central apartment also has two baths, and prices are comparable, go for it.

I looked like mad for something nice the centro storico, and couldn't find a thing that suited our budget, which is admittedly tight.

I had heard good things about Arco del Lauro, and DH has wanted to stay in Trastevere, so there we are.

Hotels we have used the past have been the Condotti (horrible reviews and a challenging stay, even years ago), the Due Torri (friendly but very over priced), the Portoghesi for several stays (my personal favorite, but such a high price considering the current exchange rate) and the TeatroPace (over priced),

The latter three are all in the Navona/Pantheon area, and have all reached very high prices for us. So in considering where to change to, we found that Trastevere had some decent choices for decent prices.

travelingmad

Last September, we rented an appartment in Trastevere through www.angelishouse.it (Trastevere B). Although the appartment was quite small, we loved its location and the fact that it was in a more residential area of Trastevere (no noise at night).

If you don't mind a 5th floor with no elevator...

And the restaurant beside the appartment complex cooks a spectacular Carbonara - which is always a good thing!

flfig4

thanks for everyones help we're booked for Rome for 5 nights,then we'll move South