I certainly don't agree that eating in the same place you spend the night is "monumentally unadventurous" especially if you've never stayed there before and the food/service are good but to each their own.

You knew it wasn't "OK in the first place" by using the term "sneaky" in the title of the post.

NeoPatrick I think that is common practice here in New York and I see nothing wrong with it. (Of course hotel guests who are waiting in line might see otherwise)

On a recent trip to China I noticed that the taxi queue outside many of the hotels was divided into "Hotel Guest" and "Non-Guest" lines with hotel guests getting served first, in theory.

"Do you stop at a large hotel and get the doorman to flag a taxi for you also ?"

You bet I do! Recently it was the only way I got a cab out of NYC, and yes, I was more than happy to tip the doorman.

Eksrunchy, Trattoria Monti is on our list...thanks in large part to your trip report. Do you think we'll be ok calling a few days before in late May?

Dukey, you're right. Mea culpa.

LS: I think a few days in advance will be ok especially if it is not a weekend and especially if you are not fussy about the exact time you want to eat. (The first seatings will be easier to reseve, I would think) But if it were me, I would ask the hotel to reserve for you..e-mail them and have them call for you. I tend to get obsessive about these kinds of things...

What is the hotel?

It is a Saturday night we are hoping for at Monti. I suppose I will email the hotel, Hotel Smeraldo, and see if it works. We're not picky on the time. We're wanting Ditirambo for Sunday night. Again from your trip report, appears to be one of the few open Sunday nights, although I believe I can email Ditirambo for the reservation?

Yes, I booked Ditirambo via e-mail and got a personal response. Take the print-out with you. I also had the hotel call to confirm on that night (our first in Rome) but again, I tend to be a bit obsessive...

It is a good place with excellent food. Not your typical trattoria but more contemporary in the feeling and with the food.

ekscrunchy: May I differ with you about Ditirambo?

Only place we ate in Rome (last month) where I felt the proprietors considered themselves more important than the diners.

Very disobliging when I asked (before being seated) if we could have another vacant table rather than the one proposed. Yes, sometimes specific tables are reserved for others -- but this refusal, delivered with an ungracious shrug, was strongly tinged with "take it or leave it, we can replace you with a walk-in".

The owner/ manager or head-waiter spent an INORDINATE amount of time flirting with blonde female diners. We barely got noticed (not that I wanted to be noticed that way!)

My Italian, which others have qualified as "excellent" and "exceptional" was answered with English, until I politely asked the person to stop.

Fine food, OK clientele, junior staff very correct, not a horrible evening -- but I felt "we" were there for "them", not they for us.

if someone did it to u, would u like it?

Ekscrunchy, I just tried emailing Ditirambo and the email is bouncing back. Did you use the one on their website, [email protected]?

Ted, sorry you had that experience. I can think of a restaurant here in our town that seems to have adopted a similar attitude on some nights. But my wife wants to check out Ditirambo, so I guess we'll give it a try.

We've been to Ditirambo twice, and have enjoyed our meal both times. The more recent visit, we conversed in (my limited) italian, until I asked about the tomatoes that were in season then and included in my salad. The waiter, in English, delightedly told me about the small village that the variety is named for, then volunteered that he'd recently visited California and Washington. We then had a nice conversation about local produce and seafood. I did notice that, though our reservations were at 8:30 (I think), it wasn't until we were finishing up that the restaurant was full of Italians (earlier, it was a mix of various nationalities).

I did make my reservations through their website and had no problems. I no longer have the confirmation they mailed me so I cannot be sure from what address they responded. I would keep trying or, better yet, ask the hotel via e-mail to call for you.

I found the staff to be very friendly; it may not be the most professionally correct wait staff in Rome but I had no problems.