My husband and I leave for Italy in a week and a half and we can't decide which hotel to stay at in Rome. He wants to stay at the St. Regis and I'm leaning towards Hotel Abruzzi. I realize these two hotels are in totally different classes, but we'd be paying about the same amount because we could use Starwood points at the St. Regis. My concern with the St. Regis is getting around the city to sight see. It doesn't seem that it's within walking distance of very much. We're relatively young and like to walk but it looks like it's a couple miles to Piazza Navona and Campo di Fiori, which I hear are great places to relax in the evenings.

Hotel Abruzzi looks like it's right in the thick of things....but not as nice. HELP!! Where would you stay??

And if we stay at the St. Regis what is the best way to get around the city if we can't walk every where?

Hi, cjsg. We stayed at the St. Regis this past February. We also stayed at the Residenza Canali for 2 nights that same trip, and then transferred to the St. Regis.

When we return to Rome (and there WILL be a return trip!!) we would probably stay at the Residenza Canali again.

The St. Regis is a grand hotel, but the location is not the greatest. From there, we walked to the Colosseum (but it's not really close). We also walked to/from the Spanish Steps from the St. Regis.

It would be a good distance from the St. Regis to walk to the Vatican, the Piazza Navona and Campo di Fiori, especially if it's really hot (which it probably will be in a week and a half).

After we had walked to the colosseum, we stayed there longer than we had planned, and we had an event to attend that evening, so instead of walking back to the St. Regis, we cabbed it back. I think the cab fare was about 7E (and well worth it).

I'm not sure where the Hotel Abruzzi is located, so I can't help you there. I can tell you, though, that I think location is the key when staying in Rome. We like to walk to most places, and if you stay in a central location (I think near Piazza Navona is best) then pretty much everywhere is within a walkable distance.

I hope you have a wonderful time!

The St. Regis is a bit farther from many sites. We've stayed at the Westin Excelcior, which is abit farther, too, and we tend to walk and take cabs. once we were there during a taxi strike, though, so that was a pain. we did take the bus, and also hired a private driver. but if you're pretty fit, you can definitely walk.

mappy.com has a pedestrian tool, and you can plug in your destinations and see exactly how far walking distances are.

It's question of location vs. level of luxury. To me, I wouldn't worry about the difference between a 3 star and a 4 star. Both are pretty nice.

If want both the Centro location <b>and</b> the four star experience (and are willing to pay for it), there is also the Hotel Raphael and the Hotel Ponte Sisto.

http://www.hotelpontesisto.it/

http://www.raphaelhotel.com/