Trastevere area in Rome
 

Is the Trastevere area in Rome a good place to stay? Somebody on this forum suggest the Arco de Lauro hotel, which has very reasonable rates. Has anyone heard of it?

Thanks, Clau

Hello Clau,
We stayed at the Hotel San Francesco in Trastevere in May/05 and we loved both the hotel and the neighbourhood. We were about a two minute walk from the trolley that takes you right into the heart of Rome (about 4 trolley stops) and we got off a minute's walk from Campo d'Fiori and Campo Navona. We like to walk so some days we just walked over the bridge. In fact, one day we walked from our hotel to the Forum. We liked being in a neighbourhood. I know people will say that Trastevere is filled with tourists and there are tourists there (if not, why the hotels, right?) but certainly not MORE tourists than the centre. We felt we were in a neighbourhood -- we got off the trolley every day and bought water at 'our' fruit stand, changed money at 'our' bank, browsed in the local stores, and on several occasions ate in some tiny local restaurants.

I don't know the Arco de Lauro Hotel but others speak highly of the Hotel Santa Maria.

Several years ago friends and I rented a little barebones apartment in Trastevere. We loved it, and on each subsequent trip to Rome I always walk over for dinner, drinks, sightseeing, etc.

I've heard of the Arco de Lauro here and it's on tripadvisor. Sounds very nice, and I'd certainly consider it. I'd have to look at a map, but off the top of my head I believe it's in a central part of Trastevere.

Some people think Trastevere is a bit grittier than Navona/Pantheon areas, but I haven't found that to be the case. Also, some people consider it a little far for sightseeing, but again, sinced I tend to walk over for dinner even if I'm not staying there, I just don't think so.

Rome is magnificent, and I hope you enjoy your trip!

I stayed at the Arco del Lauro in October, loved it, loved Trastevere. Review on TripAdvisor.

If you have specific questions, go for it!
:)

I had visited Trastevere to sightsee & eat on past trips but never stayed there until the last trip. I am not sure if I would pick it for a first trip (no particular reason, I just feel more oriented on the other side of the river) but I enjoyed getting to know another part of Rome better.

I do not know the Arco but I also had a good experience at the San Francesco, like hdm above.

Funny, also there in May 05 (at the very end of the month). We had stayed in another hotel earlier on that trip and I needed a place on my own for a couple of nights at the end of same trip (original hotel full).

It was perfect for me on my own. Wonderful huge buffet breakfast; nice casual rooftop bar (depends on the time of year)with a good view (fireworks over Rome one night!); easy access, as hdm said, to the trolley line; and little art galleries along the street and restaurants nearby. It was quiet on the weeknight I was there, louder street noise on the weekend.

annabelle, how funny -- we might have been eating breakfast together! You've reminded me of the lovely buffet and the white ceramic pitchers of coffee and hot milk that were brought to our table. And I'd forgotten about the rooftop but we had a drink up there more than once.

I can't remember why we chose Trastevere for our first trip to Rome but I remember deciding between the San Francesco and the Santa Maria. I'd certainly go back to the SF and Trastevere again.

Don't know that hotel personally but Trastevere is definitely the working man's neighborhood. Lots of beautiful and chrming building, cafes and shops. Also has one of my favorite churhes, Santa Maria in Trastevere.

I stayed in Trastevere on each of my two trips to Rome in 2006, and I have to say it changed my whole perspective on that city. I had been to Rome 3-4 times before and just never warmed up to it the way I did to other cities in Europe (though don't get me wrong, I appreciated it immensely, just never learned to love it). Staying in Trastevere, taking the trolley over the Tiber into town, coming home at night to a nice little residential neighborhood away from the hectic city made me enjoy my stays there so much more than in previous visits.

I'm not sure it's ideal for a first-time visitor, but it sure worked for me.

LucieV: Do you remember what the price was? This looks lovely.

I just looked it up, Barb. We paid 119 euros/night in October 2006. Including a lovely continental breakfast at a nearby cafe -- with some of the best cappuccini I've had anywhere in Italy!

That was for a double? It says 70E min for a single. I wonder what time of the year that would be.

We'll be visiting Rome for the first time in May 2007. We decided to book at Hotel Santa Maria in Trastevere at 180 euro/per night cash, including breakfast.
Gohedwig

Yup, a double, Barb. Even though it was early October, it's still "high season" in Rome. I thought it was a bargain. And we did take a peek at a few other places while we were in Trastevere...the Arco was by far the nicest in that price range, imo!

gohedwig, the Santa Maria looks beautiful, and it's perfectly located. Well worth the 180 ... you're going to love it!

Lucy V: was the Arco close to the trolley that goes into the heart of town? How long a walk over the bridge and to the campo or pantheon? Any specific restaurant reccomendatons close to the Arco?

I just booked a double at the Arco DeLauro for 120 euros in mid May. It looks great!

Is the ponte Sisto the only bridge that one can walk over to get from Trastevere to the center of Rome?

plafield:
Arco is about 5 - 10 minutes walk from the bus stop. We only used the bus getting in to the city from the RR (and getting back to RR). We walked everywhere else.

I don't remember all the bridges' names, but we walked over at least 3 to get from central Rome to Trastevere. It's a piece of cake, I promise. In addition to being scenic!

Unclear post: what I meant is that we used at least 3 different bridges at 3 different times. You don't need to take 3 bridges each time you cross the Tiber!

If I remember correctly, the Ponto Sisto is the one closest to the San Francesco and the one we walked over to get to the Forum.

There are at least two other bridges though -- our trolley went over one (Viale Trastevere, maybe?) and there's one we crossed at Castel S. Angelo.

Funny -- my husband and I also stayed at the San Francesco in May '05! We liked the price, location and our room, which was pretty quiet and spacious. I enjoyed using Trastavere as a home base to explore from. In my experience, other parts of Rome were far more crowded with tourists.