Travestere-Rome
 

Hi all....any good pension/hotel/apartment recommendations in this area that are below $200 US?

Almost any apartment rental in Trastevere will come in at under US$200.

Have a look at the recommended agencies at www.slowtrav.com and at the vacation rental reviews.

There's a rather swish convent that would come in well under that:

http://www.sfromana.it/

And many people have liked the Hotel Santa Maria; it may or may not be in your price range.

The rates vary, but check out the Hotel San Francesco
www.hotelsanfrancesco.net

I stayed there for a couple of nights at the end of an Italy trip last May. I had eaten/wandered in Trastevere before but never stayed there. I had stayed near the Forum earlier on the same trip with friends, but wanted to try a different area for my last nights.

The hotel is quite nice with an amazingly huge breakfast buffet, some internet access, and a nice little roof-top bar. I liked the location -- quiet on the weeknight I was there, but things really picked up in the neighborhood on the weekend!

I would also recommend the Hotel San Francesco. We stayed there this January and really enjoyed it. We paid around $135 Euro per night, and the rooms were quite large and comfortable. Great bathrooms.

Rome hotel rates have gone up this year. I agree that the Hotel San Francisco is a very good choice, but I think the cheapest room you can get there in low season now is around 155E, otherwise 200E, so that would be beyond your price range.

What time of the year are you going? That can be the difference of 40/50E per night.

Another hotel that I would recommend which is ABOVE Trastevere is the Grand Hotel del Gianicolo, on the Gianicolo hill, about a 10 minute walk down to Trastevere, with monuments of Italian heroes all along the via Garibaldi, views of the entire city, and a perfect tempietto by Donate Bramanti up on the hill as well. It's fun to walk your way down from the Gianicolo to Trastevere, stopping and viewing the sights along the way.

The Hotel itself is quite lovely, with fabric walls, green marble floors, great bathrooms with jacuzzis, lovely pool with bar that stays open until 1am, terrace and breakfast for about 135-155Euros/nt. (low season) I liked this place a lot, because it was in an upscale Roman neighborhood, (it's a renovated villa) yet I was just minutes away from Trastevere, where I could take the little circular bus back from Trastevere to the hotel.

www.romeby.com/gianicolo/pages/profile.htm