Well-located Hotel in Rome
 

We will be coming in from Umbria and are spending our last 2-3 nights in Rome and we're looking for a very centrally-located hotel in Rome since we will be there only a few days and will want to be where the action is (which means restaurants and shops). As we are three couples (one elderly couple), we will need one room in the ground floor, at at least a hotel with a lift.

I have narrowed down the hotels to:

1. Hotel Portoghesi (is this central?)
2. Albergo Cesari (perfect location I think, but a bit pricey at 190 euro)
3. Guest House Arco dei Tolomei (great reviews on Travelocity, but I'm not sure if they're all real--seems unbelievable)
4. Due Torre

Residenza Cellini is fully booked and we also wouldn't fit in the apartment they are offering us. We'd like to spend not more than 160 euro per room.

Our wishlist:
1. As well-located as Cesari
2. Charming old-world type
3. Has a lift OR a ground floor room

Thanks for any info you can share!

You might want to check out the
Hotel Fontanella Borghese, a couple
of blocks from the Spanish steps.
I think it might be a sister hotel
to the Due Torre on your list.
It was reasonable,clean, had very
friendly staff, rooms small but
more than adequate and breakfast
included in the price when we were
there 2 years ago. You can read reviews on Trip Advisor.

We enjoyed the Hotel Smeraldo in Rome. The location was fantastic and the price reasonable. There are reviews on Tripadvisor.

Ditto violetduck's comment, and yes the Due Torre and the Fontanella Borghese are owned by the same woman. She's a Roman beauty who's very hands-on and spends part of every day at one hotel or the other.

Of the two hotels, I prefer the Fontanella Borghese. It's located in the upper floors of a large building. You enter a large carriage-type door at the sidewalk, cross the interior courtyard and take a small elevator up to the hotel. Although not visible from inside the hotel, the building faces a small largo (not quite a piazza), and on the opposite side is a villa formerly owned by the Borghese family. At one side of the largo is a daily market of antique books and prints that's interesting to browse. It's a short walk down the via Condotti to the Spanish Steps and a Metro stop (the Vatican one way, the Colosseum the other). Also nearby is the Piazza Di San Lorenzo in Lucina which attracts a nice crowd of Romans and tourists in the evening.

Rooms facing the street on the back of the building are a little noisy because of evening walking tours and a nearby restaurant. It's usually quiet by 11:00 pm, but, if noise bothers you, ask for a room facing the interior courtyard.

http://www.fontanellaborghese.com/index.html

We've also stayed at the Portoghesi but not for several years. It has a lovely rooftop terrace where you can have breakfast on nice days.

Do you b&b Arco del Lauro in Arco dei Tolomei?

Sofitel, close to the Spanish steps about a five minute walk. It is on a side street so it is very quiet. Very, very classy with excellent service. The buffet breakfast which was included when we went there last year was included and was the best breakfast we had on our three week trip.
www.sofitel.com

I haven't stayed at the Fontenella Borghese, but we have been at the Due Torre and several times at the Portoghesi. Of the latter two, I would pick the Portoghesi. The Due Torre is a bit more worn, and is approached through an alley. This was no problem in the day but I wasnt wild about it at night, and in the summer, it smelled.

I am a fan of the Portoghesi and haven't been able to afford it on our last two trips to Rome.

I want to recommend the Portoghesi any time I can. I don't think you can do better for the money. The location is incredibly central witout any of the noise. The rooms and hotel are very clean, though small, but all will be in this category. And the hotel is in good condition. We were within a 5 minute walk from almost anything and within a 15-20 minute walk of the ancient sites and Trestevere. I was there over New Years Eve. Witin 2 blocks of all that was happening, yet never was bothered by any street noise. Book it Danno!

My reply is very late but just wanted to report back. We stayed at the Portoghesi and were very pleased with it. The rooms were a bit small but they were nice and comfortable. I think the location was excellent. Two wonderful restaurants right beside the hotel, and right on the left hand side was a lovely church that had free concerts on the two night we were there! It was a treat for my inlaws who are not very mobile--they could look forward to "coming home" to the hotel, and before going in, attend the concert. People were lining up outside, and our hotel was right beside it.

The hotel is two blocks from the Piazza Navona, and just around the corner from the Pantheon! So every evening, we would get icecream from either Giolitti or Parma.

I'd recommend it for people who want something well-located and familiar. We are going to be in Rome again in a couple of months but this time with my two small daughters. I would do this again, but I need a little bigger room, and I want to experience something new again!

But yes, Portoghesi is wonderful.