Rome Hotel Tips by Lacristina

Update, March 2006

A very good hotel for the price. Especially in winter. And especially if you ask for the Rick Steves' rate. The Aberdeen is newly renovated throughout, nicely decorated, very clean. Helpful and friendly staff. Conveniently located - about a 10 minute walk to the train station. A safe location, too, as it is just across the street from the Ministry of Defense. They have individual heaters for the bathroom, which is nice on a cold morning. Don't expect a view, but otherwise, a nice hotel indeed. Highly recommended at these prices. I will stay here again.

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The twin room we stayed in during February 2006 had one of the smallest showers imaginable. Don't drop the soap! But it's probably wrong to complain when we paid only 71 euros per night for four nights.

On the other hand, when I returned a week later in March, we opted for two single rooms, but we each got the use of a double - and the showers in these rooms were larger. Prices were a little higher but still very reasonable for Rome, only 64 euros per night per room.

My only (minor) complaints were a slow running shower drain (this was in a single room in 2004) and terrible coffee at breakfast. Actually, the coffee is a little better in 2006, but still nothing to write home about. They do offer delicious cornetti (Italian croissants) and panini (small fresh bread rolls) as well as cheese, some kind of ham/sandwich meat (which I didn't think much of), juices, cereal, milk, yogurt. In all, a fine breakfast at these prices.

If you can't bear the coffee, you can pop into the bar across the street for an espresso or cappuccino.

Unique Qualities: They have special rates for readers of Rick Steves' book. Ask them about a Rick Steves' discount.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: 06 482-3920
Address: Via Firenze 48, , Rome, Lazio 00184
Directions: Near Pizza della Republica and the Quirinale, between Via Nazionale and Via Venti Settembre.
Website: http://www.travel.it/roma/aberdeen/

The Hotel Teatro Pace opened a few years ago in the most perfect location. Two steps from Piazza Navona, in the heart of the "Centro Storico" or historical center of Rome

Even my single room was large by Rome standards -- a six by eight foot entry with large armoire -- then a step up into the main room with parquet wood floors in a herringbone pattern, a bed "alla francese" or a single bed, half again as wide as usual, making it very comfortable, a mini-bar, a matching chest with four drawers, tv, and a wall safe. Then a small alcove behind the main room, with a large window, a writing desk and chair, and a table with an electric hot kettle and the necessary coffees and teas.

The bathroom! Absolutely drop dead gorgeous! Richly colored gold and gray marble floor, matched to a more sedate cream marble, topped with a soft yellow washed plaster. A shower with lots of hot water, great water pressure.

Look up -- the timbered ceiling must be 5 meters high! It isn't necessary to talk about cleanliness -- everything is spotless. And it's a hotel with a sense of humor. Check out their FAQ page in English! Roberto and Fabrizio were wonderful hosts.

I loved everthing about this hotel -- but you might want to know that...

There is no desk service between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the morning -- so it's more like a B&B. Don't lose the key to your room and the front door!

No elevator. This meant 70 steps up the elegant, huge spiral stone staircase. More if you?re on the top floor. There is no breakfast room (yet) so breakfast is served in your room -- you fill out a short form the night before, and the local coffee bar brings you your cornetto (croissant), coffee or tea, and orange juice precisely on time every morning. They were amazingly punctual.

Also, although I normally take the #64 bus from the main train station (Termini) to get to the hotel, I don't necessarily recommend it. It's notoriously filled with pickpockets, so take good care of your posessions if you do. You could also take the #40 express. Get off both buses at Largo Argentina. A metered taxi from Termini should cost about 7-10 euros depending on day and time.

Unique Qualities: Location! Location! Location! Reasonable prices. The elegant stone circular staircase.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: 06 - 687 - 9075
Address: Via Teatro Pace 33
Directions: As you face the church Sant'Agnese in Agone in the Piazza Navona, take the street just to the right (Via di Tor Millina). Turn left at the butcher shop on tiny Via del Teatro Pace. The entrance is a beautiful wood door on the right in about 50 meters.
Website: http://www.hotelteatropace.com/

Recently renovated, the rooms at the Columbia are larger than average (for Italy), good air conditioning which you can control, nice modern bathrooms with larger than usual shower and toiletry items including a toothbrush!, and each room I've stayed in (save one) has had a drop-dead-gorgeous, HUGE Venetian glass chandelier! There's a nice cafe/bar/breakfast room on the top floor. Breakfast in warm months will be on the open terrace filled with plants. Coffee and cappuccino are fresh made and very good. Buffet breakfast is fine, no hot items. They usually have cornetti (croissants), panini (fresh bread rolls), salami, cheese, jams, toast, canned fruit, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, cereals, juice (canned). There is almost no lobby, but there is a small sitting area in the breakfast room. Multilingual desk, and even the maids are friendly!

Their website lists a room rate that is quite high - usually you'll find a better rate on www.venere.com or www.holidaycity.com. Sometimes holidaycity shows availability when venere doesn't. Go figure.

Anyway, 160E in high season is a pretty reasonable rate. I've stayed here several times with friends - and we've always had a good experience. I once got a room I didn't like, and they moved me the next day.

Unique Qualities: No views, but laying in your bed, looking up at the beautiful chandelier isn't bad! Very convenient to the train station, but toward the "good" side of town.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Phone: 39-06-474-4289
Address: Via Del Viminale 15, Roma, RM 00184
Directions: Between the Palazzo Massimo museum and the Opera House, not far from Piazza della Republica
Website: http://www.hotelcolumbia.com, but use website below to book:
Other Contact: http://www.holidaycityeurope.com

This is a great hotel in the winter or August, when rates drop by nearly 50%. But the 300 euro price during high season for a double is tough to take. Still, they may have the best view of any hotel in Rome. There's nothing to compare with the view of the Forum and Palatine Hill gleaming with the early morning sun, while you drink your glass of fresh squeezed Sicilian orange juice in season (so red you'll think it's tomato juice!).

The top floor restaurant is also the breakfast room, and I can't think of any place I'd rather be in Rome in the morning. The caffe' latte is very good, as is the entire breakfast. (However, dinner at the restaurant is very expensive and probably not worth it, unless you're trying to impress someone with the view.)

The rooms are adequate size, the bathrooms new. If you can get one of the rooms overlooking the Imperial Forum, lucky you! You can always ask. Many rooms are furnished with antiques.

Unique Qualities: The common rooms are lovely, and it has a cozy bar with comfy leather chairs where you can sip a prosecco before dinner out, while you plan your next day.

They cater to business people, so rates are often lower on the weekends.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Phone: 39 - 06 - 679 - 2446
Address: Via Di Tor De Conti 25, Rome, RM 00184
Directions: Just off Via Cavour, one street from the Forums.
Website: http://www.hotelforumrome.com

Updated: October 2005
I've stayed here twice, once in a double on the executive floor (see the photo) and once in an upgraded king room. Both good experiences. The standard room was fine, but the upgraded room was lovely. Very large, especially by Italian standards; beautiful furnishings, elegant bath, huge soft towels AND a washcloth (something no other hotel in Italy I’ve stayed in offers). The bed was enormous and the bedding luxurious.

The room was VERY quiet. We arrived exhausted at 1 a.m. in the morning, and didn’t hear a thing until our wake up call.

The rooms are pricey, but If this hotel were in the middle of Rome, you'd be paying a lot more. Standard rates are around 300 E per room. But you can find weekend rates or “pay-in-advance” rates for about half that. Check all the booking sources you can. At this price, I'd say the hotel provides very good value.

Though the breakfast buffet is just okay.

This is not the place to stay if you want to see Rome. That said, they do have a free shuttle into town, or you can easily take the train from the airport.

Personally, I’d rather spend the night in Rome and either take the train or pay for an early morning taxi. But if you are worried about getting to the airport in time, this is a fine alternative.

Unique Qualities: They have a pool and a workout room. Only a 10-15 minute walk to your gate.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$120-180  » Currency Converter
Phone: 39-06-65258
Address: Via Arturo Ferrarin, 2 - Rome Fiumicino Airport, R
Directions: Directly connected to the airport at Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci)
Website: http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/index.jhtml;jsessionid=UWPAVIGUSOEM0CSGBIYM22QKIYFCXUUC?ctyhocn=ROMAPTW

At the price we booked, 80 euros per night in January, this hotel is a great bargain, perhaps the best value I've ever seen in Rome. Very convenient to the train station and toward the "good" side of town (i.e. west of the station). Still, not exactly a charming neighborhood.

The rooms are modern and clean, though they are on the small size you find in most Rome hotels. There was some noise from the street, but luckily it isn't on a particularly busy street. The bathrooms are quite nice, with one small exception - the showers are extremely small -- 20 inches (51 centimeters) square. Don't drop the soap! There is a large, hot breakfast buffet. At this price, I would definitely stay here again.

Unique Qualities: Close to Termini. Great price reductions in the winter.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: +39-06-4465399
Address: Via Filippo Turati, 16, Rome 00185
Directions: Between Rome's main train station, Roma Termini, and the basilica Santa Maria Maggiore.
Website: http://www.romeby.com/ariston/index.html

The Trinita' dei Monti may not be as ritzy as the nearby Hassler, but you won't pay those prices either. And you'll be just a few steps from the top of the Spanish Steps - truly a lovely way to start out any day as you make your way into the city.

If you're "born to shop" this hotel is convenient. Lots of boutiques on Via Sistina, and of course, many more awaiting you at the bottom of the Spanish Steps. Easy to drop off your bags at the hotel (assuming you're not averse to a few stairs) and then go back for more.

The rooms are in general larger than the usual Rome hotel room. Several of the bathroom tub/shower installations are funky (one required almost acrobatic efforts to stand for the shower.)

The breakfast room is pretty; freshly made cappuccino, espresso or caffe latte; dry cereals, panini (those delicious fresh bread rolls that are almost hollow inside) and cornetti (the Italian equivalent of croissants) but no hot items. No lobby to speak of. Reception is on the floor above the ground floor.

The front desk people are a bit dour.

Ask for a quiet room, i.e., NOT on the street. Late at night, motorcycles and cars race up the street and the noise, even through double-glazed windows, will wake you. Or bring earplugs.

Unique Qualities: Be sure to check all possible booking websites, as they prices vary widely. The hotel is ok, but you're paying for being in the Spanish Steps area.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Phone: 06 67.97.206
Address: Via Sistina, 91, , ROME 00187
Directions: Just a few hundred feet from the top of the Spanish Steps and Piazza Trinita' dei Monti.
Website: http://www.hoteltrinitadeimonti.com

Sorry - it's closed!

A five-minute walk from Termini, less expensive than comparable hotels, lovely breakfast room and common room, gorgeous Venetian glass chandeliers, and best of all, my room on the fifth floor had double-glazed French doors opening to a small balcony! A balcony – with chairs and small table, covered by an awning and lined with potted herbs.

I’ve previously stayed at the Venezia’s sister hotel, The Columbia (which I prefer), but because this was a last minute trip, it and many other favorite hotels were booked. The Venezia still had rooms available – partly, I’m guessing, because so many people refuse to stay in the area near Termini, the main Rome train station.

Yes, the Termini area is a bit scruffy, but really, it’s perfectly fine. Even walking alone at midnight, I felt perfectly safe.

Reception is friendly and around the clock. The rooms have new, spotless bathrooms with magnifying make-up mirror, tv, phone, mini-bar, a closet with plenty of decent wooden hangers, and room safe. And quiet – amazingly quiet. Cannot verify how well the airconditioning works as it wasn’t needed during my stay. Breakfast offers a wide selection of breads, cakes, toast, hardboiled eggs, cheese, ham, cereal, yogurt, (canned) fruit. The coffees offered are very good.

If you’re looking for faults, I have some minor complaints: the shower itself is quite small, and after 6 or 7 minutes, the hot water in the shower became an on again/off again thing. Canned orange and grapefruit juice at breakfast (ugh). The walls could have use a fresh coat of paint, and the carpeting in the room is a bit tired. Other travelers have complained about the beds – but mine was fine.

Still I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again.

Unique Qualities: Top floor rooms with small balconies, charming breakfast room with lovely breakfast layout, and huge Venetian glass chandeliers

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Phone: 39-06-445-71-01
Address: Via Varese 18, Roma, RM 00185
Directions: Exit Terminin on the Via Marsala side - continue straight ahead on Via Marghera and at the third street, Via Varese, you'll find Hotel Venezia on the far right corner.
Website: http://www.hotelvenezia.com