Rome Airport affordable hotel

[museumlover]

With great anticipation we are looking forward to our first ever large ship cruise. We are taking off on the Costa Pacifica out of Rome's port on February 20th. When we return to port we will have a day in Rome before departing from the airport at the early morning time of 6:35. We were hoping to find a clean, safe affordable (say around $125 or so) for the one night. A hotel very close to the airport with shuttle service would be fantastic. So far all we have been able to locate is a Best Western that is affordable (71 euros) and it does have a shuttle service but unfortunately the service starts at 6. We need to be at the airport no later than 5:35. Does anyone have any tips? We have tried all the major hotel search engines. Your help will be greatly appreciated. We hope we have placed this thread on the correct board. Please forgive us if we have made any mistakes. Thanks!:)

[euro cruiser]

You're in the right place.

 

As you've probably already discovered, the major hotels near the airport in Rome, like those near airports in most of the world's major cities, are quite expensive.

 

There is a Hilton on site, no shuttle needed.

 

There is a Hilton Garden Inn nearby, with a free shuttle (I just checked to be sure: http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en/gi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=FCOAPGI).

 

There is also a Marriott Courtyard, where I have stayed a couple of times. It also has a shuttle, for 15 Euro each way.

 

Hotel shuttles are not as common in Rome as they are here in the States.

 

Have you tried hotel booking sites like www.venere.com or www.hotels.com ?

[Terpnut]

With great anticipation we are looking forward to our first ever large ship cruise. We are taking off on the Costa Pacifica out of Rome's port on February 20th. When we return to port we will have a day in Rome before departing from the airport at the early morning time of 6:35. We were hoping to find a clean, safe affordable (say around $125 or so) for the one night. A hotel very close to the airport with shuttle service would be fantastic. So far all we have been able to locate is a Best Western that is affordable (71 euros) and it does have a shuttle service but unfortunately the service starts at 6. We need to be at the airport no later than 5:35. Does anyone have any tips? We have tried all the major hotel search engines. Your help will be greatly appreciated. We hope we have placed this thread on the correct board. Please forgive us if we have made any mistakes. Thanks!:)

Forgive me if you already know all this, but I just want to make sure to cover the obvious:

 

1. Roma has no port--it is an inland city. You will be sailing out of Civitavecchia which is well over an hour from Roma.

2. Assuming you are flying home out of Leonardo Da Vinci airport (FCO), and not Ciampino airport, be aware that Fiumicino is over 45 minutes from Roma and about an hour from Civitavecchia.

3. Roma, Civitavecchia and Fiumcino are quite a distance apart from each other and you need to plan accordingly. The transfers between them can take alot of time and be quite costly especially using private transfers (more than a night's hotel stay!).

 

Questions:

- By "shuttle", do you mean a hotel shuttle to get you from the hotel to the airport? Not a shuttle from the hotel to/from Roma?

- On the morning of your debarkation, do you plan to go straight to Fiumicino first, or head straight into Roma?

- If you are going first to Fiumicino, how did you plan to get from Civitavecchia to your hotel in Fiumcino?

- If you are going directly to Roma, what will you do with your bags?

- If you go to your Fiumicino hotel first, how will you get to Roma and back--by train?

- If your flight time 6:35 am, don't you need to arrive more than just 60 minutes early? If you don't stay at either of the Fiumicino Hiltons, consider prebooking a taxi or private transfer.

[museumlover]

Thanks for the replies and a tip of the hat to the excellent questions. Here's a little background on our trip: This will be our 3 trip to Italy but our first ever large ship cruise (we did a EasyCruise a couple of years ago with about 200 people). Our original plan called for 2 1/2 days of inland touring before the cruise starts (we land early Thursday morning and our ship departs Saturday evening) to include the Florence (hey it's Firenze!) area. Our ship returns to the Rome port (C.) early on a Wednesday morning and we had planned to travel by train over to Roma Termini and hit a few spots we did on our first trip to Italy. We were going to stay at the Hotel Italia (about 5 blocks from Roma Termini) and then go over via the train express back over to FCO for our late morning flight. Those plans changed Monday when American Airlines called to inform us that the late morning flight had been eliminated and we had to take a flight that departs at 6:35. I don't see us getting up at 3:30 and then traveling over to FCO (I'm not even sure the train runs that early) so we are looking for something close to the airport. The Best Western will cost us 71 euros plus 38 euros for transportation. So far that's the best option we have. Any other thoughts? Thanks again for your help.:)

[agabbymama]

Just my opinion, GRAB THAT BEST WESTERN while it is available. I don't think you are going to find anything better priced, even considering the cost of the transfer. Everything I searched was around 99 EUR and you would still have transfer costs. We used a shuttle, at $23 pp, but it doesn't start until 6:30, so no help there.

 

And I would allow closer to two hours, not 1 hour at FCO before your flight, you wouldn't want to be standing in Security line as your plane departs.

 

Have a great trip!

[Terpnut]

Thanks for the replies and a tip of the hat to the excellent questions. Here's a little background on our trip: This will be our 3 trip to Italy but our first ever large ship cruise (we did a EasyCruise a couple of years ago with about 200 people). Our original plan called for 2 1/2 days of inland touring before the cruise starts (we land early Thursday morning and our ship departs Saturday evening) to include the Florence (hey it's Firenze!) area. Our ship returns to the Rome port (C.) early on a Wednesday morning and we had planned to travel by train over to Roma Termini and hit a few spots we did on our first trip to Italy. We were going to stay at the Hotel Italia (about 5 blocks from Roma Termini) and then go over via the train express back over to FCO for our late morning flight. Those plans changed Monday when American Airlines called to inform us that the late morning flight had been eliminated and we had to take a flight that departs at 6:35. I don't see us getting up at 3:30 and then traveling over to FCO (I'm not even sure the train runs that early) so we are looking for something close to the airport. The Best Western will cost us 71 euros plus 38 euros for transportation. So far that's the best option we have. Any other thoughts? Thanks again for your help.:)

My first recommendation is to press American Airlines for more favorable flight options. Because they cancelled your original flight, you now have the option of rebooking your whole itinerary. I wouldn't lie down quietly with this 6:35 am outbound flight--it's the worst possible flight option for you so I'd make a stink. I'd personally say it's unacceptable and make them put you on a better, later flight. I don't know where your end point is, but there should be many options.

 

Second and assuming your flight plans remain unchanged, by staying at the airport, you only save less than an hour of time the morning of departure so that morning, you gotta get your butt outta bed early either way. So if it were me, I would much rather stay in Roma overnight and take a 4 am taxi out to FCO than cut my previous day short to head out to be stuck overnight in Fiumcino and to have to get up at 4 am anyway! By staying overnight in Roma, you get a few advantages: (1) you save the time and expense of a transfer from Civitavecchia to Fiumicino, and (2) you have a place to stash your luggage and perhaps rest mid-day (giving you much more flexibility) while touring Roma. JMHO

 

Of course, I'm not exactly clear what your budget constraints are so I'm not sure if my idea is feasible for you. :)

[museumlover]

Thanks! We took your advice and we now have a 7:55 flight out (on British Air) instead of the 6:35 flight. We are staying in Rome (Hotel Italia). Thanks again!

 

[euro cruiser]

That's great! I don't know the hotel, but I do know the area. All you'll need to do is walk about a half block to Via Naazionale and you can get a bus to almost anywhere you want, and the same thing heading back in the evening. From the hotel is mostly downhill, easy walking. Going back, well, it's just the opposite.

[Terpnut]

Thanks! We took your advice and we now have a 7:55 flight out (on British Air) instead of the 6:35 flight. We are staying in Rome (Hotel Italia). Thanks again!

 

Yeah! I'm glad that worked out for you! I think you'll be much happier with the later flight and staying overnight in town. :)

[cruisemom42]

Great advice from Terpnut and I'm glad you were able to take advantage of it. I'd ALWAYS rather spend the evening in Rome, even if I had to get up at 2am to get to the airport. The flight home is for sleeping, right? ;)

[iancal]

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn last fall-on points. Prior to booking, we did check Hilton's web site and the search engines for the lowest rate on both the Garden Inn and the Hilton Airport (right by the airport). The rates were very high so we used points (I would recommend that people who have hotel points and who travel to Europe save those points for overseas as they will typically yield much higher values to the frequent sleeper). But, on the evening we checked into the Hilton Garden Inn we passed by the Hilton and noticed a huge banner outside advertising rooms for 89E. This was much less that we had seen on any internet site. You may want to call the hotel directly closer to your stay and and see if you can negotiate a good rate or check for specials.

[samavarcruiser]

With great anticipation we are looking forward to our first ever large ship cruise. We are taking off on the Costa Pacifica out of Rome's port on February 20th. When we return to port we will have a day in Rome before departing from the airport at the early morning time of 6:35. We were hoping to find a clean, safe affordable (say around $125 or so) for the one night. A hotel very close to the airport with shuttle service would be fantastic. So far all we have been able to locate is a Best Western that is affordable (71 euros) and it does have a shuttle service but unfortunately the service starts at 6. We need to be at the airport no later than 5:35. Does anyone have any tips? We have tried all the major hotel search engines. Your help will be greatly appreciated. We hope we have placed this thread on the correct board. Please forgive us if we have made any mistakes. Thanks!:)

 

Try with Sheraton Golf :)

 

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=931