Help-3 day pre cruise in Rome-Best area to book hotel??

[Topat]

Please help....First time to Europe (Celebrity Cruise line) in May 2011. Looking for the best area to book a 3 day pre cruise stay in Rome that is near to most of the major points of interest. Any recommendations for which area in Rome is better to stay, and any hotel info would be greatly appreciated from all you experienced travelers. Anyone stay at the Empire Palace Hotel by the Spanish Steps? :confused: Please send along any tips you may think of ...........Thanks :)

[euro cruiser]

If you do a search of this board you'll find dozens of very recent threads and posts on this very question, as well as recommendations of hotels.

 

As a short cut, I think most people agree that the dead center of historic Rome is roughly bound by Piazza Navona, Campo dei'Fiori and the Pantheon. The Spanish Steps, Colosseum and Vatican areas are on the edges of the historic center and therefore not as central, but they are also fine.

 

The hotel I think I see most often mentioned here is the Albergo del Senato, which is next to the Pantheon. However, as I said, if you do a quick search you'll come up with five or ten hotels often recommended in the center of Rome.

[ab0si]

I almost always stay near the Spanish Steps, but that is because I start every day walking the park at the top of the steps (the Villa Borghese gardens). For normal people, though, I'd suggest staying in the Pantheon/Piazza Navona area. Easy access to both Ancient Rome and the Vatican and a lively area full of good restaurants.

[letsgo39]

I feel strongly that the best area to stay in Rome is the Piazza Navona,Pantheon,Campo di Fiori area. We enjoyed staying at the Hotel Smeraldo near Campo di Fiori for 7 days in 2008.. There was just another thread on this very subject last week and just about 90% of the experienced travelers also felt this was the best area to stay.You are easily within walking distance to all the main tourist sites except for the Vatican. That is a short bus ride/taxi away.Pick up Rick Steves "Rome". It is a great guide book. We also use Tripadvisor a lot when planning travel.A taxi from the Hotel Smeraldo to Termini is only about 12 Euro.

[ab0si]

wow, three in a row in agreement. It must be a conspiracy :)

[Topat]

Thank you to all......what a wealth of knowledge

[cherylakers]

We just got back from Rome and stayed at Albergo Santa Chiara which is right behind the Pantheon. The locale was perfect. Short walk to Piazza Navona and just a little longer walk to Trevi Fountain.

 

The rooms were large for European hotels. The only problem was finding your way around. You go up and down and to the right and left, etc. They do have a couple of small elevators though.

 

Nice little breakfast room with a good continental breakfast included.

 

I highly recommend them and would stay there again.

[texancruzer]

I have stayed at both locations.

Our first trip we stayed at Hotel Mozart - right down from the Spanish steps. Nice safe location and nice hotel. But a bit far to most of the main sites you want to be near.

Second trip we stayed at Albergo del Senato. More money but we loved it. This area is perfect for walking....... Piazza Navonna, Campo di Fiori, Trevi, Coliseum/Forum, wedding cake, and even Vatican, altho a bit of a walk ;) We walked ALL OVER......morning, noon and night. We loved turning a corner and finding a new fountain, a new obelisk or just a cool street with antique stores, shops and restaurants or gelato stops :D

[riffatsea]

I agree with the others that the area from the Pantheon/Piazza Navona/Campo di Fiori etc is the most convenient place to stay. You can walk almost everywhere, including the Vatican and the coliseum. There are lots of restaurants etc. I also stayed at the Albergo del Senato BUT it is quite expensive so you may want to find another nearby hotel. There are lots of others. I must tell you though that I was in a small single room with no view and I STILL loved that hotel!!! The location and service was just unbelievable!! The front desk knew every guest and which room key was theirs and they were just soo helpful that I would try to stay there again even at that price!!

[Caliterp07]

I'll be different.

 

We did our pre cruise entirely by train, so I needed something convenient. I didn't want shuttles or taxis. We took the train from FCO to Termini, and then Termini to Civitavecchia. Since we were carting luggage around, it made sense to stay near Termini.

 

We're young and were on a budget, so I couldn't spend $300/night on a hotel. We stayed at B&B Giovy, 2 blocks from Termini. Full breakfast, most wonderful owner ever, and it worked perfectly.

 

http://www.bbgiovy.com/

 

We had an adorable room for ~$100/night. It worked out perfectly. We still were able to walk absolutely everywhere. It was 10-15 minutes to the Colosseum the first day. The second day, we took the subway from Termini out to the Vatican. We walked all the way back, stopping at all the touristy things along the way.

 

Really though, Rome is so small and walkable that I don't know if there's a bad place to stay.

[prairie girl]

We just got back from Rome and stayed at Albergo Santa Chiara which is right behind the Pantheon. The locale was perfect. Short walk to Piazza Navona and just a little longer walk to Trevi Fountain.

 

The rooms were large for European hotels. The only problem was finding your way around. You go up and down and to the right and left, etc. They do have a couple of small elevators though.

 

Nice little breakfast room with a good continental breakfast included.

 

I highly recommend them and would stay there again.

 

I concur. We also have just returned from staying at Albergo Santa Chiara--both pre and post cruise. We absolutely loved the location and the hotel. We also requested courtyard view rooms and both times our rooms were large, quiet and lovely. The shower over the tub took some time to get used to but we managed a week without a major flood on the floor!

 

We walked everywhere from this location and the only time we paid for transportation was from the Termini train station post cruise. The cab fare from there to Albergo Santa Chiara was 10 Euros with our 2 pieces of luggage.

 

The breakfast was lovely and satisfying........

The best part was paying less than the folks at the Albergo del Senato and just wheeling our luggage to their pricey hotel when we shared the ride to port!

 

We would stay here again in a heartbeat!

[GlendaleCruiser]

We stayed at Hotel Cosmopolita last year and loved it. Breakfast with lots of options included and we walked to Trevi Fountain every day. From there we walked to Coliseum (easy and can be seen from hotel) but we pretty much walked everywhere, including Spanish steps. Be sure and notice the small shops and boutiques in the areas of town between sites to see.

 

Here's the website:

 

http://www.hotel-cosmopolita.com/eng/hc/home.htm

[babsinpbg]

We have also stayed at the del Senato which is a beautiful hotel. Standing on your balcony, you almost feel as though you can stretch out and touch the Pantheon. We were there during late October and they were having difficulty regulating the heat. The room was uncomfortably hot and that was a bit of a bummer. Location is terrific.

 

We have also stayed near the Termini station pre-cruise, and had a wonderful stay at the Gea Di Vulcano at about half the cost of the del Senato. We have recommended the Gea many, many times and it's a great little hotel. Right on Via ****onale, it was easy to walk toand from the train station with rolling luggage. Just a few doors down we had our very best meal in Rome (out of three different trips) at the Ristorante Zeus. I know, that name!! :)

As a second generation Italian-American, I grew up eating the "real thing" so I'm a little spoiled, but I would highly recommend this quaint little spot. Sadly, it's taken a few hits on Tripadvisor from unhappy customers, but I can tell you last time we had such a great meal, we went back again the next night.

 

Anyway, I strayed a little, but as others have said, Roma is such a compact, walkable city, you really can't go wrong no matter where you stay. Just put on some good walking shoes, and go!

 

Enjoy, enjoy....my favorite city on the planet~