Rome Hotels -Air Conditioning Question

[SF]

We are looking to visit Rome in October and we're wondering if any of the hotels centrally located and in walking distance to the main attractions keep their air conditioning on during that time. We wrote two hotels that we were thinking of staying at and they said it's not a definite, it all depends on weather. One person in our party needs to have air conditioning so we cannot take a chance at those hotels. Any suggestions of hotels would be greatly appreciated.

[irvington]

I'm sort of confused by the question. I get that places in Europe can kind of lightly air condition, are you looking for some place that keeps things as cool as an American hotel? Or are you wanting air conditioning no matter what the weather?

 

We stayed one night at the Palazzo Navona. Expensive, but they definitely kept it cold. The other hotel I've stayed at in Rome was more lightly air conditioned but it was fine for us.

 

Maybe the question is more whether the hotel allows individual rooms to control the AC level?

 

 

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[SF]

I'm sort of confused by the question. I get that places in Europe can kind of lightly air condition, are you looking for some place that keeps things as cool as an American hotel? Or are you wanting air conditioning no matter what the weather?

 

We stayed one night at the Palazzo Navona. Expensive, but they definitely kept it cold. The other hotel I've stayed at in Rome was more lightly air conditioned but it was fine for us.

 

Maybe the question is more whether the hotel allows individual rooms to control the AC level?

 

 

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We don't expect it to be as cold as an American Hotel but several of the hotels I've written turn their air conditioning off completely in October. They stated it all depends on the weather but usually at that time of year the air is off. That's why I posted the question. We cannot stay at a hotel that doesn't even have light air conditioning as one person in our party needs it.

[cruisemom42]

A good many hotels in Rome that are not chains will turn off their A/C in October. (Italians don't particularly care about the specific weather -- October is Fall and the air gets turned off.)

 

I just saw a response from Hotel Artemide on Tripadvisor saying that they have their A/C on year-round. While not in the absolute center, the hotel is near Termini and you can walk to most sites or take the metro handily located at Termini station. It has gotten some good reviews on here if you do a search.

 

I would double-check with the hotel itself before you book. There may well be other good choices but I don't know of any personally.

[SF]

A good many hotels in Rome that are not chains will turn off their A/C in October. (Italians don't particularly care about the specific weather -- October is Fall and the air gets turned off.)

 

I just saw a response from Hotel Artemide on Tripadvisor saying that they have their A/C on year-round. While not in the absolute center, the hotel is near Termini and you can walk to most sites or take the metro handily located at Termini station. It has gotten some good reviews on here if you do a search.

 

I would double-check with the hotel itself before you book. There may well be other good choices but I don't know of any personally.

 

I'll look into it but we really wanted to stay more towards the Pantheon area. Just curious, doesn't it get extremely hot in the room with no AC? Leaving the windows open I would think would be noisy.

[irvington]

Looking online it seems like temperatures are usually such that I wouldn't have the air conditioning on at home. But I've only been to Rome in spring and summer so perhaps someone who travels there at that time can chime in. I live in the city and so street noise doesn't bother me, so I'm probably not totally getting it. Interesting about what cruisemom says about it being off even if there is a heat wave.

 

 

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[cruisemom42]

At one point it was actually mandated by some regulation that A/C could not be turned before such-and-such a date and had to be turned off by October (1st? 15th? It's been too long since I looked it up....)

 

Americans have a very different view on air-conditioning than most Europeans. We use it far more and set it far lower. Italians don't like drafts or direct air blowing on them. A stuffy room is not a problem, generally. That said, I imagine most large hotels that cater to American tourist have some sort of air circulation, just not A/C.

 

I have been in Rome numerous times in October. Even right on the piazza in front of the Pantheon, noise dies down after a certain point in the evening and you can open your window. Of course, you'll then be awoken by the garbage collectors at 5:30 am.... But hey, that's Rome. :)

 

What's worse are the hotels and public buildings where they crank up the heat in the winter to excessive levels. I almost felt I was going to pass out once in the Louvre in December.

[Karennella]

Perhaps it is more that a lot of the world does not have energy that is as cheap as it must be in the US and thus do not use aircon as extensively. We were just in China and it is banned there in some areas as part of the effort to cut down their air pollution.

Italians do tend to do things by the season. We were surprised to be told that beaches in Abruzzo were closed in May, despite it being perfect beach weather as it was not yet the season.

[kdooley]

At one point it was actually mandated by some regulation that A/C could not be turned before such-and-such a date and had to be turned off by October (1st? 15th? It's been too long since I looked it up....).

 

 

We were told this as well several years ago. That they had to wait for govt to tell them when they could turn a/c on. We were there in April and the room was very warm because we couldn't open the windows!

 

They had those 'hurricane' type shutters that wouldn't open beyond a few inches, so It was a long stuffy night. I think this was at a BW in Rome. Since then we have been staying at Marriott's when we visit Rome because they have individual room controls.

 

 

 

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[LondonTowner]

In October in the Med the weather can be changeable. Yes, it can be warm, but at the end of October will probably be cool. I don't think I would need A/C at that time unless they were having a heatwave.

 

 

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[gfkcruiser]

We were at a B and B near piazza Navona and you had your own air conditioning to set as you wanted. We were there toward end of October and did use it.

 

 

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[Deltagirl34]

Take a look at the Boscolo Exedra Roma Autograph Collection....it's part of Marriott. They say they have air conditioning, but not sure if it's year around.

 

 

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[sippican]

Check with Argentina Style Hotel. We had nine rooms there in May and it apprears each had its own thermostat. We were able to keep ours very cool. All rooms face a central courtyard, so it is quiet if you open your windows. The rooms are updated and large, but charming. We all loved it!

They are very promt to reply to e-mail inquiries so it may be worth a check to see if AC is available year round. (And do check, we stayed in Venice at a hotel that advertised AC, but they hadn't turned it on when we arrived. Our room was 86 degrees!!!!)

[Gracie115]

A good many hotels in Rome that are not chains will turn off their A/C in October. (Italians don't particularly care about the specific weather -- October is Fall and the air gets turned off.)

 

I just saw a response from Hotel Artemide on Tripadvisor saying that they have their A/C on year-round. While not in the absolute center, the hotel is near Termini and you can walk to most sites or take the metro handily located at Termini station. It has gotten some good reviews on here if you do a search.

 

I would double-check with the hotel itself before you book. There may well be other good choices but I don't know of any personally.

 

 

We have stayed at the Artemide twice and yes they keep their AC on. It's a wonderful hotel.

[Spree75]

If cost isn't a factor and you really want to stay near the Pantheon then there is the Grand Minerva which is less than a block away. Our room had a responsive thermostat and I imagine they would do anything in their power to keep their guests happy...

[SF]

Thanks for all the suggestions and hotel names.:)