Hotels in Rome

[midwestchick]

On 6/9/2021 at 8:40 PM, -Lew- said:

 

We're on the Reflection TA also.  I would check pricing on booking sites and hotel direct and go with the best one.  Be sure you book a fully cancellable rate, so necessary in these times.

 

Personally I would avoid Expedia, but that's a personal choice.

Hi Lee,

I thought you were on the Edge TA in 2022.

[midwestchick]

On 6/28/2021 at 10:49 PM, cruisingxpert said:

If walking distances are an issue I would recommend mybesttour.com

I did this a few years and loved it.  It's a tour by golf cart.  They can take you right up to  a fountain ,a church door or anything you want to see.  I'm going back in May and will book again.  I wish they had golf cart tours in more places

Do they do the Trastevere area?  We did one on Bonaire and loved it.

[midwestchick]

On 7/11/2021 at 9:20 AM, sarch99 said:

And have Tartuffo from the takeout stand at Tre Scalini at Piazza Navona.   

What is that, may I ask?  We love Piazza Navona.

[midwestchick]

2 hours ago, nini said:

Alberto Del Senato is like "cruisin4kicks" said. IT IS RIGHT THERE. We saw it when we walked to the Pantheon.

I book our hotels directly... I prefer to not deal with a middleman. 

Alberto Del Senato is a great location for Trastevere and the Colosseum. The Vatican may be a bit far to walk (in the dark for early entry).

We’ve been to all the main sites to see. Is it also near Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps and the Trevi fountain, although we have been to Trevi in the past but not since the renovation. 

[-Lew-]

1 hour ago, midwestchick said:

Hi Lee,

I thought you were on the Edge TA in 2022.

 

When I wrote that we were booked on the Reflection TA for this year.  That cruise has since been canceled.  We jumped over to the Regent Explorer TA embarking one day later.

 

We're still on the Edge in 2022.

[cruisingxpert]

4 hours ago, midwestchick said:

Do they do the Trastevere area?  We did one on Bonaire and loved it.

I would imagine you can  They will customize a tour for you.  What company in Bonaire?  I will be there in Feb.

[sarch99]

6 hours ago, midwestchick said:

What is that, may I ask?  We love Piazza Navona.

It's an ice cream dessert. It's rich and chocolatey and delicious.  Tried to attach a picture but CC didn't allow.  http://www.trescalini-fuzhou.com/il-tartufo/?lang=en

 

[midwestchick]

2 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

I would imagine you can  They will customize a tour for you.  What company in Bonaire?  I will be there in Feb.

https://www.bonairecruisers.com/
 

Enjoy. 😁

[midwestchick]

5 hours ago, -Lew- said:

 

When I wrote that we were booked on the Reflection TA for this year.  That cruise has since been canceled.  We jumped over to the Regent Explorer TA embarking one day later.

 

We're still on the Edge in 2022.

I see. Is this one you’re talking about 2021?

[midwestchick]

11 minutes ago, sarch99 said:

It's an ice cream dessert. It's rich and chocolatey and delicious.  Tried to attach a picture but CC didn't allow.  http://www.trescalini-fuzhou.com/il-tartufo/?lang=en

 

OH. MY. GOODNESS.  I think I gained 5 lbs. just looking at that. 😊 😉

[Oceangoer2]

4 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

I would imagine you can  They will customize a tour for you.  What company in Bonaire?  I will be there in Feb.

We rented a cart through Bonaire Cruisers in Dec 2019, just before Covid hit.  $100 US at the time and you drive it yourself wherever you please...only a north road and a south road...can't get lost. 

[brockmom]

On 7/9/2021 at 9:45 AM, Scottee25 said:

Thank you very much. I had actually come back to tell cruisemom that my girlfriend had just found the email address. She has sent something off to them with a handful of questions. She also found a discount code on their FB page that ended up saving $180 over the 6 nights. Since the reservation is fully refundable (if you don't book the Relax Rate), I decided to book the room now. If they can offer any more of a discount, great. Otherwise, at least we know we have a nice hotel booked for our trip so we can put that behind us 🙂

 

Also found on their FB page that they offer pickup service from the airport and cruise terminal. They don't list pricing for that on their post but it is one of the questions my girlfriend has posed to them. Otherwise I did look into Rome In Limo yesterday and they also offer the port to Rome transfer for about 170 Euro.

Hello

We also are interested in this hotel. Thank you for the email address.
I was a little concerned with their cancellation policy, as it states 

50% might be debited if cancelled when 3 nights are booked.

do you or Lew have anything to ease my concerns? This was on the reply from the hotel and was not for the relax rate.

also question please. Will the roof top be available for the customers

to enjoy in October? I understand the bar service there may be offered only during warmer months, but I would be so disappointed if we could not sit up top ( with our own glass of wine) and enjoy the views.

Perhaps Lew knows this ?

much thanks 

Ros

[Scottee25]

On 7/9/2021 at 3:28 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Rome in Limo markets heavily to US customers. They have a huge following here and elsewhere for their tours. In particular they seem to provide drivers with great communications skills -- important perhaps for a full-day tour but I would say less so for a point-to-point transfer. 

 

When I looked over both of their websites, both states that English speaking drivers could not be guaranteed on transfers as they are generally reserved for tours. Still 40 Euros is still a pretty significant difference in price for the same service.

[Scottee25]

34 minutes ago, brockmom said:

Hello

We also are interested in this hotel. Thank you for the email address.
I was a little concerned with their cancellation policy, as it states 

50% might be debited if cancelled when 3 nights are booked.

do you or Lew have anything to ease my concerns? This was on the reply from the hotel and was not for the relax rate.

also question please. Will the roof top be available for the customers

to enjoy in October? I understand the bar service there may be offered only during warmer months, but I would be so disappointed if we could not sit up top ( with our own glass of wine) and enjoy the views.

Perhaps Lew knows this ?

much thanks 

Ros

 

I am not sure I can answer your questions. Where did you see that a cancellation policy of 50% if you have 3 nights booked? When we made our booking, we booked the standard rate (not the relax rate) and the cancellation policy was 100% refundable if cancelled no later than 14 days prior to our reservation date.

[brockmom]

I am sorry I am not techie….

it was at the bottom of the quote from the hotel.

 

cancellation policy for superior double room- 

March 30-oct 31 ( but Aug 1-31) Dec 27- Jan 1- Easter- 7 days before arrival. For 3 or more nights reservations, the 50% of the total amount might be debited.

 

that is what the email said. I just found it strange to be listed after it states above, 7 days.

 

at any rate, I think we are leaning more towards the Hotel Damaso…..as we need a place for 5 nights and it is a little more affordable.

thanks !

[Scottee25]

50 minutes ago, brockmom said:

I am sorry I am not techie….

it was at the bottom of the quote from the hotel.

 

cancellation policy for superior double room- 

March 30-oct 31 ( but Aug 1-31) Dec 27- Jan 1- Easter- 7 days before arrival. For 3 or more nights reservations, the 50% of the total amount might be debited.

 

that is what the email said. I just found it strange to be listed after it states above, 7 days.

 

at any rate, I think we are leaning more towards the Hotel Damaso…..as we need a place for 5 nights and it is a little more affordable.

thanks !

 

So I just checked the email I received from the hotel in regards to our booking. What it states is, if you don't cancel the reservation at least 7 says before arrival, you could be charges 50% of the rate for your scheduled stay. My reservation is 14 days prior. So in our case, our reservation is May 9, 2020. If we need to cancel this reservation for any reason, we must do so before April 25th. If we cancel on April 25th or later, we could be charged 50% of our total reservation. In your case, it sounds like you would need to cancel at least 7 days prior to the scheduled reservation, otherwise you could be charges 50% of the rate if your scheduled stay is 3 nights or longer. As long as you don't foresee having to cancel in the week prior to check in, I wouldn't consider this a major issue, but I understand you wanting to do what makes you comfortable. 

[Scottee25]

On 7/8/2021 at 9:38 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

What I would suggest is that you reach out to the hotel directly via email and ask them for their best rate for the room that you want for 6 days. I find in general it is better to be polite and a bit less direct than one might be when dealing with US hotels. Keep in mind it is not a large operation. How much leeway you might be offered may depend on when you are staying. There is a definitely seasonality to prices in Rome.

 

Just wanted to give an update that my girlfriend reached out to Albergo del Senato and they offered to give us the same rate for Friday and Saturday nights that we received for Monday-Thursday nights which ended up saving us about 47 Euros which is what we would have had to pay for the city tax for our stay. My girlfriend has said that their correspondence has been very polite and helpful. We are really looking forward to our 6 nights in one of their penthouse suites! 🙂

[cruisemom42]

3 hours ago, Scottee25 said:

 

When I looked over both of their websites, both states that English speaking drivers could not be guaranteed on transfers as they are generally reserved for tours. Still 40 Euros is still a pretty significant difference in price for the same service.

 

I fully agree. I think my original response might have been a little unclear.

 

No company is going to "guarantee" English speaking drivers in my experience, as you never know what may happen on a given day. However RIL (more than other agencies) has a reputation -- and many hundreds of reviews here to bear that out -- for having drivers that are both fairly fluent and able to impart a good deal of information on their tours. They are not "guides" -- they cannot get out of the car and guide you through the sites -- but they can orient you in advance and provide info, background, etc. They also seem to be (based on reviews) bon vivants who are quite good at being entertaining, adapting on the fly to their customers, etc.

 

What may not have been clear is that I don't think such a range of services is worth paying extra for when you're engaging a driver strictly for a transfer from Point A to Point B. 

 

Also, I didn't mean to give the impression that other drivers with other agencies don't understand English. I've not yet had one to whom I wasn't able to communicate the vital information to get me where I needed to be.

 

 

 

 

[brockmom]

2 hours ago, Scottee25 said:

 

Just wanted to give an update that my girlfriend reached out to Albergo del Senato and they offered to give us the same rate for Friday and Saturday nights that we received for Monday-Thursday nights which ended up saving us about 47 Euros which is what we would have had to pay for the city tax for our stay. My girlfriend has said that their correspondence has been very polite and helpful. We are really looking forward to our 6 nights in one of their penthouse suites! 🙂

How lovely ! A penthouse! Enjoy those amazing views ….how nice is that ! And thanks for easing my mind ! 

[Oceangoer2]

On 7/9/2021 at 4:48 PM, Oceangoer2 said:

Thanks for ALL your very helpful communications.....trying to sort through choices when one has NO knowledge of Rome and possible pitfalls it's great you have so detailed info to share.  We appreciate knowing that R in Limo has English speaking drivers to help us through.  Thanks also for your advice re hotels (we settled on Santa Chiara).

Re hotel in Rome....we changed to Albergo del Senato....more costly but superior room with a better view is worth it to us having never stayed in Rome and we really want to enjoy every aspect of our stay.  It's described as *** but others who have stayed there think it should be rated higher.  Any opinions otherwise?

 

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Re hotel in Rome....we changed to Albergo del Senato....more costly but superior room with a better view is worth it to us having never stayed in Rome and we really want to enjoy every aspect of our stay.  It's described as *** but others who have stayed there think it should be rated higher.  Any opinions otherwise?

 

 

Another "educational moment" about hotels in Italy:

 

The number of "stars" a hotel is assigned in the Italian rating system have little to do with how posh or well-run they are. Instead, it is based more on what amenities the hotel is able to offer. For example, does the hotel have a full-restaurant or only breakfast service?  Does the hotel have conference facilities/meeting rooms?  etc.

 

I've stayed in three star hotels that are absolutely lovely (like the del Senato) with quality materials (expensive tile, fabric wall coverings, soft goods), well-run, clean, and so on. It's also possible to find four star hotels (particularly outside the Centro Storico) that are run-down and have less than stellar service but may have that all-important 24-hour room service or the requisite number of meeting rooms and AV services.

 

 

[cruisemom42]

On 7/13/2021 at 1:29 PM, brockmom said:

Will the roof top be available for the customers

to enjoy in October? I understand the bar service there may be offered only during warmer months, but I would be so disappointed if we could not sit up top ( with our own glass of wine) and enjoy the views.

Perhaps Lew knows this ?

 

It's a good question and perhaps one worth emailing the hotel to ask. I know that when I first stayed there, some 15 years ago, the rooftop area was definitely CLOSED UP from somewhere around the middle to the end of October and thereafter until spring. They actually removed the furniture. Last time I was there was for a week in early December and I didn't even bother checking, creature of habit that I am...

 

Now, with the increased desirability of alfresco dining, rooftop views, etc. they may have re-thought that. Many places in Rome have those outside heater/lamps that are used to good effect. But it can get quite breezy and cool up top as opposed to being down in the Piazza.  It might be better just to plan on enjoying your glass of wine seated in the piazza with the Pantheon in front of you. 

 

One other funny (?) story.  In Rome there is an ongoing fight against the seagulls, who have now become a bigger nuisance than pigeons. (They are not only more aggressive, they are also louder!). The rooftop bar at del Senato has been known to attract some of these seagulls who love nothing more than to come and snatch the potato chips or pretzels you are served alongside your pre-dinner aperitivo. I've seen it happen to the unwary -- you have been warned!

 

Edited July 14, 2021 by cruisemom42

[cruisingxpert]

Who? Me?  At rooftop patio at Hotel Smeraldo

[toddw2u]

1 hour ago, cruisingxpert said:

Who? Me?  At rooftop patio at Hotel Smeraldo

I will be staying at the Smeraldo this September, and I'll be sure to keep an eye out for this character!

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

Who? Me?  At rooftop patio at Hotel Smeraldo

 

Brilliant!