Albergo Santa Chiara

[Moon Orchid]

We stayed at this hotel for 3 nights and were very happy! Huge thanks to all the wonderful people of Cruise Critic for recommending this hotel. It’s a very nice hotel, quiet despite being directly behind the Pantheon, and great location that’s within a walkable distance to everything. We only used taxis to get to the Vatican and Colosseum, everything else was less than 10-15 minutes walking.

 

We had the superior double and our daughter had the superior single. Both rooms were clean and spacious. The staff were always pleasant and gave us free water bottles every day. The hotel breakfast was also good.

Nearby, we ate lunch at La Sagrestia, which was average pasta aimed more towards the local crowd. For dinner, we walked to Saltimboca which was only 8 minutes from the hotel. It was so good we ate there twice and enjoyed the patio seating. On the last night, we ate at Osteria da Fortunata, also close to the Pantheon. For dessert, we loved gelato at Frigidarium and Venchi. For great midday snacks, we had pastries from Roscioli’s and Bona pizzas.

Overall, lots to see and eat while staying at this hotel’s perfect location.

 

Edited September 3 by Moon Orchid

[cruisemom42]

I've stayed twice at this hotel and agree it's a good option. Their deluxe single rooms are larger than many city single rooms. And their breakfast is also a step above many, though one should not expect it to be a full American-style one.

 

The location near the Pantheon has been my favorite for years.

[Moon Orchid]

10 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I've stayed twice at this hotel and agree it's a good option. Their deluxe single rooms are larger than many city single rooms. And their breakfast is also a step above many, though one should not expect it to be a full American-style one.

 

The location near the Pantheon has been my favorite for years.

We loved Albergo Santa Chiara. Thanks to your recommendation that we booked this hotel. My daughter loves her roomy single room. The lady from house keeping was so cute, she didn’t speak much English but always cheerful and helpful. I agree with you about the great breakfast.
We will stay here again next time for sure.

[firefly333]

Thanks I have this hotel booked.

[LEtue]

Just stayed there in June with my family and it was wonderful!  The breakfast was great too before heading out for the day.  Highly recommend!!

[firefly333]

On 9/3/2024 at 4:26 AM, Moon Orchid said:

We stayed at this hotel for 3 nights and were very happy! Huge thanks to all the wonderful people of Cruise Critic for recommending this hotel. It’s a very nice hotel, quiet despite being directly behind the Pantheon, and great location that’s within a walkable distance to everything. We only used taxis to get to the Vatican and Colosseum, everything else was less than 10-15 minutes walking.

 

We had the superior double and our daughter had the superior single. Both rooms were clean and spacious. The staff were always pleasant and gave us free water bottles every day. The hotel breakfast was also good.

Nearby, we ate lunch at La Sagrestia, which was average pasta aimed more towards the local crowd. For dinner, we walked to Saltimboca which was only 8 minutes from the hotel. It was so good we ate there twice and enjoyed the patio seating. On the last night, we ate at Osteria da Fortunata, also close to the Pantheon. For dessert, we loved gelato at Frigidarium and Venchi. For great midday snacks, we had pastries from Roscioli’s and Bona pizzas.

Overall, lots to see and eat while staying at this hotel’s perfect location.

 

 

On 9/17/2024 at 7:25 PM, LEtue said:

Just stayed there in June with my family and it was wonderful!  The breakfast was great too before heading out for the day.  Highly recommend!!

Could one of you tell me what they offered for breakfast. Is it brought to your room, not a buffet.

 

Both of you say it was great, but neither says a word about what the food was. Coffee juice, bread... what else? Anything pastries? Give me a hint please. I am booked next may and have a excursion I meet at 9 am. Will I get enough to last me until a late lunch. 

 

Thanks. I've never been and so I really do not have any idea what to expect. 

[Moon Orchid]

Hello - It's buffet style and located in a small dining room on the first floor near the main lobby. The staff just ask for your room number upon entering. Plus it was never crowded when we ate at 7-8 am. For food choices, there's the standard scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, yogurt, croissants etc. There's also some pastries that you can munch on to go with the coffee / espresso offered. It's a light breakfast, but definitely fills you up enough to last until lunch. In case you want to relax after breakfast, before you head out for the day, or after a long day in Rome there's an additional large sitting room behind the reception desk that is very comfy too. Hope this helps!

Edited September 20 by Moon Orchid

[Moon Orchid]

Sorry for the tiny picture, here's a better version I grabbed from the internet 

 

Edited September 20 by Moon Orchid

[firefly333]

9 hours ago, Moon Orchid said:

Hello - It's buffet style and located in a small dining room on the first floor near the main lobby. The staff just ask for your room number upon entering. Plus it was never crowded when we ate at 7-8 am. For food choices, there's the standard scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, yogurt, croissants etc. There's also some pastries that you can munch on to go with the coffee / espresso offered. It's a light breakfast, but definitely fills you up enough to last until lunch. In case you want to relax after breakfast, before you head out for the day, or after a long day in Rome there's an additional large sitting room behind the reception desk that is very comfy too. Hope this helps!

Ham and bacon and scrambled eggs to me is a real breakfast, more than what I would have expected. I was thinking just bread or pastries when you all kept saying not a full breakfast. Juice? Or just coffee, though I'm good with coffee if there is cream. Cant drink it black. Sounds filling to me.

 

What is a big breakfast to you? Sounds great to me. Thanks so much.

[Moon Orchid]

11 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Ham and bacon and scrambled eggs to me is a real breakfast, more than what I would have expected. I was thinking just bread or pastries when you all kept saying not a full breakfast. Juice? Or just coffee, though I'm good with coffee if there is cream. Cant drink it black. Sounds filling to me.

 

What is a big breakfast to you? Sounds great to me. Thanks so much.

I call it a lighter breakfast considering the amount of energy we'll need to walk around the city the entire morning😊.
To answer your question, the hotel has orange juice and varieties of teabags. I don't drink coffee, but my husband said they did have cream for his coffee.

Edited September 21 by Moon Orchid

[firefly333]

On 9/20/2024 at 8:12 PM, Moon Orchid said:

I call it a lighter breakfast considering the amount of energy we'll need to walk around the city the entire morning😊.
To answer your question, the hotel has orange juice and varieties of teabags. I don't drink coffee, but my husband said they did have cream for his coffee.

Ok one more newbie question. 

 

Do the rooms have safes? One of my tours says 1 small bag only. To expedite getting thru several security points, dont bring a big purse, backpack etc. 

 

If there is a safe do you consider it safe to leave stuff in it? I've read stories rome isnt safe.

[cruisemom42]

10 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Ok one more newbie question. 

 

Do the rooms have safes? One of my tours says 1 small bag only. To expedite getting thru several security points, dont bring a big purse, backpack etc. 

 

If there is a safe do you consider it safe to leave stuff in it? I've read stories rome isnt safe.

 

Yes, there are in-room safes.

 

I've always used the in-room safes in various hotels in Rome (including this one) and never had a problem. I mean, nothing in life is guaranteed, but I would say chances are very, very, very slim that you'd have something stolen from a locked in-room safe.

 

[firefly333]

1 minute ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Yes, there are in-room safes.

 

I've always used the in-room safes in various hotels in Rome (including this one) and never had a problem. I mean, nothing in life is guaranteed, but I would say chances are very, very, very slim that you'd have something stolen from a locked in-room safe.

 

Thank you. I have a tablet to take pictures I'm already worried about since they said on my excursion I can only bring 1 small purse. My tablet wouldn't fit in a small purse so I was hoping to leave some things in my safe. 

 

It's so worrying doing this for the first time.

[oufpat]

Based on all the positive comments, I just booked this hotel.

 

[Moon Orchid]

On 9/22/2024 at 5:56 PM, firefly333 said:

Thank you. I have a tablet to take pictures I'm already worried about since they said on my excursion I can only bring 1 small purse. My tablet wouldn't fit in a small purse so I was hoping to leave some things in my safe. 

 

It's so worrying doing this for the first time.

Yes, the hotel has an in room safe. Overall, we had no problem safely storing our belongings there. Our daughter was worried about someone taking our passports from the hotel room. But after checking in, we felt comfortable enough and knew that our belongings would likely be there when we got back 😄We carried a laminated copy of our passport for backup, but ended up leaving original passports at the hotel. We also only carried one credit card and left most cash in the safe with no problems

 

Our shuttle van picked us up from the airport and dropped off directly at the hotel's front door. We were worried that there wouldn't be access from the main road and we'd have to drag our suitcases across cobblestone, turns out we worried for nothing.

 

For personal bags, I switched between two small crossbody purses that I always wore in front of me. My husband used a small sling bag for all our excursions in Rome and it was great for holding a water bottle , sunscreen without getting heavy. It's a very good size - not too big or too small, just right. I saw lots of people using mid size backpack in Rome.

 We walked around a lot, around crowds, using taxis as needed, and no issues .There is a taxi stand located at the right side of Pantheon .
It was our first time in Europe, but if you just pay extra caution when around big crowds you should be fine. We walked to see the free entertainment in front of Pantheon at night ,and went to the Trevi Fountain at 5:30 one morning to take pictures and felt perfectly safe. 
 

Edited Wednesday at 12:54 AM by Moon Orchid

[firefly333]

4 hours ago, Moon Orchid said:

Yes, the hotel has an in room safe. Overall, we had no problem safely storing our belongings there. Our daughter was worried about someone taking our passports from the hotel room. But after checking in, we felt comfortable enough and knew that our belongings would likely be there when we got back 😄We carried a laminated copy of our passport for backup, but ended up leaving original passports at the hotel. We also only carried one credit card and left most cash in the safe with no problems

 

Our shuttle van picked us up from the airport and dropped off directly at the hotel's front door. We were worried that there wouldn't be access from the main road and we'd have to drag our suitcases across cobblestone, turns out we worried for nothing.

 

For personal bags, I switched between two small crossbody purses that I always wore in front of me. My husband used a small sling bag for all our excursions in Rome and it was great for holding a water bottle , sunscreen without getting heavy. It's a very good size - not too big or too small, just right. I saw lots of people using mid size backpack in Rome.

 We walked around a lot, around crowds, using taxis as needed, and no issues .There is a taxi stand located at the right side of Pantheon .
It was our first time in Europe, but if you just pay extra caution when around big crowds you should be fine. We walked to see the free entertainment in front of Pantheon at night ,and went to the Trevi Fountain at 5:30 one morning to take pictures and felt perfectly safe. 
 

My excursion specifically says no backpacks, no large purses, etc. I can get the exact wording but says cant bring a large purse or backpack to hold them up from going through security fast. I travel light so usually not a issue.