Please sign in to post.

River Palace Hotel in Rome

Has anyone had any experience staying at this hotel? That's where we made our reservation for in October and it seems to get great reviews, however it's not on any Rick Steve's list and it is a little north, right to the west of the Villa Borghese Gardens. Just checking before we spend a week there.

Posted by
2418 posts

It's pretty gritty on the street between there and the Piazza del Popolo and the last intersection, where the big arch looms above the tram stop, is tricky to get across, but the hotel itself looks fine, just like the Locarno (my preference in that neighborhood).
There's a community center with an attached elementary school that is worth poking your head in for a little local contemporary flavor, but I wouldn't eat or shop along that section. Take street noise into consideration.

Note that you will be walking down to the Piazza del Popolo no matter where you're heading, not towards the Borghese park - even when you go to use your timed ticket for the Villa. And when the Villa says no bags or purses, they really mean it.

Posted by
19 posts

Our travel agent suggested the River Palace Hotel in 2011 and we were quite pleased with our stay.
Our room was small but clean and the breakfast was excellent.
Staff were very helpful, especially the concierge.
Location was convenient to sights: Via del Corso, Vatican, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain were a pleasant walk away.
We still chuckle about the tiny elevator that went to our room; one person + one suitcase on end.
We are planning to return there on a future trip to Rome.

Posted by
23178 posts

It is a bit off of the beaten path and some distance from a lot of things. What is your rate? Rick's recommendations tend to be closer to the city center. We always stay in the Termini area simply for the convenience to transportation and some good resturants.

Posted by
3961 posts

Like Frank, we’ve stayed in the Termini area for convenience. We stayed twice at Residenza Cellini. www.residenzacellini.it. and were happy with location & service. That said, we had planned to return to Rome for a few nights last year prior to Sicily (canceled due to lockdown). We had decided to stay at Hotel Due Torri based on positive reviews from friends & my “go to’s” on this forum. We wanted a quiet location but close to Piazza Navona, Pantheon, restaurants… We also found out that Hotel Due Torri has a sister hotel south of Villa Borghese & minutes from Due Torri. Folks on this forum have also given positive reviews for this hotel & location. www.fontanellaborghese.com.
I do a lot of research and find the reviews on booking.com to be reliable.

Posted by
12 posts

Thank you for the responses. Originally the rate for the River Palace hotel was about $180/night, but we have decided on a more central location. The Hotel Damaso, which is 500 ft from the Piazza Navona and a 2 minute walk to Campo de' Fiori: https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/damaso.html. I think we got a fantastic rate on this as well by booking through their website. Through emails with the hotel they told me that they just re-opened after 16 months of being closed due to a lack of tourism and they've also recently remodeled. We are really excited. Every single review we've read gushes about the location.

Posted by
23 posts

@avirosemail, you said the River Palace is in a “gritty” location like the Hotel Locarno on Via Della Penne? I just want to confirm because the rooms are $450++. I was planning on it for Christmas and New Years. We’ve stayed at Russie and the whole area is pleasant and safe, in fact toni. I just want to confirm. Thanks

Posted by
2418 posts

@SuperTuscan, my comment above was about the street north/above the Piazza del Popolo being gritty,
not the area immediately south of the Piazza where the Locarno hotel is -- yes almost everything on that block is relatively upscale. Those restaurants with the sidewalk tables are all more than I can usually spend.