staying in rome

we love the area near Piazza Navona, but usually book an apartment through Air BnB or VRBO, because we appreciate having a bit more space to relax in than a typical hotel room. if you have already mapped out the main sites you'd like to visit, perhaps look at a radius around which walking to the majority of them is convenient -- that's how we chose our preferred area the first time we visited Rome, and why mess with a good thing :~).

In October we'll be staying in an apartment a bit closer to the river, on via Giulia, but it's still convenient to Piazza Navona, the Vatican, Campo di Fiori and not too far a walk to the Colosseum. It's very close to Hotel Indigo, which looks nice.

We enjoyed our stay at the Lancelot this summer on our RS Rome tour https://www.lancelothotel.com/. Just a stroll from the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, St. Peter in Chains. Good restaurants nearby and a short walk to Monti a neighborhood with great restaurants. We walked everywhere (even to the Borghese and the Vatican) but public transportation close as is a taxi stand. The hotel staff helped tremendously, very nice family run hotel.

We like the Termini area. We've stayed at three different hotels there. We liked Hotel Sonya, but our favorite is the Aberdeen.
Both are in walkable areas, near public transportation, and new plenty of restaurants. We're not night life people, so I can't help you there.

We're already booked into the Aberdeen for next summer!

We always stay in the Termini area -- generally Hotel Sonya. As mentioned Aberdeen is very good but for some reason, unexplained, wife believes that the lattes at Sonya are better than Aberdeen. If they are, a very small margin of difference.

Seriously, we like the area for being convenient to transit and some nice, quiet restaurants in the area. Particular enjoy Target just behind the Aberdeen. Some will come along and say the Termini is seedy. But seedy is in the eye of the beholder. In an earlier life we lived and worked in Gary, IN -- now that was seedy -- still is.

We like the area near Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. A little pricey but we loved Palazzo Navona.

We stayed at Palazzo Olivia once and enjoyed the location as well as the extra space. While not on. Metro it is near he very atmospheric area around Piazza Navona and there are many convenient buses nearby. We walked to the Vatican and Colosseum. (Full disclosure: we are avid walkers and it was October so no heat issues.) We would stay there again.

We like the area around the Pantheon and Navona. It is definitely more central than the unattractive area near the Termini. There is a nice choice of restaurants in this part of Rome. We have stayed at Hotel Due Torri and would stay there again--walking distance to Pantheon, Navona, and Spanish Steps.

We stayed at Hotel Regno on Via del Corso. Two blocks to the Pantheon one way, two blocks to Trevi Fountain the other. Bus stop a few feet from hotel if needed. We did take the bus to the Vatican because we had to be there early for our tour, but walked back. Also walked to the Borghese museum. Very Centrally located with a great breakfast.

Frank, I will say that the Hotel Sonya had the best mortadella I have ever eaten. Anywhere.

Still prefer the Aberdeen, though. :-)

Thanks for the tip about the Target restaurant. We haven't tried that one. There are a number of good, inexpensive places on Via del Viminale, which is easily walkable from the Aberdeen, and is the street the Sonya is on.

If money was no issue, we'd be staying around the Pantheon. We usually stay in B&B's or small hotels in the neighborhood at the Ottaviano/St. Pietro metro stop. It's very close to the Vatican Museum and just a short walk to St. Peters.

We stayed at Minerva Relais, a Bed and Breakfast in the Pantheon area. Highly recommend, very clean, nice breakfast, friendly staff. We had them set up a private driver to the airport the day with left, everything went smoothly. Very easy to walk to most sites and quiet at night. We used booking.com. We paid about $160 per night.

Hello,

I have stayed in the Termini neighborhood on my trips to Rome. I have not stayed at any of the Termini area hotels usually mentioned on posts like this or RS suggested ones. Peeps on here who have used them liked their visits.

I will attest that I never heard a peep from my hotel room. It is nestled sweetly. You would never know you were in the Termini area.

With that, Termini gets a bad rap every now and then. And, sure, it may not have a pretty piazza you can overlook. But, it can have nice views if you are in the right hotel. One has to exercise common sense and good judgement -- as with any large city. I had no issues walking in and around, to and from Termini at different times. Still, there is a noticeable police and military presence to keep the "itchy ones" in line, lol.

Keep in mind a few things: Staying in or close to the major piazzas will be convenient of course but also may work against you. If you are a light sleeper or go to bed earlier than 11:00 PM or 12:00 AM, some late night travelers may keep you awake or may wake you.

As a couple suggested, Piazza Navona and Piazza della Rotonda (The Pantheon) can seem relatively quiet after the shops and restaurants close.

Campo de' Fiori may be the liveliest in terms of street noise, late night travelers / party people, street cleaners and the like.

The Trevi area may be quiet too. Even if you get the late late night Fountain seekers. There is the police near the Trevi to keep order.

I am not sure about Piazza di Spagna (The Spanish Steps) which can be another lively piazza. The street cleaners are busy cleaning in and around the piazza.

Oh and staying around the Colosseum area. It may be a bit busy with street noise.

Take a look at the web cams for the Lazio Region (Roma) https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/lazio.html

Peeking in at different times of the day will give you an idea (so to speak) of how each piazza is on certain days and certain times.

Happy planning! Rome is gorgeous ~ an inspiring, walkable, outdoor museum with a surprise around almost every corner.

Adding to my above and borrowing Jay of Chicago's suggestion:

This one https://www.hotelcampodefiori.com/en/ was recommended by Jay of Chicago
He has stayed there at the hotel and at a small studio apartment.

Then, there is this boutique hotel https://www.boutiquehoteltrevi.it/it/ (very near to Trevi Fountain)

Borrowing the recommendation from Alan Folsom
"We stayed here the night before our departure" -- https://www.hotelsancarloroma.com/.

We enjoyed our 4-night stay at Hotel Due Torri.
http://www.hotelduetorriroma.com/en/
It’s walking distance to the Colosseum, Vatican and old Rome. Nice staff, quiet room on narrow, no traffic street.

Hotel Du Torri, mentioned by a couple of people above, has a sister hotel. It is Hotel Fontanella Borghese near the Spanish Steps. We've stayed there a number of times and have always been pleased. While it is not "luxury", it is very nice and the location is great. The staff is very friendly and helpful. You can walk to Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Nuvona, even Vatican city. We always send an email directly with our request for a booking and we get an answer back in 24 hours or less. Ask for a room overlooking the courtyard as rooms overlooking the side street can get noisy. The web site is www.fontanellaborghese.com.

Thanks Girasole, I forgot to mention Hotel San Carlo. It was very nice. The neighborhood was crowded as it’s very close to the Spanish Steps. And the restaurants they suggested were good, but the prices were higher than we had seen elsewhere in Rome. Someone mentioned noise near The Coliseum-although the Lancelot is a few blocks away it is on a very quiet street, so not really an issue there.

Thanks Girasole, I forgot to mention Hotel San Carlo. It was very nice. The neighborhood was crowded as it’s very close to the Spanish Steps.

Great! Another to add to my "list" for potential stays - The Lancelot.

If you want to stay near the Vatican, we are big fans of the Hotel Museum-it's literally down some steps from the entrance to the Vatican Museums and when we were last there, in 2008, the breakfast was really good.

Hi again,

I like to suggest watching The Roman Guy videos. They have many for Rome and other parts of Italy and even Paris.

This is a narration by Sean of suggested places to stay in Rome (and all its neighborhoods/districts.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI1-8Y_9Mf8

You have gotten a lot of good suggestions whether personal from guests or doing a browse. Hopefully you can choose an area suitable to your likes and needs. Have fun!

Maybe you will have time or interest to browse other Roman Guy videos. They offer a lot of helpful suggestions and information geared to the newer traveler to Italy and even a refresher to others.

Some of the videos are a couple months old to a few years old but still offer some good basic tips. Sean narrates most of them. They are down-to-Earth, humorous at times, educational and easy to understand while giving you a good starter glimpse into Roman life.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRomanGuyTours

Always good to check direct websites of whatever a company suggests -- for changes, new policies, new pricing, etc.

We have stayed twice in the Termini area for convenience to sites and transportation. Our hotel preference both times was Hotel Residenza Cellini. This hotel is around the corner from another RS favorite, Hotel Aberdeen. www.residenzacellini.it

A few years ago my wife and I stayed at Nicolas Inn, based on RS guidebook recommendation and we were very pleased. It’s in the Monti neighborhood, close to metro stop, good restaurants and a fun little piazza nearby. I think email is best way to book a room, they don’t seem to keep an up to date website. It’s clean and basic with only 6 rooms maybe. I thought the bathroom was large for Europe’s standard.
The hotel doesn’t offer breakfast on site, but they have an agreement with a local coffee bar a few doors down...they instructed us to order whatever we want, it’s on the house. But we didn’t go crazy; just cappuccino and cornetti. It was fun to eat w the locals.

I think RS still has it listed in the guidebook.
Good luck!

My husband and I are again staying @ Smeraldo, Campo de'Fiori & loved the neighborhood when my daughter & I did a Rick Steves tour and used the same hotel. It is close to everything, within walking distance of all the major points of interest & just a lovely neighborhood! Small, locally run inn that was just perfect for us.

We stay at Hotel Aberdeen. It is not a fancy hotel, but we have always found the rooms to be more than comfortable and clean. The hotel staff is outstanding and breakfast is very good. It is close to the Piazza Repubblica Metro station and just up the street from Via Nazionale if you want to catch certain buses. It is a short walk to Termini Station for buses, trains, or the metro. We generally walk while in Rome, but have occasionally used the Metro. We have always felt safe in this area of Rome and would have no qualms about staying at the Aberdeen again. Buon Viaggio.

I recommend Navona Gallery and Garden Suites in the Piazza Navona area, at a walking distance from the main sites.
Staff is very friendly and you will feel like at home. Restaurants and bars are just outside the main door.
www.navonagardensuites.com

@lisalu- Thanks for your follow up. Always great to hear how experiences worked out! Glad it was positive. After hearing this, Rome is calling us back!