I am starting to think about a late Spring trip to Rome. I really no longer want to support Airbnb/Vrbo, but hotels have gotten so very expensive. A few years ago, I lucked onto a locally owned service apartment in Naples that was amazing. Lovely space/location, welcoming concierge and daily maid service. Does anyone have any experience with something like that in Rome? My husband and I are older travelers, so we are beyond the hostel experience, but are not millionaires.
Thanks!
Look at aparthotels (apartment hotels) on your favourite booking search engine.
We stayed 5 nights at a unit here. You don’t give your price range or exact dates but it’s not inexpensive.
The location, the units, the breakfast…all wonderful.
You could stay for about $400 a night as a ballpark.
I have heard of this chain but not stayed in one.
https://www.adagio-city.com/gb/hotel-9346-aparthotel-adagio-rome-vatican/index.shtml?utm_source=googleMaps&utm_medium=seoMaps&utm_campaign=seoMaps&y_source=1_MTUzNTkyODctNzE1LWxvY2F0aW9uLndlYnNpdGU%3D
You could use Booking.com
If you don't support Booking.com either, you could use Agoda.com, however Agoda is owned by Booking.
Or your could use Expedia.
But VRBO is owned by Expedia, so I guess that cuts that out.
If you don't support those platforms because they are owned by big bad corporations, then you can stay at a hotel for a higher price. But, many hotels in Rome are also owned by big bad corporate entities. They are the same hotel lobbies that try to have you boycott Airbnb and VRBO, so that they can make more profit for their hotels.
We don't know who owns who nowadays. They are all gangsters so you can only choose from which gangster to be ripped off: the vacation apartment gangsters or the hotel lobby gangsters. So go with the gangster that offers you the best price and forget the boycotts.
Have you checked the RS Rome recommendations? He always tried to promote locally owned places over chains for exactly the reasons you want to avoid chains or gig economy companies.
If you specifically want an apartment your choices are going to be narrowed down considerably. There used to be realtors who made their living do exactly this - especially when long stays for independent travelers was an exotic idea. But AirBnB and VRBO have sucked up almost all the oxygen in this space leaving little else. In smaller places I've seen locals banding together to offer places but I have no leads in Rome.
Good luck,
=Tod
We stay in convent/monasteries
Is there a Hostel with a private room? Maybe even with its own bathroom, and not down the hall?
We’ve had that in Sorrento, Italy, and in Greece, but Rome has always been an Airbnb or a hotel.
Do you want a kitchen? If not, then I would also suggest looking at monasteries, although some are as expensive as a hotel room. We stayed at Suore di elisabetta, and it is a great location. We have also stayed at Villa San Pio, a very nice hotel, but just a little out of the centre on Aventine hill, and at the moment a room can be had there for 150 euros early April .
Late spring has the issues of easter, their national holiday on April 25 and then the May 1 holiday. I would play with your dates a bit to see if you can get better prices.
If you use booking.com or similar search engine you can filter by several parameters like accommodation type, price, distance from city center. Hotels and B&B are generally at least $150 a night or more in or near the city center. Apartments could be a bit less. If you want to spend less than 100€ a night the only alternative is to stay away from the city center. Nothing wrong with that, but you need to search the exact location so that you are close to a metro or tramway station.
We stopped using Airbnb after 14 years because of their exorbitant cleaning fees and their prices being insane in the last few years following Covid. Also their morals leave something to be desired. Lately we’ve been staying in rentals that we found either on booking but always contact the owners directly and if no contact info is visible we look for it. Sometimes it can be difficult to find it, other times not so much and we’ve also found that sometimes, depending on where one is staying/visiting, hotels aren’t that much more expensive or even the same prices as Airbnb self service apartment rentals. Sometimes a little internet sleuthing is all it takes, or, you could have a travel agent do it all for you. There are options that don’t involved Airbnb, VRBO, booking/expedia/travelocity/hotels . com most of which are all owned by the same company. ALL, except Airbnb, of the above are owned by one umbrella company including Agoda. You can also use Skyscanner to search for hotels/apartments. I’ve found them to be better than booking which I will not use even to search because even that makes them money
I share your dilemma because I much prefer having a kitchen. Have you looked at the Numa chain? I used them in Madrid and am considering them for a future trip to Rome
We stayed at Hotel Mozart, in one of their lovely serviced apartments. It was located a few blocks from the hotel, but we still had access to their front desk staff and breakfast if desired. I do not recall if there was maid service as we generally decline it. My in-laws stayed in the hotel itself and enjoyed it as well.
The hotel is walking distance to the Spanish Steps and a metro, so we found it very convenient.
