Roman hotels

We are staying at Hotel Smeraldo in June. It is right in the Centro Storico, has a rooftop garden, and air conditioning.

It gets great reviews, for the most part, on Tripadvisor. Apparently, the staff can be less than helpful at times, but, otherwise, it sounds fabulous.

We have stayed at the Hotel Navona several times and will stay there again. Has a great location just off of Piazza Navona. In the historical district and within easy walking distance of most of the sites. Check out their website - www.hotelnavona.com.

Hotel Smeraldo was the hotel I was considering but was told they do not guarantee non-smoking rooms. Did you find this a problem?

Residenza Cellini near Piazza della Repubblica--and in Steves' Italy guidebook--is beautiful, affordable as far as Rome goes--and a charming location with easy Metro access to all sites. We were there in December. The service and attention was impeccable!

Ummmmmm .... I never thought about non-smoking rooms! I guess we'll live dangerously.

Hi Madeline--My husband and I stayed at the Smeraldo a couple of years ago; we had a great experience. There was no problem at all with the room, smell or otherwise, and the staff was considerate, even though the airline lost my husband's bag and we must have stopped by the front desk about a hundred times. We must have caught the staff on a good week! The location is ideal! I would definitely recommend them!

I stayed at Gea di Vulcano on via Nazionale - 10 minutes walk with luggage from Termini. It is almost opposite the church of San Giovanni Mura where evening opera concerts are held. It is Euro120 p/n. Quiet. Italian breakfast is at a little cafe around the corner. The hotel in on the first floor(2nd floor to Americans)of a building. I booked through www.en.venere.com

http://www.gulliversplace.com/

The Hotel Lancelot is clean, quiet and lovely. Two blocks from the Colosseum, garden rooms with views. It's a quiet little neighborhood next to a lovely church with cloistered nuns. Vespers are worth visiting, every day at 5.

we stayed at the best western hotel canada 5 min walk to the termini. very clean . 139 euros/per night/dbl ( book on website early bird special) which included a nice breakfast buffet and free internet and a nice happy hour with goodies to snack on. we were very pleased and found it to be the nicest place we stayed in on our 15 day trip to italy. lot's of nice little dining options within walking distance also. good luck ):):) also no smoking rooms. they set up our cab for the airport too.

I stayed at the Hotel Smeraldo in 2006 and we had no problems. You can't beat the location, halfway between Campo dei Fiori and the Pantheon, with the ruins at Largo Argentina right near by. I don't remember if there was a smoking issue or not. The staff was friendly, breakfast was fine, rooms nice and I enjoyed the rooftop terrace. Also check out the travel section on www.cnn.com they just did an article "Rome hotels at a price that's right". The Smeraldo is there plus some other nice options.

I'm interested in July for the same kind of thing--a hotel in Rome only near the forum and the capitoline museum. I noticed the Lancelot for a double was around $285 a night. Does anyone know of anything a little less expensive in that area with A/C?

The convents are really cheap but with no A/C.

Any assistance is very much appreciated.

Nathaniel Means
Shreveport, Louisiana

Nathaniel wrote, "Does anyone know of anything a little less expensive in that area with A/C?"

Hotel Giardino is mentioned in the Rick Steves Rome book. It's cheaper, has AC, is located between the Forum and Treve Fountain.

We're planning to stay there when in Rome next year.

http://www.hotel-giardino-roma.com/

Hotel Giardino is the best hotel in Rome I've stayed in. The location can't be beat. As a bonus, there's a friendly English woman who speaks fluent American. Josh.

Madeline - Check out a B&B, the Nicolas Inn, where we just stayed a couple weeks ago. Great location - 5 min. walk from Colosseum and Forum. American woman (Melissa, from Chicago) and her husband, English-speaking Francois, are the friendly proprietors. 140 euros per night. Continental breakfast at nearby included. Non-smoking throughout. Can't go wrong. http://www.nicolasinn.com

Madeline, I can back up previous poster Bruce that Best Western Hotel Canada is an excellent value. Sort of a funny name, but it's a very nice hotel with an excellent breakfast. We stayed there last July.

Hi Madeline,

I stayed at Hotel Panda (http://www.pensionepanda.com/) last September and was really happy with it. I believe a double with a bathroom down the hall is 78 Euro, and a double with your own bathroom is 95 Euro. I chose this hotel because of it's location, on Via Della Croce (literally 2 blocks from the Spanish Steps). The rooms were small, but very clean and nicely decorated. The people at the desk were super nice, too. I believe I found it in my 'Let's Go!' book. I cannot remember if they have AC or not, but you could inquire. Good luck!

Hotel Suisse near the Spanish steps charged us 165 Euros/night...really nice location and the hotel was great as well.
http://www.hotelsuisserome.com/

I will also vouch for the hotel Panda...we tried to get in there first but we were not successful, thus the upgrade to the Suisse in the same general location.

hi madeline
if you look up freereservation.com you may find something. we used them and reserved an apartment in piazza navona for $500 4 nites. i paid a deposit of $78 aand will pay the rest in cash when we get to rome. good luck. rome is not cheap for hotels!!!!

I am also researching possible hotels in Rome. I just want to be close to historic Rome (been there before comfortable w/ public transport). Would like to keep it around 100-150 per night if possible. Found a seemingly nice B & B called 58 Le Real De Luxe B & B via 'easy to book' and would like any opinions! It reviewed well on that site (8.6) but I would like more confirmation. If no-one has been there please offer other suggestions! Last time I went I did it 'shoe string' back pack style and this time it will be honeymoon style.

We enjoyed Hotel Campo de'Fiori (hotelcampodefiori.com) this last summer. Professional front desk, great bathroom but small room with no view (for our affordability),historic location and fun roof-top terrace with amazing views

We are going to be staying at Hotel Raffaello near the Termini 12/26-12/30/08. I will let you know how it goes.

The OP posted on April 4 about a hotel requirement in September, so I guess she has been and returned by now.

i am ayearly traveler to italy and when i am in roma i usually stay at the massimo d'azeglio on via cavour. it is a 10 minute walk from the stazione termini (central station). you can access their website or use venere.com. the cost was around 110 euro or 120 euro. also, you can take the leonardo express from fiumacino for 9 euro per person and it goes directly to stazione termini. just follow the signs at the airport. from stazione termini you can use the metro or the buses.