Rome: hotel or apartment

Mimi, I would check the RonInRome site, it's extremely comprehensive and easy to navigate. Friends of mine stayed at an apartment (I can't get the name or address) and got lots of information from the owner, but that's not always the case. If you find a place near the historic center (Centro Storico), you'll be within walking distance of most sights. I like the Piazza Navona/Pantheon/Campo dei Fiori area. There's a place called Casa Navona, across the street from the north entrance to Piazza Navona, and the sign on the door has contact info at an address in the Piazza, so presumably you can get some guidance there. Casa Navona has no lift. As for sightseeing, the RonInRome site will help with what interests you. The Rick Steves guide has good recommendations for walking tours as well. I like the little electric #116 mini-bus that zips around the major sights in the Centro Storico where the full-size buses don't fit (be sure to validate tickets in the little machines on the buses, unless you have a bus pass).

We stayed outside Zagarolo, and took a 30 minute commuter train into the Rome. There's as much to see outside the city as inside. Many incredible historical sites are also close by. WWW.OliveTreeHill.com is the top rated B&B outside Rome, and their rooms are very inexpensive @ E70. Ivano is part cook and part bus driver/tour operator. His midnight to sunup tour of downtown Rome is fantastic, and he's full of tourist information and history. Rome is not very hard to negotiate if you know the bus numbers to take where you're going. Daily bus passes are available. I found the crowds at popular sites to be the hardest thing to deal with. I too found RonInRome.com to be a very good website on this fantastic city. Rome is one of those places where you could spend 2 weeks and still not see it all.

Absolutley an apartment, and stick to Piazza Navona/Campo dei Fiori/Pantheon area. That will make it easy to return to rest and recuperate. Use VRBO or Homelidays to search. Do not stay outside of town. We live in Parioli, which is in the city, and every day I see tourists who stay near us in one of two very reasonably priced tourist hotels near us. They end up spending 45 minutes each eay to get to and from the centro storico, and that's IF the bus is on time and the connectons are good. It is well worth it to spend a little more on accomodations in the historic center and not waste your time coming and going. Do you have Rick Steves' Rome Guide? Very useful in planning what to see and where to go.

Staying outside town can be a false economy, you end up paying more on transport as you bus in and out, you end up spending time you could be touring, and you end up not taking full advantage of apartment. A central apartment is good because you can pop back in during day for an occaisonal lunch in, you wouldn't do that everyday,but its nice to have that option. Now, with that said, I stayed in a hotel both times I visited Rome, last time with my 11 yr old dd, and our hotel room had a/c ( critical in summer in Rome, and not as easy to find in apartments) and a mini fridge( which we stocked with juices, soda, yogurts and fruits , so we had snacks) .. I sort of feel a hotel is a good idea for first timers, and I personally like having my towels changed daily and beds made, I am on vacation, apartments are more work. We rented an apartment this past summer in Paris,( where I normally stay in hotels) and we only used the kitchen once to cook, the rest of the time we only used the fridge for wine and cheese and a few snacks,, so for some people an apartment isn' all that . The hotel we stayed at in Rome was Hotel Selene , it has triples and quad rooms, the quad room is about 120euros a night which is a good rate for a quad and the bedding is a queen and two singles, not a pull out couch ( which would be useless in your case) . [email protected]

I recommend staying in an apartment. You will have more space and a kitchen which I find very useful even just for snacking (which I'm sure your son will appreciate!) as well as breakfast since I am not a fan of the sweet cornetto and capuccino for breakfast which is typical in Italy. I've stayed in the Piazza Navona area, the area around the Vatican and the Aventino area. They were all good in different ways. If you have never been to Rome, you would probably prefer Piazza Navona/Campo dei Fiori areas. You can walk to the Pantheon and other sights from there if you want. Good bus connections from there too and while I understand your reluctance to use the bus, it's not as hard as you might think. Often the landlords are really helpful - many are pleased to give you suggestions about restaurants in the area etc. I suggest you have a map with you and that you ask the person who lets you into the apartment to mark the grocery stores and good restaurants on the map. I"ve had very good landlords who were more than happy to share everything they knew about the neighbourhood. Ron in Rome is a very helpful website. He covers so much and has photos on the site that will show you exactly what you need to know. I'm sure there is a hop on hop off bus you might want to consider for ease of mind if you don't feel comfortable with public transportation. These travel around stopping at the major sites and have recorded commentary. You can get off at the stops you like and then get on again when you are ready to move on. I also found that taxis were reasonably priced as long as you got them at a taxi stand. If you call the cab, you pay from the time they leave to pick you up until they drop you off. With 3 people, a taxi home at the end of the day can be a good option. Don't stress too much. I'm sure you will enjoy your trip.

Mimi As others have said, Ron in Rome is also a good site.
We used his tip with sleepinitaly,