Rome hotel vs Airbnb for single older woman

I fit your category & travel solo in Italy (and also with others). My preference when traveling solo is to stay in a small hotel or B&B. I don’t choose AirBnb’s because I don’t feel personally that that option is as safe. But, I am a very safety conscious person, so that affects my choices. For Rome, I like the Pantheon-to-Trevi fountain general area when traveling solo for convenience, and it has lots of people walking around in the evening.

Thanks Jean for the reply. Am searching for smaller more affordable hotels for my dates (21-24 Oct) but availability seems to be an issue. Will keep my Airbnb in Trastevere as a backup while I continue looking for other options.

Hotel Smeraldo is my choice, single older woman. Close to everything, nice single rooms, and a couple of nice restaurants close by, plus a great deli/bakery. It is recommended by many on this site so reservation could be difficult at this late date.

I usually stay at lower mid-priced hotels and B&Bs, never stayed in an AirB&B. This year I stayed at a monastery in Salzburg: very affordable, low key, clean, safe, great location. I have booked a monastery in both Rome and Florence for next year. The Rome monastery is near Largo di Torre Argentina. Look at https://www.monasterystays.com/ for research. I booked directly with the monasteries because their cancellation policies and prices were better. I travel solo when I'm not on a Rick Steves tour and am over 70.

I've had great luck with Air B&B in Europe, both from a cost and quality standpoint. I'm not as safety conscious because I'm a male but I traveled single for a few years and loved staying in a studio apartment (with a washing machine).

If safety is an issue, consider renting a room (with a dedicated bathroom) in someone's home. If you pick a super host, they will have had many guests. You will be safe and not alone. The host can give you recommendations, help make reservations, etc. Often you will have an opportunity to get to know a local family, which to me is a bonus. In Chinon, I had dinner with a single dad and his two daughters. North of Dublin, we had a nice visit with the owner, a professor, and his wife, a classical pianist. In Heidelberg, the owner introduced herself and brought a local beer. She was a violinist in the local orchestra.

I'll be in Rome Oct 20-25 (now with my wife) and am staying in an Air B&B apartment in the Monti area. The price is $1100 for six nights for two people. Not cheap but certainly not outrageous for a good location in Rome.

One caution I have with Air B&B is watch the location carefully. I had a booking in Bordeaux that I thought would be near the center. It ended up being a very long walk, and public transportation in Bordeaux isn't great. They don't give you the exact address until after you've booked. I look for clues before I book (name of neighborhood, reviews of location, etc.), then immediately map it on Google maps after I book. I only book a place that allows cancelations. If the location isn't what I expected, I cancel and search again.

Hope that's helpful,

Brad

Hey there, good question & good advice. Although Trastevere is a great neighborhood, it's the oldest so small narrow streets across the river from most sites and can get very crowded in the evenings. I don't think there's a 'bad' neighborhood in the tourist areas of Rome. This guy has done a good job of explaining the neighborhoods, maybe it will help you look at the areas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhQXDhwVxAE.

There’s not much inventory left for those dates! I search for Rome City Center on Booking.com and filter with these, plus I set the price range:

• 8+ rating
• Private bathroom
• Hotel

I'll agree with Jean an dothers on preferring a small hotel as an older senior woman. In ANY location I want one with a front desk that is staffed 24/7 as well. In most of the small hotels I've stayed in the front desk person recognizes guests after they've been there a day or so which makes me feel pretty safe.

I would feel the least safe renting a room in someone's home. Years ago acquaintances did that in Paris and it was a spare bedroom in a young guy's apartment. He seemed perfectly nice and there were 2 of the friends but they were sharing his bathroom and just no....not a situation I would want to put myself in. I'm not sure if Air B&B even does that any more!

No suggestions on hotels though. I last stayed in Rome last October on a Rick Steves tour and I'd not recommend that hotel.

(OK, well, I just realized the hotel where I just stayed on Orkney did not have a 24 hr front desk as the staff were also running the bar and restaurant BUT there were people around and they recognized me after about 2 hours, hahaha!)

Definitely stay close to what you want to see. I’m in Rome right now and it’s HOT and humid, the buses are unreliable in their schedules and they are packed. We aren’t choosing the subway because of all the stairs in the A line (serves the area I’m staying in of course).
Taxis can’t be pre-booked (so I’m told) and we are selecting an Uber to the train station early in the morning.

AirBnBs are cool and all but they drive up the price of housing for locals. Plus they don't serve breakfast!

We have also stayed at Il Rosario and would recommend it highly. Great value and great location.

I’ve done both as a single traveler over the years and felt safe. But with more and more questions about the legality of some private apartment rentals coupled with the thought that no one would notice if I was missing and when my husband tried tracking me down if something untoward occurred….. I’ve decided I probably should stick to hotels from now on.

The price difference can be an issue I know. I’m doing a week solo in Vienna in November and did find a great deal in a small hotel so I haven’t felt the pinch of the higher prices of hotels these days yet. Good luck.

Hey OP, Based upon several recommendations for Il Rosario, I looked and it has rooms available for your dates for 67 Euros a night! I just checked... https://www.casailrosarioroma.it/index.php/en/house/house-il-rosario

Book your stay at Convent Casa "il Rosario" which provides bed and breakfast accommodation in a peaceful and safe environment. Enjoy a unique experience in Rome in the Monti district with its trendy bars and its restaurants where to savour the special roman cooking.

I think we are all different and situations are different. So my answer is more to throw my perspective on an apartment as opposed to a small hotel as a solo female traveler, since I have nothing helpful to add regarding Rome and your location choices. (Apologies)

I choose my lodging based on inventory and charm and location and price. Location, which is what you are considering, helps drive safety in my mind. If I am attacked somewhere, a hotel may not notice if I didn’t return at night - or maybe even the following night - this is SO dependent upon hotel selection that a blanket statement doesn’t really work. So I haven’t actually considered “safety” as a factor in several years.

A hotel will usually have a front desk to help if I think my stay may require that (convenience). It is usually easier to access the first time (no key or code retrieval). But some cities/towns I go just have more availability in apartments - or the hotels aren’t in the location I want - or the cost is quite a bit higher - or I love the look of a certain apartment - or I want a stop with more space and a washer - etc. I agree not knowing exact location can be an issue, which is why I am more likely to use booking.com than AirBnB as a platform. I just left a cute apartment and am now in am amazing hotel - both chosen based on location (well, and charm 🤣). And sometimes a bed&breakfast is the way to go!

So, this is more an encouragement (to you and anyone silently following this thread) to choose the most convenient location, balance that with affordability and any other criteria that matter to you, choose what rises to the top, keep an eye out for pickpockets in Rome while out and about, and enjoy your stay. :)

I'll admit I haven't been to Rome in several years, but I've stayed there several times. You might wish to consider what your actual "safety" worries are, and whether they are accurate. I know there have been crime reports for Barcelona and Dublin lately, but the fact is that there is much less street crime in Europe than there is in the U.S.A. And it tends to be less violent there. It's also true that big cities in the United States are not as dangerous as they are perceived to be.

I went to school with a woman whose parents would not permit her to study Art History in Italy, because of myths like Ruth Orkin’s “An American Girl in Italy”, the famous photograph of a young woman being ogled by older Italian men. Luckily, my friend became a museum curator anyway, with a Harvard Ph.D. So I'm asking, are you worrying about the right things?

Anyway, as a 72-year old, and a native of NYC, it occurs to me that you may be much "safer" in a hotel. Besides being safe from the (rare) predatory AirBnB owner, it's essentially impossible to get mugged entering a hotel lobby. But it happens in locked vestibules and in remote apartment doorways. If you get sick, you're likely to have better access to a recommended doctor, and if you fall in your room, there are more people to hear you calling out for help. There may even be a pull-chain alarm in the shower. There may be better fire protection in a hotel. And you can get advice about subway closures or strikes that may happen during your stay, that could strand you somewhere in town. And you can drop off your bag as soon as you arrive, freeing your arms for flight (or pleasant activities, like eating ... ) as soon as you get into town from the airport.

In fairness, I should say that I'm opposed to AirBnB. It is very harmful to local housing markets, and as someone who was brought up in a 16-story apartment building, I would not want that kind of transient noise and perhaps improper waste disposal. I'm glad my suburban town has prohibited rentals under 30 days.

I am a single, older woman. After touring Sicily, I wanted to stay in Rome for a few days. Rome is packed with tourists now. I wanted to stay near the Termini Station. I was able to obtain reservations at the Hotel Nardizzi Americano. [email protected]. Via Firenze 38, 4th Floor. The rooms are basic, but the bathroom was upgraded. The staff was friendly. The breakfast was good. The elevator is slow, but there IS an elevator. The charming tavola, Dagnino, is just around the corner on Via Torino. By the way, the Hotel Oceania is in the same building on the third floor.