Looking to (finally) get to Rome this spring. Family of 4 (me, husband, 2 teens).
Quad rooms are tough to find, looking for a property that is more modern in its amenities.
Goal would be strong internet connection (due to work requirements), in a walkable area. With a neighborhood for breakfasts/dinners would be great.
Any thoughts? Many thanks!
You might check with Hotel Italia Roma.
http://www.hotelitaliaroma.it/
They have quad rooms which are very spacious and clean and all have ensuite bathrooms. The hotel is on a quiet street and within easy walking distance of Termini station. Its also just around the corner from a bus stop where you can hop on to see all the sights (Bus #64 I think).
I believe Hotel Italia Roma had a little spot in their lobby where you could plug a LAN cord to your laptop and sit on a couch to work. Not sure if that would fit your needs?
I'm not sure their decor is "modern".
If "modern" is a requirement you might want to check IQ hotel. Has a "business center" that might be suitable for your work needs?
http://www.iqhotelroma.it/
I haven't used them, but Beehive and Crosspolinate get good reviews from friends of mine who take small groups of students to Rome (I think both places have the same ownership).
Europe is not that family friendly when it comes to lodging. While nearly every hotel room in the US or Canada is a "family room" with 2 queens (to use the European vernacular) rooms for 4 are not that common and rather expensive in Europe. Or the expectation is to get 2 rooms, but unless they are connecting rooms that means splitting up the adults.
The best solution is to go to the web and rent apartments. VRBO.com, flipkey, airbnb, and homeaway are samples of these. You will have to do funky things with deposits and such, send off money to strangers and meet in dark alleys to get the keys (just kidding about the dark alleys) but it works out much more cheaply than hotel rooms, is more comofratble, plus with a kitchen there is a cost and time savings for breakfast at the very least, if not 2 meals a day.
Have you tried Booking.com -- http://www.booking.com/? In the yellow search box, under Guests, click on More Options. There you can put in the number of children. Another box will pop up for you to put in their ages. Note that if they are 18 or older, they count as adults.
Fill in the rest of the information to get your initial results. Then you can Filter them by using the categories down the left side of the page. Facility and Room Facility is where you will find information for your work needs. I ignore the number of stars and require that the Review Score be 8+. Then I sort them by Review Score.
I tested this for one night, 14 April, and came up with 481 lodgings in Rome City Center for 4 people, 2 adults and 2 teens ages 16 and 17. Breakfast was included for 313 of those. You need to put in your actual information and use the filters that are important to you. You will see the numbers of places diminish as you get more specific, but I'm sure that you will find many options for your family of 4.
I have never actually booked a room through Booking.com. I have only used it to identify potential lodgings, then contacted the places directly to get more detailed information on them and sometimes to get a better deal. Booking.com may say that the hotel is sold out or that there is only one room available, but that means that's all they have to sell at the moment.
You can go to Trip Advisor to see what their reviews say (knowing that these may be iffy) and to get a link to the hotel, but sometimes a link isn't provided so a Google search is in order. Most hotel websites have an English option (British or British/American flag) to click on if it comes up in the native language.
In my experiment, the results included hotel rooms, B&B's and apartments. Be aware, that requiring breakfast to be included will likely bump out the apartments. Your results are also probably going to come up with $ U.S. Dollar as the currency. In the dark blue band at the top of the screen, you can change the currency by clicking on the $ and choosing Euro or the Hotel's Currency. That's a good way to start thinking in € instead of $.
I hope this helps and that you have fun with the rest of your planning and on your trip.
Our first family trip (4 people) to Rome was also our first apartment rental. Oh my gosh - THE best decision ever. Apartments are just so much more relaxing than hotel rooms. Usually there's more space, maybe more than 1 bathroom, kitchen where you can refrigerate your own CHEAP drinks/snacks from the grocery store. This is the apartment we chose:
The owners were fantastically nice and the apartment was really big and gave us lots of space to move around and be comfortable. The location was also fantastic being right at Campo dei Fiori. I just can't say enough good things about this apartment.
This is a hotel with rooms/apartments big enough for 4 and it was also nice. Located right on via Nazionale and close to the Barbarini metro stop it was convenient to zip around to various places.
Dear Tom it's easy to be family friendly and have very large hotel rooms in America where most hotel buildings were built in the last 5 to 50 years. It's a totally different matter when a hotel is inside a 16th century building of a very large city like Rome. In my experience large hotel rooms in Italy's historical centers are only in ancient noblemen's villas or palazzi converted into hotels (those tended to have very large rooms). And by the way I've never seen a very large hotel room in the heart of Manhattan either, and when I did it was a very expensive suite.
Comparing hotels in the historical centers of Rome or Paris to hotels in American suburbs or places like Orlando or Las Vegas, or any American cities built in the last 50 years, it's like comparing apples to bananas.
The Hotel Portoghesi, which is fabulously located about 3 minutes from the Pantheon, has a an apartment with a separate entrance from the hotel but it is part of the hotel with all the hotel services. It has one good size bedroom and a pullout couch in the good size LR. It has a perfectly adequate kitchenette and a small but awesome patio. We stayed in the apartment one night at the beginning of a 10 day stay when our regular room would only be available day 2. I thought the apartment was great; I assume it includes but I am not sure, the wonderful expanded continental breakfast served, with individually prepared cappuchino, on the roof top terrace. In June the apartment is 310 Euros per night.
Rented this place thru airbnb...
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/2193487
We got a small discount (5%) because we stayed 5 nights. Steps from the Colosseum with a view of the Colosseum from the window. Nice kitchen with small fridge and stove (save money and make your own breakfasts!), small bathroom/shower tho. Master bedroom was nice, mom slept on the comfy pull out couch. Clean, grocery store on the next block over, lots of restaurants, best gelato I had in Rome (Cremeria Don Pepe right downstairs), very close to metro/busses, elevator, ac, good wifi. Price for 3 was about $150 a night, this was in Sept, and that is in Canadian dollars, so US$ will prob go further.
My only complaints - street noise, even tho 4 floors up, until about 1am (nothing a white noise app wouldn't cover), there is a hospital close by so seems to be lots of ambulance sirens, no laundry and the tiny shower. Otherwise, I loved it and would def return. The price was great, the apt was very bright and clean and spacious, the owner was in the same building and promptly replied to any questions and the view - well, to stick your head out the window and see the Colosseum - that sold it for me! It was great during the hot part of the day to go back to the room and relax.
You didn't mention your budget for a room. We're a family of 5 going this summer. We've booked the Navona Gardens and Suites. They have several rooms that can handle four (only one for five). It's just off Piazza Navona, Reviews are wonderful and they do have wifi included (a must for us as well). It looks beautiful from the pictures and in a wonderful location.
A heartfelt THANKS for all the great suggestions....you all gave me names of hotels I had not originally considered, as well as websites I had not used before.
My initial feel is a hotel (vs bed-and-breakfast or apartment) so in the event my husband cannot go last-minute, I will be confident with my 2 teens. And I do need Wi-Fi for my work, so I can't be off the beaten path.
I had originally looked at Trastevere, but had no luck with the quad requirements given our dates.
I will keep looking. But in the meantime, many thanks!
Give Trastevere a miss. I know some people RAVE about it. I found it inconvenient and just as graffiti-ridden as the rest of Rome. Not a fan!
And I forgot to mention of the greatest things about the apartment we rented - it was HALF the price of any decent hotel we could find. There were no negatives to Casa Paradiso at all.
Roberto: my experience is that new hotels in Europe (even US chains) are even less likely to have a room that sleeps 4 than an older hotel.
In any case, the expectation and standard practice is that a family will get 2 rooms. That is why apartments really are the way to go, and they usually do have private wifi.
Apartment. Definitely. You'll love having a living room area and a kitchen. Some apartments in Italy have beds that are in low-ceilinged lofts and that are accessed only by ladder. Might be fine for the teens. Not so much for most grown ups.
And ignore the smack talk about graffiti. Yes, it's everywhere. It's an Italian word, after all.
Smack Talk??? Ha - no smack talk intended. Just fact. If you've never been to Rome then get ready for graffiti shock!
The graffiti is part of the charm - modern street art juxtaposed with ancient marvels. I want to echo the suggestions for an apartment - there are so many options on VRBO and other sites. We have 2 teenagers and so appreciate the extra space. Read reviews carefully and confirm wifi - we've rented many apartments in Europe and never had a problem. You will need to pay with paypal or cash generally, but so much cheaper, wide choice of neighborhoods, and you feel more like a local eating breakfast in a cafe. Most places will have a list of restaurants recommended by the owners. Don't be intimidated - it is a fantastic experience!
Jackie I'm with you. If I was travelling without my husband there's no way I'd get an apartment. All our trips have to be made with the assumption that he may be delayed on arrival or he may have to travel himself during our trip. I don't book any non-refundable rates (which often includes apartments) and I don't stay anywhere I wouldn't be ok on my own with the kids. I mentioned Navona Garden above. While its a b&b, there's someone onsite most of the time. I also has separated rooms, like hotel rooms, with no real shared facilities (aside from the breakfast location). It honestly seems to me more of a vintage type hotel than a b&b that I think of around here (which is essentially a room in someone's home). That's not to stay I wouldn't ever book an apartment. We had one for five weeks in Switzerland a few years ago and will be staying there again this summer but we knew at the time that hubbie would be there at the beginning. I was fine when he had to go to Germany for 4 days midtrip. I would also consider renting one in Paris now that we've been there a few times. I 'know' the lay of the land as such.
