Where to stay in Rome

I haven't used VRBO but have you looked at Hotel Santa Maria in Trastevere? Their senior suite sleeps 6 and a quick search gave me a rate of around $330 in November. It's a lovely hotel in a great area. The breakfast was awesome when my sisters and I were there years ago.

If you are familiar with VRBO then it basically works the same. If you carefully read the listing and reviews and apply the same strategies you do at home you will be fine.
Airbnb and booking.com are also good sources for apartment

Location - going by the areas suggested I the Rick Steves book is a good first strategy. Look at a map of Rome, see where the guidebook hotels are, see where the sights are, and read about the areas. Once you have a basic “lay of the land” in your head, look at the map of apartments to find one in areas you like.

My personal favorite is the historic center - near the Pantheon/Navona/Campo di Fiori. But this area can be a bit more expensive. There are other options, I’d start with the guidebook and work from there

I really enjoy having an apartment-- you feel like a local--popping into bakeries and fruit stores for what you need. In Rome for less than 200 a night you can get 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms and a full kitchen.

These nice folks have several apartments:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalReview-g187791-d6595622-A_few_steps_far_from_St_Peter-Rome_Lazio.html

We are leaving in a few days for our second trip to Rome--taking the same apartment we got the last time. I'm sure many other neighborhoods could be great, but we are very near San Pietro train station (we walked right to the apartment from the train) and about 10 minutes walk from the Vatican. We walked everywhere in Rome except the Villa Borghese--took a cab from the taxi stand just down the street.

I'm really no expert, but we had a fantastic trip with our family. I hope you have a wonderful time in Rome!

I'm missing something. How do you do six people in two rooms?

I use AirBnB and VRBO- both are great!! Ive stayed in Trastevere- Prati neighborhoods- both were great- as well as staying near The Pantheon- all great neighborhoods- Apartments are great especially for families- some have washers and most have kitchens which are convenient.

Happy Travels✨💫

Here's one take on various Rome neighborhoods, from Eurocheapo: https://www.eurocheapo.com/rome/hoods/

And here's another, from TripAdvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187791-c216612/Rome:Italy:Where.To.Stay.For.The.First.Time.Visitor.html

Thank you for posting this because I have the same question. I want to get an apartment and there are four of us but I am so confused about the neighborhoods! I want to be off the beaten path in a fun neighborhood. I was looking at the Jewish Ghetto. Does anyone know if that is nice?

We stayed at Hotel Paba which is close to the Colosseum and we loved it. The owner, Alberta, is lovely. The rooms are fairly large and very clean. It is centrally located - we walked everywhere except the Vatican but the subway stop is just a couple of blocks away.

My favorite is Trastevere. Easy access to everything, we even walked to the Vatican (couldn't find the right bus, our fault!). It is not as crowded as the more touristy areas.

Jewish Ghetto is fine. It’s where I stayed solo a number of years ago.

My mom and I stayed in an Air BnB for a week in the area of the Piazza Navona and Patheon. We loved the location. Great neighborhood. Always felt safe. Convenient to a lot.

For the size of your group, I would definitely consider looking at an apartment rather than shelling out for the cost of two European (ie generally small, especially if you’re cramming 3 people in each) rooms. Rome has some great options all around for apartments. That, or look for a suite for your hotel rooms.

Trastevere is also a nice neighborhood, though a bit less convenient to some of the major sites, but you’ll get a good local Roman feel. Monti is also a good neighborhood and convenient to the Colosseum.

Generally rule, I would say, is to try to stay in the central historic area or just outside it. I would avoid the area of the train station to stay in as a personal preference, but that’s about it.