Where to stay in Rome?

What kind of a budget are you on? I stayed at the Nazionale and it was great. It may be a little on the expensive side but I thought it was worth, big rooms, big baths! Right on the square of Italian Parliament, walk to Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum and more.

Thank you for such a quick reply. We hoped to spend a bit less. They quoted me Euro 245 per night for the 3 of us. So far, Aberdeen is the cheapest offer, but I worry it's too far away from everything.

Maybe not the way you want to go, but our family of 5 will be there in July, 2012 and I have just finished scanning through many many apartment rental options. I put a budget limit of $175/nt on the search and after discarding several that looked unappealing, wound up with over 20 good choices. I'll whittle that down to 5-6 and then email them for quotes. I doubt I will ever spend $300+ for a hotel room at any time in my life (got about 25 years of traveling to go).

Thank you. We did think about an apartment, but then decided to split up the trip with 4 nights in Florence, so an apartment wouldn't work. Have a great trip next July!

Hotel Modigliani is one block from the Barberini metro stop (which is two stops from Termini) and within a few blocks walking distance to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. We stayed on the top floor with balcony and king size bed with additional sleeping for 3 more people. Two sofa pull outs and a long sofa that actually was a bed when you removed the cushions. It was so much more comfortable than the king bed, which in all of the Italian hotels seemed to be very firm. I slept on the soft sofa instead of the bed. The room was huge and you can see the pictures on TripAdvisor and the hotel website. The hotel has a lovely, filling breakfast, free use of their computer and a large living room AND garden. The front desk staff could not have been more helpful. No request was too much to ask of them. They do give a Rick Steves discount, so be sure to get a price from them before you book through an internet site, just to be sure you are getting the lowest price.

We go to Rome once a year and rent an apartment on Campo dei Fiori for 125 euros per night. It's so nice to have a kitchen, bedroom, sitting room, and living room! Why pay all that money for a single room?

Carole, You can rent an apartment for as little as 2 or 3 nights. many good options at VRBO.com.

I loved staying near the Piazza Berberini. So Central to walk everywhere and near a Metro stop. You can try the modigliana but it may be a bit much but might as well email. I will scan and ley you know some ex

In five trips to Rome we always stay in the Termini area - Aberdeen, Sonya, and Contilla. Wife prefers the Sonya because she thinks the lattes are better (but only by a very small margin over Aberdeen). We like the convenience, walkable distance to Termini, some very nice local restaurants in the area, and we find it very walkable but it is on the edge and need to walk an extra five or ten minutes.

Carole, I also usually stay in the Termini area, as there are lots of transportation choices so it's not hard to get to most locations in Rome. I agree with Frank that either Hotel Sonya or Aberdeen would be good choices. Happy travels!

Carole, if you want to walk as many places as possible then your best bet is to stay in the centro area. But certainly that's the most expensive part of town. These links are for the best rated accommodations in each of these downtown areas: Trevi Fountain, Pantheon Area, Piazza Navona, and the Colosseo and Monti area . In each article, there is also a link where you can sort all the area accommodations by price, so that may help with your budget options. Staying near Roma Termini - or the Prati-Vatican Area - would save you some money. (click on the links to see the best rated spots in those two areas). And both areas, as Ken mentions, are well-linked by transportation options. We lived in the Prati/Vatican area for years and enjoyed the location... close, but not too close. For first-timers, it would be great to stay in the centro, but it's good to know there are other options! As suggested, you could do an apartment - there are 3-5 day stays available. Although because it's your first time in Rome, the support of a hotel or B&B staff, manager, or concierge can be quite helpful. We just did a 3-day apartment stay near our old neighborhood. We booked through Sleep in Italy. You can read about our experience here. Rome is easy to get around by walking, or by riding the buses, trams, and metro. You'll have a wonderful time no matter where you stay!

Thank you all for such great information! I think we are leaning toward the Pantheon area for the old Rome charm. Anyone stay at Hotel Smeraldo? They have a room in their annex (Dependance). It's near Campo de' Fiori. We also heard back from the Hotel Portughesi and Albergo Santa Chiara Roma, but both are a bit more expensive. And from that area, which buses are relatively safe for traveling to the Vatican or the Ancient Rome area? I read that we should avoid Bus 64! Thanks again.

We stayed near Campo dei Fiori and walked to the Vatican. About 20 minutes to St. Peter's and 25 to the Vatican Museum entrance. Ron in Rome is right: easy to walk to most everything when you stay in the historic center.

Carole, type "Smeraldo" in the Search window in the upper right to see what others have said about it. I seem to remember favorable comments. Happy travels.

If you are going to avoid bus 64 then avoid them all. Bus 64 gets a lot of publicity because it is a frequently used bus between Termini and the Vatican, it nearly always packed, and full of tourists. We have been on it a half dozen times with no problems and didn't feel any more "unsafe" than other buses or the metro. Just don't have anything on you that is easy to steal so you don't have to worry about it. We seldom use public transit because we find it easier and often quicker to walk. The parts of Rome that you want to see are very compact. At the end of the day we may catch a bus back to the area of our hotel but mostly we walk.

Celeste, who do you use for booking your apartment each year? I'm shopping for accommodations for next year and am reading all these comments closely. We stayed at the Lilium last year, liked it, but are not yet sure if it's where we want to stay again or not.

I've stayed three times in an apartment building on Campo dei Fiori. The rentals were on vrbo.com and a lady there owns a 2 BR 2 Bath (215521) and manages a 1 BR 1 Bath (336305) for her friend. The activity on the Campo is never ending yet it's completely quiet when you close the windows on the Campo. The larger apt is the penthouse and quite a walk upstairs (76 steps), but the smaller one is two floors lower so easy to climb the steps. I highly recommend both of them.

I also recommend the Aberdeen. I've stayed there 3 times in the last 3 years and have always been satisfied. The staff is very helpful, the guarded Defense Ministry across the street makes you feel very safe, there are wonderful small neighborhood-type sandwich, pizza, & gelato shops nearyby. Also the bus line and metro are very close making it very convenient. Finally, I always eat at Target restaurant in the area and can recommend that, too.

Thanks, Celeste, for the encouraging words on the apartments. It definitely makes sense for four people traveling together, and there are lots of positive comments on the ones I've viewed. I'm finding Fiora manages quite a few of them, and I think we may go this route instead of a hotel when I narrow them down to one that will best fit two couples. I like the option to add private transportation at a reasonable cost as we'll probably be in Rome at the end of our trip and will need to get to the airport.

Thank you all for your great insights and advice. We are going to stay at the Smeraldo Dependance (location, location, location...) and in Florence at Panella's Residence. I will let you all know how our choices turned out after we return.