My first choice for locale was Spagna area, but I am out of touch with prices.......my search has proved somewhat disappointing. I have found a charming apartment, if the pix aren't airbrushed, between Campo Fiori and Pza Navona just a tad over from Pantheon; good choice or would someone like to add their two cents? I want to avoid Central Termini area and I do NOT seek penny pinching digs. All suggestions appreciated.

So, um, what would you think would be the max you would pay?

Not sure what your criteria are. I think that area should be fine for safety/tourist interest. I'm not sure if it's good for transit, but since you'd be in the heart of the old city that probably won't be a problem.

[This message has been edited by sfolawyer (edited Dec 08, 2003).]

That's a pretty safe area. And transport is a short walk.

that's a good location for most tourist stuff -- walkable to lots of locations (including Spagna).

Hi Raven and welcome to flyertalk. You might want to search FTTravel, European and Trip Reports as they are both loaded with information.

If this is your first time to Rome, you have chosen a very central location for seeing the main tourist sites.

Rome seems very safe to me. The worst we experienced was a sleeping/drunken/drugged teenager on a bus who fell into the aisle when the bus turned. Recently, unbeknownst to my husband, a group of children were eyeing and moving toward his backpack. I swatted the map at them and scowled back at them. They backed off.

You might want to look at http://www.vrbo.com for rental comparison. We recently took a place in Rome through this site and had a very happy experience with the family we rented from. In fact, we just received in the mail a nice note from them along with our deposit.

Please email me if I can be of assistance. I love Rome.

Firstly, and most importantly, thanks to those of you who have been kind enough to reply to my query.

Secondly, to reply to one poster, budget is normally a max of 150E a night for 2 in Europe and I have been incredibly lucky in sticking to that (combined with Hyatt points) and getting excellent hotels. That limit appears unreasonable in Rome unless someone knows of an incredible find in the pensione category. First requirement is clean; frou frou hotel services matter not although minibar or fridge is eminently desirable for the obligatory water bottle. Obviously the other requirements are decent mattresses and a safe neighborhood although since the latest survey tells me I live in the 2nd most crime ridden city in the US, I am probably safer anywhere in Europe compared to my own downtown. Based upon my perusal of Rome offerings, I can double the budget for the right area, but canot justify the 5 star properties considering the amount of time not spent in the room.

I suppose my real question is what would be comparable in Rome to Kensigton High in London or the 1st or Madeleine in Paris?

I think that would be the Via Venetto neighborhood which has the exclusive shops and embassies.

Piazza Navona/Pantheon is a great neighborhood to stroll. Definitely visit Navona at night.

I stayed on the Aventine Hill at Villa San Pio. Rome is busy and this was a quite residential neighborhood. We had a huge room with a private balcony with a free breakfast brought to our room. The hotel has received many favorable reviews on Fodors. I think they are on Charming Italy also. They have some sister properties that are less expensive - I think these dont have air conditioning.

If you are going to be there for a while, I would suggest getting an apartment like Cecelia just did and we usually do. Hotel prices in Rome can be astounding for things like the chain hotels, but you can get a nice bargain for a more out of the way hotel.


The area that you mentioned is quite lovely and centrally located. If you want shop, then stay in the Spagna area. If you want to see Roman life, the Aventine is nice as is Trastevere.

lala