hotels

ideas for booking and tips for
staying in hotels in rome

As with all holiday accommodation, the golden rule of 'cheaper out, nicer in' applies to Rome - That is to say, you can save a lot of money by choosing a hotel a few miles out of town, but it's much more fun to be staying right in the middle of the city - You catch more of the atmosphere that way.

However, public transport in Rome is incredibly cheap and quite efficient, so it's not such a hardship to 'commute' into central Rome from a hotel or 'pensione' (bed & breakfast) on the outskirts of the city. If you decide to do this, obviously you should make sure before you book that your pensione is situated close to a subway station or major bus route. By major, we mean one that goes straight to the heart of the city without you needing to change buses two or three times.

If you opt for a centrally located hotel, it is very well worth paying extra for a room with a view, at least four or five floors up, as, unlike many cities, Rome is devastatingly beautiful when seen in panorama from above, and this will add tremendously to the value of your holiday.

Italian hotels and pensiones will require your passport when you check in, and they'll hang on to it for a day or two because they are required by law to register your presence with the police, in accordance with visitors and non-national residential laws described elsewhere on romebuddy.com. Eventually they'll give it back to you, but try to avoid needing your passport for anything else during your first 48 hours; (so, for example try to change your money or hire your car before you check in to your hotel).

Hotels in the USA are arguably the best in the world, so if you're coming from America, don't expect the same level of service and sophistication, or indeed size of room in your Italian hotel. Things are improving slowly, but working up a huge temper over a faulty shower faucet or an advertised king-sized bed that's more the size of a doormat will not change things overnight and only cast a shadow over your holiday time.

Italy is a small country with a leisurely approach to life, so most things here tend to be small and slow. Chill out, relax, and treat your stay here not just as some whirlwind tour of landmarks to photograph, but more as a complete change of pace and a way of looking at life differently.

You can click here to sample descriptions of bookable Rome hotels, or click here to check relative prices on a wider selection of hotels and make online reservations.