Hotel for family of 7 - overwhelmed by choice

[World Gallery]

We are staying in Rome for 4 days pre-cruise (June 2012) and I have become totally overwhelmed by the choices in Rome. We are a family of 7 - 2 adults and 5 teens/tweens. I think we would rather a hotel (over an apt.) because it would be easier for us to have the staff onsite, plus easy if we can find a hotel with breakfast included.

We only have a few things we really want in a hotel:

- decent beds (not perfect but not impossible to get some sleep on)

-breakfast included (continental is fine)

-an AC that works well

- good price for Rome

-located close enough to main attractions

-located close enough to train station (we will be taking train from airport we think)

- has triples and quads (we are assuming we will have to separte into two rooms but maybe not. We don't mind doing this because we are use to it - mom in one room with kids and dad in the other)

 

We are not looking for fancy but clean. We don't care if it has a small bathroom.

Any suggestions?

[6rugrats]

You aren't easily going to find a hotel room in Rome that will hold six people (you posted mom in one room with kids, dad in the other). And, I really don't know of one room that will hold seven people.

 

Not sure why you aren't considering an apartment; it is a much better value and I don't know why an onsite staff is important.

 

Maybe start by narrowing down the area; a good central location is by the Piazza Navona. Then go from there.

[ksps cruise fan]

Check out Albergo Santa Chiara. This hotel backs up to the Pantheon which most CCers agree is within the ideal footprint for convenience. The hotel offers suites which can accommodate five along with quads and triples. Impeccably clean. Reasonable breakfast. Somewhat aloof reception staff, but still willing to answer questions and be helpful. Besides this board is ready and able to answer most of your questions before you exit your house for the trip to the airport! For example, you'll know the best galato near the Pantheon, the gelateria with the widest variety (but not the best quality), and three or four moderately-priced trattorias.

[cruisemom42]

What's your budget? (And when is your trip?) These things make a big difference in what I'd suggest.

 

I prefer hotels to apartments generally, but in your case, you might consider one if you want to all be together. Or look at B&Bs or inns as cheaper alternatives.

 

If your budget is larger, some of the best-located hotels have an associated "apartment" you can use, or quad rooms. Two I can think of off the top of my head are the Albergo del Senato and the Santa Chiara, both within feet of the Pantheon.

 

However, I suspect you'll get more bang for your buck (and more choices) by looking around Termini area. Especially if you are taking the train to Civitavecchia. Termini is not a charming area in my opinion but is less expensive, located near transportation, and walkable to many sites (just not as close).

 

A note regarding the train from FCO to Rome -- with 7 people there are cheaper ways to go. At the least, look into the relatively new bus transport from FCO to Termini, it's cheaper than the train and -- from what I've heard -- more traveler friendly. With 7 people I'm not sure what other transport options you'd have; probably you'll have more luggage and people than will fit in 2 taxis.

[World Gallery]

It is hard to answer the budget question because it depends on the area in regards to what we are willing to pay. We did NYC this summer and we paid a lot more than we normally pay for most trips but for NYC, it was great deal. We are looking for a "great value" type of situation. We are hoping that someone might know of a "hidden gem" so to speak.

There are other variable also. If it includes a decent breakfast, that is a huge savings because we are 7.

We want clean, AC, & good location in a mid-priced hotel I guess.

[euro cruiser]

First check with a few car services about transport into Rome, you might be surprised how little the price difference is. The Leonardo Express train to Termini would cost you 98 Euro, the local train to one of the other Rome train stations would cost 56 Euro. A car service with a van probably wouldn't be much more, and would be so worth it. Also remember that unless you find a hotel near a train station, you'll have additional cost getting from the train station to the hotel, so the car service door-to-door might be cheaper in the long run.

 

What do you consider a reasonable rate for a hotel room? Would you consider a convent stay? How about a former convent now run as a hotel? It's less expensive and they have triple and quad rooms; there is air conditioning and it's in Trastevere, a fun section of Rome within walking distance of just about everything: http://www.sfromana.it/english.html

 

Note that triple and quad rooms aren't easy to find, so book early. You can usually change later if you find something you prefer, but get something locked down.

[CathyCruises]

Contact Hotel Raffaello directly. http://www.hotelraffaello.it/

Three-four blocks from Termini, close to the Colosseum/Forum, good breakfast with real eggs, and I have heard that they have nice quad rooms. We stayed for 5 days and while it was not the lap of luxury, it was very comfortable and a great value. I did much better price-wise by emailing them.

 

Good luck!

[World Gallery]

Thanks for all of these tips.

Okay, we are going to take a van or private car company, so the hotel doesn't have to be close to the train station.

 

Other suggestions still welcome! I am checking all of them out for sure!

 

euro cruiser - I am not opposed to a convent stay at all. I went to a Catholic school so I am very comfortable with that. New Orleans has many Italians and lots of Catholics. It would probably feel like home. I will check it out. Did you stay there? How was the continental breakfast?

[wantocruisemore]

I understand your point about breakfast, however we did an apartment for our family of 9. Having a kitchen, refrigerator, 3 full baths and room to stretch out made a huge difference. For breakfast we got coffee for 1 euro and had gotten some stuff from the grocery store. We supplemented with a couple of pastries a couple of mornings and usually had at least one meal a day at the apartment. Having that option saved us alot of money. Plus, I had checked out hotels and prices. We saved a very large amount by renting the apartment.

 

I can also recommend Rome in Limo for private transport. They picked us up at the airport, we did a couple of tours with them as well, transfer to ship and then ship to airport. They lived up to all the wonderful recommendations.

 

One thing also to think about. When a large family travels together there are times when people are tired and cranky. Making it as easy as possible cuts down on the stress. Having that apartment in the center of everything was a life saver.

[quanmama]

We love renting apartments! There are only 3 of us but we usually love to rent a 2 bedrooms and have the extra space (washer comes in handy ;)). We do miss the convenience of having breakfast right at the hotel, but a quick trip to a local market to get breakfast items easily solve the problem, or we could venture out to a local cafe for coffee, hot chocolate and pastries. We have been able to find a couple nice apartments that are within 150-200 Euros range. Both are spacious and at very good locations (one very close to Campo de Fiori, another one is close to Pantheon). We are still debating on which one to rent. A nice hotel room for 3 of us would easily costs more than that in Rome. VRBO is a good resource, plus there are quite a few rental agencies that you could consider as well.

 

If you are interested in finding out more, you could email me and I will give you some apartment information that I have saved during my research. I have seen some nice ones that could accommodate 7 or more. quanmama@yahoo.com

[euro cruiser]

euro cruiser - I am not opposed to a convent stay at all. I went to a Catholic school so I am very comfortable with that. New Orleans has many Italians and lots of Catholics. It would probably feel like home. I will check it out. Did you stay there? How was the continental breakfast?

I've stayed there three or four times over the past five years or so. To be clear, this is now a hotel ... still owned by the church, but run by a hotel management company, hence the AC, color TVs in the rooms, 24 hour desk service and no curfew. It does still have a chapel.

 

Breakfast is quite good and has more variety than the actual convents I have stayed in. Don't expect an American breakfast, however, this is Italy. Lots of cold meats and pastries, plus cereal and breads and fruit. You won't find eggs and bacon.

 

Your kids are older, so it may not be an issue, but when our kids were younger I generally rented apartments. I found that if I could at least make breakfast a stress free, more like home meal, the rest of the day went smoother. I was also able to get them out the door with less hassle if I could feed them in their PJs while the adults were getting ready.

[World Gallery]

wanttocruisemore - What apartment did you stay in? I have tried to contact one apt owner mentioned here but I haven't heard back and that was a week ago. I will try a few more.

I am very thankful for all of this info. I am keeping my options open and hoping the right decision will come to me after reading up on everything.

[texancruzer]

We too are renting an apartment in Rome for our upcoming visit.

 

We have stayed at two different hotels on our two previous visits.... and while both were just fine we wanted more space since there will be two couples........

 

I will say I am not sure you will be pleased with the "free" breakfasts you get in most European hotels...... they are not necessarily like we get here. But, most will be happy to serve you eggs and bacon IF YOU ASK FOR IT.

 

I can't wait to enjoy our apt. which is steps from the Pantheon. The owner lives upstairs and has been great with emails.

 

We are paying less for one night in a 3 bedroom apt. than we paid for one night in Albergo del Senato which is almost next door to our apt. Then we will split that cost with my SIL/BIL and pay $ 153.00 per night :eek:

 

Check out VRBO and Rentalinrome dot come for great options.

 

BTW: I believe Hotel Mozart has an accomodation that would work for you.....an apt. next door to the hotel with free breakfast at hotel and a front desk you can use for info. It is a great location right down from Spanish Steps. Walk to everything.

[ksps cruise fan]

wanttocruisemore - What apartment did you stay in? I have tried to contact one apt owner mentioned here but I haven't heard back and that was a week ago. I will try a few more.

I am very thankful for all of this info. I am keeping my options open and hoping the right decision will come to me after reading up on everything.

 

You're running into the same thing we're running into: We're doing longer term planning than many of the hotels and apartments in Rome. We emailed hotels in Trastevere and in Prati in a deliberate effort to stay in a different area from our usual Rome haunt. Our usual hotel responded immediately with prices for June 2012 and we haven't heard word one from the other two hotels.

 

We would have preferred receiving even a brief email from either/both saying the 2012 rates aren't yet out, but that is not the Italian way. So, we've booked at our usual place and we'll make adjustments to our plans when and if we hear from these other two hotels. Incidentally, I don't believe any of the hotels we're considering would be appropriate for your large group.

 

I've shared my experience as explanation and reassurance. You can still proceed with confidence when you hear from this MIA apartment. For now, I encourage you to follow everyone's good advice to get something acceptable nailed down quickly.

[euro cruiser]

If you are looking into apartments, the best source for information that I know of is the Slowtravel site. (http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/) This is a site that specializes in vacation rentals, and Italy is their most popular destination. They don't rent apartments, but they do publish reviews (mostly written by Americans and Canadians) which are carefully vetted to ensure they were written by people who actually stayed in the apartments (vs. the owner or his/her friends).

[wantocruisemore]

wanttocruisemore - What apartment did you stay in? I have tried to contact one apt owner mentioned here but I haven't heard back and that was a week ago. I will try a few more.

I am very thankful for all of this info. I am keeping my options open and hoping the right decision will come to me after reading up on everything.

 

 

Here's another post I did earlier about the apartment with a link. I actually found it through Trip Advisor.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=29886309&postcount=2

 

We were very pleased with the agency as well. They carried through on everything! I actually did a Review on it but it is a Flip Key property so any reviews have to go through that to insure authenticity and mine has not posted yet.

[quanmama]

I second Euro cruiser's recommendation on Slow travel website. I have literally "studied" :D many of the apartment reviews before narrowing down our choices. I would not stay in an apartment unless there are at least a couple good reviews on Slow travel, and I also look on Tripadvisor. I have found that some owners respond very slowly, while others are quick. The agency I have mentioned on my email last night seems to be quite responsive to all my questions so far. You might want to check it out.

[World Gallery]

Thanks for all of this information. It is so helpful!

 

I have gotten a few prices from hotels and the difference between an apt. and hotels (a quad and triple room) is a big difference. We are going to dive into researching our apt options at this point but still keep out options open. The price difference seems to be huge!