How far in advance do Rome hotels become available?

[jajsmom]

We booked our cruise leaving from Rome almost 6 months ago for this coming September.  My top two hotel choices are still not available for booking, and one of them only has six rooms available.  And yes, I have emailed them both, without response.  How far in advance have you booked your Rome hotel?  I'm used to booking as far in advance as possible, so I'm somewhat frustrated.

 

Please let me know if you only booked a few months in advance and had success.  Thanks.

[Voelfgar]

I booked my mid august for the end of june, so that's over 10 months out.

[CruiserBruce]

Varies by hotel. The smaller, more likely family run will be opening up about now for this summer. The bigger, more likely chain connected will have been booking for months.

[Host Bonjour]

OK so I’m wondering- one of your choices only has six rooms total (sort of like a B&B?) or only has six rooms left for booking at that time - which would imply that they are booking so I’m assuming it’s a six room only establishment. 

 

How’s your Italian? Why not consider calling to ask about getting a reservation for September? I’m wondering if that might not get things moving along, especially in a place that’s more “cozy” and possibly family run, accustomed to doing things in a more personal manner. It may be 2019 but if this hotel has been around for 50 years or more, you never know, could be some senior members of the family in the office that don’t want anything to do with this new thing called email! 🤪

 

It’s what I would do - or send a fax. It’ll get much more attention than the email I believe. In some ways - wonderful , good and “pazzo” Italy can still be a bit old. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want to make reservation now for September.

 

If that’s not possible at this location or the other place you fancy but you feel more at ease and therefore happier about your travel plans if your lodgings are secured well enough in advance then why not select other accommodations? Rome is not lacking in fine places to sleep. You might search through some of our old threads or put out a query specifying what type of requirements you have in your Roman accommodations. I know many replies will soon be coming your way.

 

I stayed in a great little apartment off the Via Veneto (via Lombardini) near the Borghese awhile back and it was incredible but it was arranged by friends in Modena so I’m not even sure how to go about contacting the agent! I loved feeling like I was absolutely doing the “when in Rome...” thing but still exploring and discovering with wonder. 

 

Let us us know how things go!! We love to hear about results, outcomes etc. 😎

 

 

 

[cruisemom42]

Where are you thinking of booking?  Most hotels I've dealt with in Rome (more than a few) open up bookings at least 6 months in advance and those with a robust website will be longer.  (More than a year in advance is pushing it.)   And often I have gotten personal responses and bookings by email when the website isn't showing availability yet.  

 

Are you sure the places aren't simply booked already?  Have you also checked your spam folder to be sure you never received a response to your emails?  (Just trying to help troubleshoot...)

[cruise_co]

I booked our Rome hotel 10 months out from our late summer cruise. It is a smaller hotel that I read about here on Cruise Critic. It is almost completely booked now.

[Voelfgar]

My hotel only has 20 rooms and like i said i booked it over 10 months out on Expedia

[jajsmom]

19 hours ago, Host Bonjour said:

OK so I’m wondering- one of your choices only has six rooms total (sort of like a B&B?) or only has six rooms left for booking at that time - which would imply that they are booking so I’m assuming it’s a six room only establishment. 

 

How’s your Italian? Why not consider calling to ask about getting a reservation for September? I’m wondering if that might not get things moving along, especially in a place that’s more “cozy” and possibly family run, accustomed to doing things in a more personal manner. It may be 2019 but if this hotel has been around for 50 years or more, you never know, could be some senior members of the family in the office that don’t want anything to do with this new thing called email! 🤪

 

It’s what I would do - or send a fax. It’ll get much more attention than the email I believe. In some ways - wonderful , good and “pazzo” Italy can still be a bit old. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want to make reservation now for September.

 

If that’s not possible at this location or the other place you fancy but you feel more at ease and therefore happier about your travel plans if your lodgings are secured well enough in advance then why not select other accommodations? Rome is not lacking in fine places to sleep. You might search through some of our old threads or put out a query specifying what type of requirements you have in your Roman accommodations. I know many replies will soon be coming your way.

 

I stayed in a great little apartment off the Via Veneto (via Lombardini) near the Borghese awhile back and it was incredible but it was arranged by friends in Modena so I’m not even sure how to go about contacting the agent! I loved feeling like I was absolutely doing the “when in Rome...” thing but still exploring and discovering with wonder. 

 

Let us us know how things go!! We love to hear about results, outcomes etc. 😎

 

 

 

I've tried emailing (through the hotel's website) several times over the past several months.  There is no way to actually book a room on the website, which is why I directly contacted them.  this is the hotel that only has 6 rooms.  I learned about it on this site, and it gets top reviews on trip advisor.

 

Do people still send faxes? 😉  My DH's family is from Italy, but I cannot speak a word of it.

 

I have done extensive research on hotel rooms in Rome, and had narrowed it down to two choices based on location, price, and accommodations.  My second choice hotel lists rooms as available, but the current "going rate" is 3200 euro per night.  I've noticed that they list that price until closer to the time of staying there, but I'm afraid of missing out on getting a room.

[jajsmom]

19 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Where are you thinking of booking?  Most hotels I've dealt with in Rome (more than a few) open up bookings at least 6 months in advance and those with a robust website will be longer.  (More than a year in advance is pushing it.)   And often I have gotten personal responses and bookings by email when the website isn't showing availability yet.  

 

Are you sure the places aren't simply booked already?  Have you also checked your spam folder to be sure you never received a response to your emails?  (Just trying to help troubleshoot...)

One of the places I'm considering, actually based on your recommendations, is 9 hotel cesari.  That is the hotel that is currently listed as 3200 euro per night on their website, as has been the case since I first started checking it out.  That's slightly above our budget.

 

The other hotel, which I'm almost afraid to list, is a 6 suite hotel on the fourth floor of a building.  There are just six rooms, so I've been following it very closely (as well as my spam folder.)  I booked our hotel for Athens, months ago, also using a hotel that you recommended (Athens Gate Hotel.)

 

And thanks to everyone who has let me know that they have already booked there Rome hotels for this summer, likely months ago.  It's making me more concerned about getting a room soon.

[CruiserBruce]

3200 euros per night? That is close to $3650!!! The Cavalleri, one of the best hotels in  Rome, is far less than that...even for a suite.

[jajsmom]

28 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

3200 euros per night? That is close to $3650!!! The Cavalleri, one of the best hotels in  Rome, is far less than that...even for a suite.

I know!  But following their site, it appears that that is the price they put in as a placeholder, until they are actually ready to release the room.  I could not imagine anyone paying that rate.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, jajsmom said:

One of the places I'm considering, actually based on your recommendations, is 9 hotel cesari.  That is the hotel that is currently listed as 3200 euro per night on their website, as has been the case since I first started checking it out.  That's slightly above our budget.

 

The other hotel, which I'm almost afraid to list, is a 6 suite hotel on the fourth floor of a building.  There are just six rooms, so I've been following it very closely (as well as my spam folder.)  I booked our hotel for Athens, months ago, also using a hotel that you recommended (Athens Gate Hotel.)

 

I would email 9 hotel cesari and request a room at their best rate for X number of people and give them the dates. I think either their website is not functioning or something else is going on. I know those rates aren't right. (Just tried a dummy booking myself and got the same thing.)  Ask for a refundable rate and if it is decent go ahead and book it as a placeholder. You can always cancel it later if you are able to get a room at your first choice hotel. 

 

(Edited to add: I've corresponded with the Cesari at the email listed on their website and have never had a problem getting a response, although I'd allow 24 hours. Italian hotels don't seem to feel the need to rush a response....)

 

I do remember reading something at least 6 months or a year ago that portions of the Cesari are undergoing renovations. I'm not sure if that could be impacting their availability...

 

As for the other hotel, does it have a Facebook page where you could try reaching them?

Edited January 25, 2019 by cruisemom42

[jajsmom]

Just want to follow up on my afternoon.  I believe the general consensus is that you should always book directly through a hotel rather than a third party booking agent.  Well, in this particular case, after lots of searching, I found that the hotel I wanted was available on Booking.com.  I was not able to find it on any other sites, and being that there were only 6 rooms to begin with, I decided to book with them.

Unfortunately, there was only one room available for each of our nights there, and they were not the same room.  But I booked those, and will check frequently to see if there are cancelations and we can get any room for both nights.  I wish I had checked Booking.com earlier, but it's not a service I generally ever use.  I'm happy that we have someplace to stay in Rome!

Cruisemom42, thanks for the idea of checking on facebook.  Unfortunately, this small operation is not to be found there.  But every review I've read for this place is excellent.

[cruisemom42]

Glad you were able to get things resolved. Enjoy your stay in Rome!