Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Domus Connect
(www.domusconnect.com)
has one of the largest selections of
apartment listings, but it isn't as discerning as Rome Accom and thus should be
used only as a backup. This agency also lists some B&B options and small hotels.
Bed & Breakfast Association of Rome
(www.b-b.rm.it)
handles both self-
catering apartments and rooms for rent within private apartments, some of which
charge as little as €30. Pauline Frommer used this service on her last visit to Rome
and reports that “our apartment was a charmer, right in the old Jewish Ghetto
area on a street where tourists rarely ventured. From our balcony in the evenings,
we'd look down on our neighbors feasting in the garden below, and it became a
nightly ritual for them to toast us after we toasted them and wished them a good
evening. We had two large rooms and a kitchen for less than €150 a night, per-
fect for my husband and our two small daughters.”
Pauline's experience points up the hidden value of these types of accommoda-
tions: Not only will you spend less, but you'll also be much more likely to meet
actual Romans and see what the life of the city is like.
HOTELS IN THE HISTORICAL CENTER
Most visitors attempt to stay in this area for the simple fact that it puts them
within walking distance of most of the important sights of Rome. It is not, how-
ever, always the best area for affordable, authentic food, so if you travel on your
stomach (as Napoleon said that his army did), you may want to choose Trastevere
or one of the more residential neighborhoods for your stay.
(Via di Santa Chiara, 61;
%
06-
68801753; www.hotelmimosa.net)
may make you wonder how it can charge so lit-
tle for such a great location. Doubles without bathroom start at €65, €85 with
bathroom. The mystery continues: The rooms are spacious by Rome standards,
cleaner than a church, and nicely appointed, albeit hardly fancy. This is a hotel
for those who need a place to sleep,
basta,
without the bells and whistles and vel-
vet curtains. The breakfast is hearty (think scrambled eggs rather than standard
European continental) and the rooms are all air-conditioned. Because this hotel
was converted from an army barracks, the walls between some of the 12 rooms
are thin, but visitors keep coming back and noise usually isn't a problem.
555
At first glance, the
Hotel Mimosa
€€
55
€€
-
€€€€
(Via degli Avignonesi, 20, and Via di San
Basilio, 55;
%
06-47823529; www.daphne-rome.com)
provides an experience that
is something like staying with friends, or at least friends of friends. When you
arrive, the owners sit down on the worn leather sofa in the makeshift lobby and
explain the city layout; they offer suggestions and exude a sense of hospitality that
is unheard of in most hotels. They offer a wide range of room choices with shared
bathrooms or private bathrooms not in the room (€80-€120), or with in-room
bathrooms (€110-€180). All the rooms are clean and feature new mattresses on
the beds, and there's free Wi-Fi access and a lending library on-site.
One caution:
Staying here is not for those who relish their privacy. There is a sense that you are
part of the family and an expectation that you'll sit and talk about your day when
you arrive home each evening (which can make it a superb spot for those travel-
ing alone).
The
Daphne Inn
