Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Seasons & Agencies
As you may have noted from the above discussion, Roman hotel rooms are noto-
riously small and often extremely expensive. Rates change and the low season
seems to get shorter each year. Normally Easter kicks off the high season, which
runs through October, though lately an extension of the high season to Christmas
has kept prices inflated from April through December.
Rome-based
www.venere.com
is a reliable
online booking agency
that spe-
cializes in non-chain hotels across the country and can check vacancies and spe-
cial deals on the spot. The city's
Hotel Information Center,
which operates info
points at both airports, also has an online service for checking availability and
prices:
www.hotelreservation.it
. They access the same network as the agents at
the airport desks, and availability and special deals are up-to-the-minute.
€€€€
A pair of adjacent hotels under the same moniker offer very good value
for the rooms:
Hotel Sant'Anselmo
(Piazza S. Anselmo, 2;
%
06-5745174)
and
its annex,
Hotel Aventino
(Via S. Domenico, 10;
%
06-5783214; www.aventino
hotels.com).
The neighborhood is an upscale district where the residents demand
quiet and decorum, which makes it a perfectly tranquil oasis in the center of the
city. Here you are just minutes from the great restaurants of Testaccio and across
the river from the nightlife of Trastevere. The rooms are elegant with replicated
period decorations that successfully give it an aristocratic touch. There are very
expensive rooms in the main hotel Sant'Anselmo (doubles from €160), where
celebrities and diplomats stay, but everyone comes together in the morning for
breakfast in the garden. Rooms at the Aventino start at €114.
A HOTEL NEAR THE COLOSSEUM
Staying near the Colosseum is a favorite of large tour groups, and, as a result,
almost everything in this neighborhood has been diluted—from the fare at the
local restaurants to the character of the area, which seems to be dwindling at an
alarming speed. Still, waking up with a view of the Flavian Amphitheater is a
thrill.
(Via Capo d'Africa, 47;
%
06-70450615;
www.lancelothotel.com)
is a mainstay for consultants to the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, which is down the road. Lancelot is a great
option for singles or longer stays; there is a community feel to the restaurant,
which serves family-style meals at fixed times, and diners tend to visit more with
those sitting nearby than with their own companions. The rooms, €105 for a sin-
gle to €165 for a double, are comfortable and unspectacular, but they are reliably
clean and the service is top-notch. You can relax on the rooftop bar overlooking
the Colosseum after a day of touring.
55
€€€
-
€€€€
Hotel Lancelot
