ITALY - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1011

$ Casa Santa Sofia , while stern and sterile, is still a welcoming and cozy convent
that rents 60 rooms to travelers. Built for Russian and Brazilian pilgrims, it's well-run
and situated on a characteristic square near a Metro stop and the Roman Forum (Sb-€50,
Db-€80, dinner-€20, Piazza della Madonna dei Monti 3, Metro: Cavour, tel. [phone],
www.casasantasofia.it ) .
Near Piazza Venezia
$$$ Hotel Nerva is a three-star slice of tranquility with 19 small, overpriced (but often dis-
counted) rooms on a surprisingly quiet back street just steps away from the Roman Forum
(Sb-€130, Db-€190, extra bed-€40, ask for Rick Steves discount, rates very soft—especially
off-season, air-con, elevator, Wi-Fi, Via Tor de' Conti 3, tel. [phone], fax
06-6992-2204, www.hotelnerva.com , [e-mail] , Antonio, Paolo, Anna).
$ Casa Il Rosario is a peaceful, well-run Dominican convent renting 40 rooms with
monastic simplicity to both pilgrims and tourists in a good neighborhood (reserve several
months in advance, S-€42, Sb-€56, Db-€94, Tb-€120, single beds only, fans, free Internet
access, roof-terrace picnics welcome, 23:00 curfew, midway between Quirinale and Colos-
seum near bottom of Via Nazionale at Via Sant'Agata dei Goti 10, bus #40 or #170 from
Termini, tel. [phone], fax [phone], [e-mail] ).
$ Hotel Giardino offers 11 basic rooms in a central location three blocks northeast of
Piazza Venezia (but may close in 2014). With a tiny central lobby and a small breakfast
room, it suits travelers who prize location over big-hotel amenities (Sb-€85, Db-€130, one
smallerDbfor15percentless,thesepriceswithcashandthisbook,air-con,Wi-Fi,effective
double-paned windows, on a busy street off Piazza di Quirinale at Via XXIV Maggio 51,
tel. [phone], fax [phone], www.hotel-giardino-roma.com , info@hotel-giardino-
roma.com , helpful Gianluca).
In the Pantheon Neighborhood
Winding, narrow lanes filled with foot traffic and lined with boutique shops and tiny trat-
torias...this is village Rome at its best. The atmosphere isn't cheap, but this is where you
want to be—especially at night, when Romans and tourists gather in the floodlit piazzas for
the evening stroll, the passeggiata .
Near Campo de' Fiori
You'llpayapremium(andendurealittleextranightnoise)tostayintheoldcenter.Buteach
oftheseplacesisromanticallysetdeepinthetangledbackstreetsneartheidyllicCampode'
Fiori and, for many, worth the extra money.