Help wanted! This will be our first trip to Rome and we need some help.
First, hotels? We don’t need 5 star luxury, but clean, comfortable, safe, and well-located obviously.
Second, we will be heading there after driving around Tuscany for awhile and I’d like to drop off the rental car well outside of Rome (I have no interest in driving around there), and then be able to get in to the city with a minimum of fuss.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Andrew
Andrew,
Perhaps you can drop off the car at Rome’s da Vinci-Fiumicino airport and then take a cab or the train into town. We’ve done it before and it’s relatively hassle free. I can give you more info if you are considering this option. The airport’s rental drop-off is very close to the train station.
One of our favorite hotels in Rome is Residenza Cellini, Via Modena 5 near Piazza della Rebuplica.
Andrew, with the major rental companies I’ve found that they have city offices that are fairly central, and you could drop your family/companions off at the hotel with luggage and just return it to the city location. I like this because you’re not lugging your luggage thru FCO and transit system and RR station. The only catch is you should plan to return on weekdays during normal business hours with possibly limited weekend hours. Just my opinion, but the rest of the family has always liked this way of doing it and if you stay central you get a nice 5-30 minute walk thru the city after drop-off. Sixt (Budget affiliate), AutoEurope, Hertz/Avis and Europcar (National affiliate I think) should all have city center locations. Driving in major Italian cities is …exciting! So is walking!
Andrew:
We have stayed at this hotel a number of times and have always had a very pleasant stay.
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It is very well located right off the Campo de Fiori and across from the French Embassy. The Campo de Fiori is a great piazza with a lot happening most of the day and evening.
Ted
Ted, I have to say your hotel recommendations are right up my alley.
Both this one and your hotel in Florence are priced well and sound so good they make me want to book the flight to Italy.
Thanks!
(Even tho we have no immediate plans to go I am taking notes for the future)
Ditto re Fiumicino. Very easy dropp off. All autostrada.
On the way down from Florence to Rome, be sure to stop off at Orvieto, which is right by the highway. Cathedral facade alone worth a special journey. But perhaps best of all, if you have a little more time, is to drive over to Tarquinia to visit the Etruscan Tombs, which are an absolute wonder. From there, you take the old Roman rode down the coast which also take you close by to Fiumicino. This is an amazing detour, somewhat off the beaten tourist path.
We really like the Albergo del Sole, which is right on the Piazza del Pantheon, has a nice garden for breakfast, and puts everything you want to see within a reasonable walking distance
Any restaurant recommendations?
I really like Pergola, but after just getting back from Berlin I think the german/international food in Berlin is better and better priced. Great views.
I like the place on Via di Monti Ceci, Piperno… very traditonal… great oxtail ragu. But I’m not an expert on dining in Rome.
Also like the kosher restaurant in the Ghetto near the synagogue, not in Trastevere
For me,. Rome is about the hole in the wall place, not grand dining…
Henry, I’m fine with that. I just need to find the better “hole in the wall” places.
Paul - my memory for holes in the wall is not great. Piperno is decidedly better than that, but not over the top and I can still taste the oxtail ragu several years later…
Thanks for the responses thus far! Very useful… Please keep them coming.
Now, I am daydreaming about oxtail ragu…
Cheers,
Andrew
I enthusiastically recommend Le Cave di S. Ignazio da Sabatino. It’s in the tiny Piazza di S. Ignazio which is conveniently located somewhat between the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain.
Dining:
I always recommend stopping here:
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It is truly a “hole in the wall” - the hole is in the Pompeo’s Theatre (where J. Caesar was stabbed). Read the history of the place on their web site.
You dine in the wall - see the beams, etc.
The food is very good - I order the linguine with lobster. I isn’t usually on the menu but they will make it for you tableside if they have the lobsters. It is between Navona and Campo di Fiori.
Thanks - we go almost every year for a couple of weeks. Kudos to my wife who is the great travel organizer. She finds amazing places that are affordable yet charming and unique. We did two+ weeks in Sicily for about $2K including the airfare. It was off-season and we stayed at really great hotels all over the island. Now when we go to Tuscany, we rent a villa.
Obika Mozzarella Bar Piazza di Firenze Great lunch spot. The fresh mozzarella variety plate selection is …… memorable.
Cornucopia Ristorante Piazza in Piscinula 18 I’ve only eaten outside … particularly nice on very warm summer evenings.
Andrew - I hope you have a great trip. Roma is one of my favorite cities; the chaos amid the history is mesmerizing.
I second or third the drop off at the airport. Take the family to the hotel, drop off the luggage, and then off to the airport. It is about a 30 to 40 minute cab ride back if memory serves. Unless the rental drop off is very close to your hotel/apartment, it is much easier to go to the airport. I have driven Roma many times and still find addresses and streets to be more time consuming than anything. What may seem like a 10 minute drive turns out to be 40 minutes. Street signs are either non-existent or in Latin or are wrong. Generally, depending upon where you are in Roma, an autostrada trip to the airport and back can be quicker.
Another comment - do not underestimate the time from Toscana to Roma. I am not sure where you’ll be departing but the trip can be wearing. It is longer than it looks.
Oriveto is a nice place for a stop; it is a short drive up the hill from the autostrada. Beautiful cathedral. Do not recall it being an epicenter for gourmands, however.
Hope you have a wonderful trip.
En boca al lupo.
Ciao.
T.
First, my trip report from last summer (also posted on Fodors Forum) Travels
For airport to Roma: Rome Cabs is very good. Door to door in a Benz. About 50 euro.
For transport: Many people drop or pickup cars in Orvieto. Easy train access from Roma & you avoid driving in the city - although if you are driving in just to FCO you can bypass the core.
For eats: Ambasciata D’Abruzzo was our fav last summer. Well out of the tourist zone. Armando al Pantheon is very good in the core but you must have reservations.
Do not miss the Borghese Gallery. You must book in advance.
Ian
We’ve been to Rome almost every year.We stay at Parco di Principe.Not
cheap but so beautiful.They usually will upgrade you to room with a view of St.Peters over the Borghese if you ask.I like Tulio’s or Il Amitriciano for good but not overly expensive food.If you buy a Garmin here that works in Europe, you can bring it with you and it is cheaper than renting a gps through hertz.You can then drop off the car near the hotel.Hertz has a drop off near the Via Venuto in the Borghese.
Ted:
It looks very nice indeed and we are booked!
Cheers,
Andrew
I hope you get the room with the clean bathroom 
Seriously - have a great time and I hope you enjoy it.
There is one really expensive restuarant across the piazza that wasn’t worth the $$$ - I think it was really for the French diplomats.
The folks at the desk were very helpful in recommending “neighborhood” places that were not touristy.