When in Hotel in Rome...

[ellenkushner]

For my last big birthday, my parents (who brought me up traveling from an early age) offered to take us on a Big Trip. That was the month we put our house on the market, and since then we have moved, brought out 3 books, taught, and traveled so much on our own that we actually wore out a suitcase. It was beginning to look like we were never going to be able to cash in on this generous offer, and my parents, while hale, are not getting any younger.

Now the stars are finally lining up for a Mediterranean Cruise that is short enough for us to squeeze in between Wiscon and our June lecture at Hollins College, but being on a boat means that (a) we're on a boat; (b) we get to see lots of cool ancient places. On a boat!

The ship leaves from Rome, and my father, who has done all the rest of the "legwork," has announced that I am in charge of finding a hotel for 2 nights for all of us. Such is my makeup that I could now spend 40 hours research Rome, hotels, etc. But I'm going to start with you, hoping someone has a suggestion or two that will cut my efforts back to <20. My parents genuinely prefer something modest. (Very modest. The salt-haired old dears, approachin 80, still take public transportation to & from the world's airports - despite my mom's bad knee - while I holler, "Maaaaaaaa! What's the madda with you? Take a caaaaab, fagoddsakes!") Modest is fine by us, but I like a little charm. I've been a lot of places, but never Rome. It's big, and there are lots of districts. Which one?

The ship leaves from Civitavecchia, outside the city. I assume we can get a cab? Or is there . . . a bus . . . ?

Comments

[rm.livejournal.com]

Never, ever take a bus in Rome if you are on a time schedule. When I was there I had more than one bus driver pull the bus over to the side of the road so he could stop to have a cigarette with the nuns who made up the bulk of his passengers.

[wickedwhich.livejournal.com]

I'll just pop in and recommend the Hotel Adriano (http://www.hoteladriano.com/eng/index.htm), which is two blocks from the Pantheon and quite modest but extremely charming (though it does look like it's been renovated, so I can't say much about it now, I guess). It's been years since I've stayed there, but I remember the front desk being more than willing to give advice and set up any transportation, etc., that we needed.

[zarhooie.livejournal.com]

I am generally a big fan of hostels. I think this is the one my dad stayed at last time he was in Italy:
http://www.hostelsalessandro.com/

[pamola.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a job for Rick Steves: http://www.ricksteves.com/
He generally likes staying at local owned, unpretensious places. Looks like you have to check out one of his guide books to get his hotel recommendations. Has a good list of things to do (http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/italy_menu.htm)

[shveta-thakrar.livejournal.com]

I've been to Rome, but we just ended up staying at hotels/hostels we found randomly, so I can't help there. But I think this is a wonderful thing your parents are doing, and I hope you have an amazing time!

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

O_O

You're going AFTER Wiscon. Okay. That means you AREN'T sailing on the 19th, which means you AREN'T on the same cruise ship my husband and I are taking for our honeymoon.

Because that would have been one hell of a coincidence.

They have lots of transport between Rome and Civitavecchia, as I understand it, since that's the port for Rome and all the cruise ships leave from there. But my parents -- specifically my father, who knows all this stuff far better than I -- are arranging those details for us, so I don't actually know.

Where are you going from Rome?

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

That is hilarious! Nope, we're going in early June. But please let us know what your father arranges & informs you! That could save me a lot of time.

Um, we're going to Ephesus, Santorini, Corfu, Valetta and um some others, not in that order.

You?

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

I think we're hitting a few places like Santorini, too, but our main stops are Athens, Istanbul, and Naples (i.e. Pompeii). We deliberately picked one as much oriented toward classical civilization as possible.

I'll see what I can find out from my father in terms of hotels and transportation. And we should share notes on Rome!

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Great! We'll only be in Rome about 48 hours, and my parents have been there before - but eager to hear what you discover!

Would love to see Istanbul, Pompeii, etc. - maybe next time. Have a splendid trip.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

I think we get three days in Rome, and ditto the parents knowing the territory. (I'm amused that in both of our cases, it's our parents who are footing the bill. <g>)

I'll e-mail you if I get any particularly useful info. Enjoy your trip, too! Take lots of pictures.

[kalichan.livejournal.com]

The Hotel Smeraldo is really great: http://www.smeraldoroma.com/about.htm
Relatively cheap, very central, and really charming, as I remember. A 1-2 min. walk from the Campo Dei Fiori (Flower/Fruit/Everything market), a very short walk (five mins?) from the Pantheon, and also right next to the Jewish Quarter (really amazing Roman Jewish food) and a short distance from the neighborhood of Trastevere (lots of good dining etc.) Bonus: Caesar murdered right down the street, by the cat sanctuary! Quite a long walk from the Forum/Colosseum but still possible. And buses/trams available going down the Corso Vittorio Emmanuele in that direction.

[mevincula.livejournal.com]

Hotel Bramante - it's 300 feet outside the Vatican walls, in a restored 15th Century hostel. You can reserve everything online http://www.hotelbramante.com/English/bramante.html

Rooms are small, elegant, full of charm & history, yet spotlessly clean (I've never seen whiter sheets). the breakfast is amazing and the terrace is tiny jewel full of flowerboxes. The staff is absolutely amazing and will arrange a private car to wherever you need to go (much less expensive than a taxi, much more convenient than the bus). Not the least expensive place I've been, and the prices have gone up slightly (150-220E for a double, 175-245E for a quad) but really, really worth it. (I was there with my mother, sister and a friend in a quad - there are some steps involved to get to the room)


have the hotel arrange a car to train station, and take train to Civitavecchia. http://goitaly.about.com/od/romeitaly/a/civitavecchia.htm

Literally 5 minutes to walk to the Vatican museum or St. Peters. The rest of Rome is easily accessible by bus (don't miss Palantine hill, it really is worth the climb) Buon Giorno

[mevincula.livejournal.com]

and for anyone interested in the transformative powers of perspective, try to make time to track down the Galleria Borghese to see Bernini's "Daphne and Apollo" - no picture can ever do it justice, you have to experience it to see it. Which isn't to insult the Rape of Proserpine, or his David...

[astolat]

Actually public transport is a million times the best way to get to Rome from the airport! The express train is a miracle and makes me angry every time I come into JFK and have to face the horrible traffic to get home because the freaking AirTrain only goes to Jamaica. *muttermutter*

I can't remember the name of the station where the express train comes in, but there are several small inexpensive hotels in the area (I stayed at one) and it's a clean, convenient place to basically stow your luggage and run around the city, because the station has a lot of connections to anyplace you might want to go in the city.

[jaidit.livejournal.com]

I wish I could remember the name of the hotel we stayed in during our first trip to Rome. It was a lovely hotel. Alas, all I wrote in my journal was that the night clerk's name was Marco.

A digression. Marco had an accent that did not make you think "Eternal City." He greeted us with "hello, mates."

On our last night, I had to ask. "Where are you from?"

"Oime a native Roman." Further questions revealed that this native Roman had spent the last twelve years in Australia.

Anyway, you can't go from hotel to hotel asking if they hired a seventeen-year-old with an Aussie accent nineteen years ago.

I would suggest staying in or near the Travestere, the old Jewish district of Rome. What's a trip to Rome without carciofi alla guidea? Where else are you going to get them?

Good luck with the hotel search!

[joey112.livejournal.com]

I loved Rome, and cabs are cheap so no worries with that. We stayed at a Pensione near the Termini. Slightly out of the horrible congestion near Vatican city, in a more residential area. I cannot remember the name of the place, it was great fun, right next door to a hostel and an internet cafe. But I think the orange decor could have used some work. We saw the city using the buses.

[denerose.livejournal.com]

Last time I was in Rome, travelling with my gradmother as it happens, we stayed at a lovely little two star across from the Basilica di Santa Prassede. I think this is it here http://www.hotelsantaprassede.it but there is also http://www.hotel-rome-santa-prassede.com/ which seems to be a resale site.

The room was tidy, the en-suite was very nice and the breakfast was great (but simple).

It is down a TINY little alley way of a street. It is also opposite the aforementioned basilica and a cute and inexpensive local pub/restaurant which, at least when we were there, has friendly English speaking owners.

It was central enough that we walked most places. It is also very near the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. We got tickets for the "hop-on hop-off" bus which stopped right outside Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore and is a very handy way to both get around and see things.

[denerose.livejournal.com]

Oh and I wouldn't take a cab they're expensive and the roads are scary. When the "hop-on hop-off" bus wouldn't take us where we wanted to be we took the Metro (you buy tickets from little shops with the appropriate sign not from the stations). But beware as there are a lot of people who make their livings stealing from tourists on the Metro.

In fact I always imagine Riverside to be a lot like some of the more out-of-the-way parts of Rome.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice - can't wait to see it all! Many old European city sidestreets went into the making of Riverside . . . .

[nohwhere-man.livejournal.com]

My partner howlgirl speaks highly of the Mecenate Palace (http://www.mecenatepalace.com/), but it isn't exactly a budget place.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

One wanring, though it might be too late: we went on a Med cruise last year, on the MSC line, and were Not Impressed. The food was not great. (I don't mean that as a euphemism for "bad", I just mean, literally, it wasn't great - and from what we'd always heard about cruises, we were expecting fantastic food.) Also, it was quite difficult to get food other than at specific mealtimes, which didn't always line up with the times of our return from excursions.

And their security practices were lax to the point of being worrying. Like the time we and another couple at our table ordered wine for the trip, and each was returned the other's credit card. By the time we noticed the problem, other things had been charged and fixing it was a pain. Or the time I went to collect our passports at the end, told them my room number, as was handed one, with the person saying, "Just one person, right?" Easy mistake... only they handed me my husband's passport. We do not look alike. And they had no proof of my identity other than me saying what room I was in.

Holland-America

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Must confess I'm very paranoid about being at the mercy of a cruise ship - but ours is Holland-America, which I think my brother's been on and liked. My one regret is that it does not appear to be staffed (or run) by Dutch people, despite the name.

Thanks for the insights, though! I will have to make sure There Are Snacks.

Re: Holland-America

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

When I was looking into cruise lines a while ago, thinking about taking another cruise and wanting to avoid the problems of this one, Holland America looked excellent. At least, I couldn't tell about the security but their food seemed to offer a lot more choices and to be much more of a focus.

I don't know where they're based now, but they really did start in Holland; in Rotterdam their original building has been turned into a hotel and excellent seafood restaurant, and the Rotterdam Maritime Museum has a lot of exhibits about the line (not just cruises, but also from the days when it was one of the major paths of emigration to America).

Funny to be writing this, as I'm typing form a hotel room in the Netherlands, about an hour's train ride from Rotterdam.

Re: Holland-America

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Wish I could be there now!

[apostle-of-eris.livejournal.com]

My first answer to any travel question is the Lonely Planet (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/) books. They rule, rock, etc. And they have an Italy (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/italy/) book. Please take a good look at it.

[calimac.livejournal.com]

Depends what you want for your 48 hours. When we were in Rome, we stayed in the Pantheon/Campo dei Fiori area and were very happy. (In an apartment, not a hotel, but then we were there for a week.) That's the baroque section of the city, with the most impressive churches. I know there are places to stay just south of the Forum/Senate Hill area (the part of Rome that all roads led to in Imperial days) or across the river in Trastavere, which would also be good. Third good possibility would be up to the northeast part of the central city, near the Spanish Steps - that's the best shopping district.

Avoid the areas close to or east of Termini, the main train station - cheap tourist district.

[uilos.livejournal.com]

Tell us more about the lecture at Hollins College, please? Is it the the one in southwestern VA and can anyone (ie, non-students) get in?

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Details - sort of - are up here:
http://www.sff.net/people/kushnerSherman/Kushner/upcoming.html

It's a lecture to the students of a grad program in children's lit - but you could write to them via their website and ask whether they're planning anything open to the public like a book signing - or if guests could attend the lecture. (Let me know what they tell you!)

[uilos.livejournal.com]

Sadness and botheration. I'll be out of state that weekend.

One note of caution ...

[autopope.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you probably already worked this out, but just in case -- Rome in June is hot. It won't quite be into the full-on summer meltdown, but it won't be comfortable, and air conditioning is very far from ubiquitous. As you're traveling with elderly folks, and talking about modest accomodation, I'd recommend ensuring that aircon is explicitly on your list of requirements, lest you arrive in the middle of a heat wave. And be sure to keep copious amounts of bottled water to hand while walking. (80-y-o's, especially stubborn ones who don't like to pay attention to their own limitations, don't mix well with dehydration, in my experience ...)

Re: One note of caution ...

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Gahhh - I've been avoiding checking the temperature for that time of year - figured Dad was on top of it, but maybe Jove nodded . . . anyhow, thanks for the tip.

[yaoi-in-exile.livejournal.com]

Don't Panic if the cruise ship people start to play sadistic little mind games. Everything's probably totally under control. The first night on my parents' cruise, the shippeople played Titanic on the complimentary channel...twice. And then the second night, they played Castaway. And the night after that, Pirates II (with the Kraken and such). And then? A marathon of Lost reruns. But everything was totally fine!

That's just how shippeople get their giggles.

[ellen-kushner.livejournal.com]

Ha!!

Well, we'll just bring Gerald Durrell's MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS (Corfu) and Dunnett's DISORDERLY KNIGHTS (Malta) and clap them over our ears if things get rough.

[nwl.livejournal.com]

We had a great time in Rome - too short a time - when we went there instead of Worldcon last year. We stayed at a hotel recommended by my husband's co-worker. It was Les Chambres d'Or (www.leschambresdor.com) and it was very nice. It's close to the Vatican and to the Metro.

As someone else said, taking the Metro in Rome is a very good idea and the express train from the airport is the best way to get into the city. The train goes to the central train station, the center of the Metro system. It's also a very walkable city, if you like to walk.

No matter which hotel you decided on, check on it at www.tripadvisor.com. Comments from people who have stayed there recently are a good indication of quality.

the last Roman

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Ellen
Apparently I am the only Italian/Roman here, but unsurprisingly I probably know less than the people who already posted comments. The only tips I can give you are 1) yes, the fast train from Fiumicino airport works swimmingly, there is one every half an hour (Until 22: 30 I think) and it stops right at Termini (the biggest train station) and actually even in Trastevere (which is good if you want to stay at a hotel there) 2) Trastevere is absolutely charming though not tecnhically the jewish part of the city anymore, since 1600 they moved to other side of the river! It is also very crowded by turists, expecially by your fellow countrymates, a fact you may or may not like. Another option would be Teastaccio, which is probably cheaper and more Italian inhabited (and 15 minutes on foot from Trastevere). Avoid at all cost the area close around Termini station: the seediest and most expensive. I can't came come up with any other ideas right now, as you can imagine, being Roman, when I am there at stay at my parents and not in a hotel 3) Civitavecchia: taxi is probably the fastest way but it is going to be a rip off (and I am ashemed to say: even more because you are foreigners). You would be looking for 'corriere' not bus (the out-of-town bus service); or even trains, but I am not sure if there are any. Always give for granted there can be delays... (and check for strikes)

BTW I am not even sure I will be in Rome on June (which yes, CAN be up to 35 degrees Celsius) but I am wondering: would you like to give a lecture anywhere? (children lit? fantasy? your novels? anything) Probably given the tight schedules yours is a NO (it's supposed to be a hollyday for godsake!) but if you do please tell me ahead, I know enough american comunites, bookshops, expats to put you in contact with the right people.

That's all from this side of the moon (rainy, bleak London that is)
Best

Giovanni
dopo2000@hotmail.com

[lynn-maudlin.livejournal.com]

Twice I've stayed at Hotel Columbus (http://www.hotelcolumbus.net/index.htm) which is near the Vatican, if that's of interest to you and your folks (!!). It's *not cheap* but it's an interesting place (and has parking, if you were driving through).

I'm sure you'll have a great time - it's a fascinating city. We hired a private guide to walk & talk us through the Forum, etc. - he was our guide through the Necropolis (http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20040112_en.html), available for private hire, and we found him very knowledgeable. Unless things have changed in the last 15 years, DO be careful of pick-pockets, usually gypsies, who come up and try to convince you to look at something (look at their drugged baby, supposedly sleeping in their arms, but actually on a board which frees up a hand to grab goodies out of your bag); I've seen this several times in person - yikes! So make sure that anything you can't afford to lose is in a security wallet under your clothing (next to skin is good). I had a friend lose his wallet out of a front pocket that *he* had a hard time getting in and out of! That said, personally I've never lost anything and I've traveled overseas a lot.