Helping travelers to Italy since 2008

Rome, Italy: hotels where you'll stay as a friend

Rome Italy hotels.

Looking for somewhere to stay in Rome where you'll feel part of the neighborhood? 

Deciding where to stay on a visit to Rome can be a lottery. There are literally thousands of hotels to choose from. How to know which is best for you?

Of course, reviews on sites like Trip Advisor and any of the booking platforms can help. But our aim here is to give you a detailed, personal view of hotels we've stayed at in Rome and really enjoyed. 

We have personal experience of all the hotels we feature. Each time we go to Rome - and we visit a lot - we try to stay at a different venue so we can review them to give you a wider choice.

"Enjoyment" can mean different things to different people. For us, it's twofold:

• A pleasant hotel in a safe neighborhood where we can feel relaxed and at home
• We prefer locally owned hotels and apartments rather than chains. Although chains have their advantages - you can be pretty sure of a standard of quality across the board - they can be impersonal and lacking in the cultural potential that smaller hotels tend to have in spades.

If our definition of a hotel it's good to stay in fits with yours, then you've found your home!

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Rome Italy hotels

Laura's Vatican apartment

If you're keen to experience Italian culture from the perspective not of a tourist, but of a visitor - even a friend - an apartment is a great solution.

Staying in the centre of a community, with local shops and ordinary daily life going on around you is a whole different experience to life in a hotel.

And this apartment, near the Vatican, is in our view one of the very best Rome has to offer.

Hotel Gea di Vulcano

The Hotel Gea is one of our favorites. It's a small hotel, run by a local Roman family whose main aim in life is to make sure their guests enjoy the city and have a welcoming base to return to after a hard day's sightseeing.

It's ideally situated just ten minutes' walk from Termini station, a 20 to 30 minute walk to all the main sights, and well served with buses or five minutes from the Metro at Piazza della Repubblica into central Rome should your feet be too tired to walk any further.

Ideal for couples, younger travelers and families alike. Click the pic above to learn more.

Hotel Russie

The Hotel Russie is the ideal place if you're looking for luxury hotels for kids in Rome.

"Tradition with a twist" is how we would describe the boutique Hotel (de) Russie. A wonderful mix of Italy's  culture old and new, it combines all the traditions of 18th Century Italian sophistication with contemporary style and service.

The Hotel Russie is in central Rome at the top of the Via del Babuino very close to the Piazza del Popolo. It's a great location for seeing the sights: the Trevi Fountain is a ten to fifteen minute walk away; St Peter's and the Vatican City fifteen to twenty minutes.

Hotel Trastevere

Our Rome hotel reviews continue with the Residenza Santa Maria - a lovely family hotel in the Trastevere district of the Eternal City.

The 'Residenza' Santa Maria in Rome is situated on the western bank of the River Tiber in the heart of one of the best places to visit in Italy - the Trastevere.

The hotel is a few minutes from the famous square of Santa Maria in Trastevere, about twenty minutes' walk from the Vatican and half an hour from the central Rome attractions.

La Minerva, Rome

La Minerva hotel

The Orient Express La Minerva: An Elegant New Hotel in the Heart of Rome

Located on Piazza della Minerva in Rome's centro storico, Orient Express La Minerva combines Roman heritage with contemporary design for a quintessentially Italian stay.

The hotel is ideally positioned for exploring the city. The Pantheon is moments away, the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps are a 10-minute walk, and the Colosseum is 20 minutes on foot. Rome's train station is a 15-minute drive, and Fiumicino Airport around 35 minutes by taxi.

The seventh-floor rooftop restaurant, Gigi Rigolatto, offers stunning views and excellent Italian cuisine, including handmade pastas and fresh fish dishes. The ground-floor La Minerva bar serves classic Italian dishes and an elegant breakfast with live harp music.

Visit our page about the La Minerva hotel in Rome.

Rome 5 Star Hotel - The Hassler

The Hassler in Rome is a Swiss owned hotel which has been part of the Hassler family dynasty since 1921. It was requisitioned as the Rome headquarters of the US Air Force during World War II and only re-opened having been completely re-furbished in 1947.

Since then, it has become known as Rome's premier hotel and has won a number of awards. Condé Nast Rome 5 star hotel reviews rate it the best hotel and best service in Rome, best city hotel in Europe and one of the world's top five hundred hotels.

Its location is one of the things that makes the Hotel Hassler special. The city spreads out before it as it sits right at the top of the Spanish Steps, next door to the Trinità dei Monti church. 

The position of this hotel means that the views from its front-facing rooms, the sixth floor restaurant and the roof terrace are truly stunning.

Remember to visit our page about accommodation in Rome for more information!