FI and I are planning 7-10 days in late April in Rome and would like some suggestions on what part of the city we should look for hotels in and any specific hotel recommendations. Neither of us has been there before, we plan on some day trips outside the city, so we want somewhere centralish or close to transit. On the other hand we don't want to stay somewhere super touristy and are comfortable using public transit. We aren't sit in the hotel kind of people so all we want in a hotel is clean rooms and private bathrooms .
Re: Rome, Italy
Also, for general Italian travelling tips, I would recommend looking at Trenitalia, the official train site for Italy. You have to be really careful when looking at times because they- for some reason- only show you some of the options for booking. AND you have to enter the city names in the Italian version-- not the English. So, for example, if you want to look for a ticket from Termini to Florence, you would have to enter Roma Termini to Firenze. I just happened to notice that on the English site. I always use the Italian version so I didn't notice before. That's so weird. Anyway, just a little tip for you.
My preferred way to purchase tickets there, is to buy them in the station, at the number of kiosks there, as you can actually pay with card (if that is your preference). The people at the counters are not helpful, generally don't speak English (or don't speak it well) and will only accept cash.
Also make sure to keep track of if you need to change trains, and that you have plenty of time to make it to the platform to change. They make it complicated.
For your time allotment, I would recommend staying within a 2 hour train ride.
HTH-- have fun.
Wedding stuff.
http://www.hotelartemide.it/en/home.html
http://www.albergodelsenato.it/
http://www.iqhotelroma.it/en/
http://www.suitedreams.it/eng/camere.htm
http://www.aventinohotels.com/inglese/sa/camere.htm
ive stated at 2 different places in rome. hotel fontana di trevi which overlooks the trevi fountain and albergo del senato which overlooks the pantheon and piazza del senato. both were exceptional.
As I said, it's close to a subway terminal, probably only about a block or so away from it, and there's a bus stop 1 block away that takes you directly downtown to all the tourist attractions. It's also a very quiet area. The first hotel we stayed at when I went there was near the Trevi Fountain, and I personally found it way to loud for my tastes, but that's just me. Public transportation in Rome is fantastic, and a lot of the bus drivers speak English too, so you have the plus of finding a cheaper, nice hotel a little further away.
One thing to keep in mind as far as restaurants go: check out the ones off the beaten path. You will get an AMAZING meal, and the service is almost always better than the ones close to the tourist attractions, as they're not frequented as much and therefore they try harder. The food is going to be amazing no matter where you go, but I always checked out lesser known restaurants or ones not so close to the attractions and I was always impressed. Also check out the Jewish Quarter... it's pretty cool