I like to stay at this hotel when I go. It’s beautiful inside.
Oh yeah, I like to stay at five star Waldorf Astoria hotels, too.
When someone else is paying 
The Euro is down, it’s a good time to take advantage of the strong dollar. I think if you get the Hilton Honors there is 30% discount.
Hmm, we’re thinking about taking a trip to the Amalfi Coast in the fall. Then again, how many years have I thought about this? But the Euro being discounted is good motivation.30% discount is a good deal, I wonder if they are doing that all over Italy, or just Rome.
It maybe all over for Hilton hotels. I think Expedia first alerted me to this hotel. Maybe next year, the Euro will go down to less than a dollar parity.
Colosseum and Palatine Hill are on the same ticket (looks like the formerly-no-ticket-needed Roman Forum is now on that ticket as well). The ticket line tends to be a lot shorter at Palatine Hill.
We did 2 leisure trips to Rome this year: one in Feb (just the 2 of us) and again in June (with the kids)—what a difference the time of year makes! There are definitely preferences for hotels & sights for Feb vs. June. Some considerations:
WEATHER
February, though cool, is rainy. Bring a portable umbrella & sensible shoes for wet walks. We “managed” the rainy days by watching the weather forecast and doing museums on those days. When we were stomping about outside in the sunshine, the temperature was comfortable (we were both wearing long coats & scarves). Other posters here have proposed Venice & Florence, but I don’t recommend Venice in Feb. While the daytime high in Rome will be in the low 50’s, in Venice it will only be in the low 40’s plus damp & miserable.
CROWDS
Rome in Feb is deliciously less crowded. GMTspouse & I joke we’ll only go back in the off-season. That said, you could still get crowds of religious pilgrims on key Christian dates. Another day to watch out for is the first Sunday of every month: state museums (including the Colosseum) and archeological sights are free. The way I see it, after you’ve spent over a grand for a plane ticket to Rome, it’s false economy to stand in an interminable long line for free admission. I would rather cough up the fee for admission and not waste precious time.
GETTING TO/FROM AIRPORT
Leonardo Express Airport Train is 14 EUR per person, then you need to take the Metro or take a taxi to get to your hotel. A taxi from FCO to Rome is a flat rate of 48 EUR. For 2 or more people, and the reduction of hassle factor, I would just take a taxi.
WHAT NEIGHBORHOOD FOR HOTEL
Rome is unusual among popular European capitals in that its Metro does not serve the historic heart of the city. Yes, there are Metro stops at the Piazza di Spagna (high end shopping district) and at Colosseo, but I prefer to stay in the triangle around the Pantheon Piazza Navona & Campo di Fiori. Staying in that old center means A LOT of walking.
HOTEL CONSIDERATIONS
In Feb, we stayed in a posh suite with a balcony, in a hotel right on the piazza in front of the Pantheon. By June, the price of the room was waaaaay out of our budget (you’ll get good deals in Feb). But we were glad in June that we didn’t stay in that same hotel, the crowds and the noise level in the piazza would have been awful. If noise bothers you, ask explicitly for a “quiet” room when u make the booking.
SIGHTS
If you are really into Roman antiquities, then the Capitoline Museum is worth seeing. It houses the famous bronze sculpture of the She-Wolf nursing Romulus & Remus. The Museum has a nice upper patio which has a great view of the Forum.
RESTAURANTS
We found that the food was better prepared in Feb than in June when big crowds meant less attention to care. A gem we discovered this trip is a restaurant in an alley near the Pantheon: Vecchia Locanda. The pasta w truffles & bacon was KILLER. I kept thinking about that dish for days and had to go back to eat it again before we left. Nice wine selection, too. Reasonably priced (for Rome).
GELATO
Venchi, period. They’re also a chocolatier-- what a deadly waistline combination… They have several outlets, including in FCO airport. I love the mango gelato.
POMPEII
We did Pompeii, Herculaneum & the Naples National Archeological Museum during our June trip, but we stayed in Sorrento during that period. In Feb, watch the forecast for rain. Wear comfortable shoes for Pompeii—it is a HUGE sight to traverse. Alternatively, consider seeing Herculaneum instead; Herculaneum is more compact and closer to Naples. Also be aware that the artifacts found at Pompeii & Herculanueum are housed at the Naples National Archeological Musesum—wow! Words can’t fully convey how great the collection is there. Be forewarned that Naples is a VERY gritty city. If you do decide to do Pompeii, Herculaneum or Naples, then start a separate thread and I’ll offer tips. The train from Rome to Naples is over an hour. Then to get to Herculaneum or Pompeii you transfer to a local train line called the Circumvesuviana.
I am overwhelmed with the great advice I received. Thank you so much!
GMTplus7, wow, thank you for the detailed response. I think I am leaning towards February after reading your post. We are not concerned with the weather in Rome but more the weather getting out of the states in February. We would have to connect, there is no direct route really to anywhere from where I am lol!
I looked at prices yesterday on Expedia. I can get airfare and hotel for less than just airfare so I’m thinking that is the way I am going to go. In February, you can get really nice hotels. Things go up a bit in March but still the package is less than I get pricing things out separately. I can choose to only get the hotel for less than the entire time, if we want to go to another city. But after pricing things out, I think a package is going to be the best for us. We don’t have any ff miles or hotel points.
I’d really like to go to Pompeii and Herculaneum, it looks like that might be the side trip I’d like to do this time. Since it’s only an hour by train, I wonder if it might be ok to do that as a day trip.
. It sounds like a private guide is the thing to do in Rome. I’d also like to do a food tour of Rome, has anyone done one?
GMT is so right, off season is delicious. Our last few trips were January, we stayed near Campo de Fiori. A week is fine, you both get to the sights and get a sense of favorite neighborhoods, can return to those. Our favorite spot for gelato is Gelateria della Palma, near the Pantheon. (But I had Venchi at the airport and it was amazing.)
If you do go up to Florence, Judy Witts Francini (Divina Cucina) is my friends’ favorite foodie guide. Rome to Pompeii is more like 2.5 hours, at least, depending on how you travel. Herculaneum is easier (but you’ll benefit from a guide or tour at these.) See if there’s an organized tour for those, from Rome.
@conmama Albergo del Senato is where we stayed. You will love it. We had windows overlooking the square in front of the Pantheon. It’s a small hotel, but the rooftop bar is fantastic. Ask the bartender to point out some of the landmarks that can be seen from up there. Every night a man played his cello in the square. He was amazing. Angel Tours offers free tours of the Pantheon each evening.
I’ve read the differences between Pompeii and Herculaneum. At first I was thinking i would want to do herculaneum since it’s smaller and more well preserved, closer to Naples. then I read the plaster castes are at Pompeii, which would be very interesting to see. However, they have taken 86 of them to restore right now, but I think there is an exhibit in the Stadium at Pompeii for an exhibit…until November. Not sure. So now I’m wondering if that’s true and what I want to do. Our last night is in Naples, only a block from the musuem…so definitely want to go there after we tour one or the other. GMTplus7…what are your thoughts of the two?
With a bit of searching, you should be able to find the dates when hotels switch from low season to high season rates. And then I would try and go as late into March as possible to enjoy warmer weather.
@toledo…I’m so excited about this hotel. It was between this one and Campo de’ Fiori…but this one was more in the center of things. I’m very excited about the rooftop bar in the evenings before going to dinner. I will check out Angel Tours…I do have the Rick Steves one downloaded on my phone. I’ve never done that before, but would prefer a real tour is possible.
Obviously I don’t know your background or interest, but I did some self-study before the last Rome trip so I could better appreciate what I was seeing. My library system has the Great Courses Series - lectures either audio or DVD or download - by very engaging university professors. The courses are also available for purchase. I particulary enjoyed courses by Prof Tuck of Miami University and Prof Fagan of Penn State. Of course, there are scads of books, but I found these lectures fascinating and the perfect way to learn - relaxing in front of the screen at the end of my day, just listening and taking it in. By the time I got to the Capitoline Museum which has a display of busts of the Roman Emporers, I felt like a was saying “Hi” to old friends. (Whereas before my self-study, I couldn’t imagine anything more boring than seeing a bunch of busts of long dead Roman Emperors!)
I’m not a Rick Steve’s fan, but the Rome guide does give lots of info about transport, insider tricks, etc. He is not always accurate on current practices as regards the “insider tricks”, so don’t place full confidence in him. I like the Blue Guides for traveling if you are interested in some background and history.
I have to admit also that Hubby thought I should watch the old PBS series, “I, Claudius” which was available at our library and I hadn’t seen before. It’s a soap opera, but I did enjoy it and it further engrained those Emperors and their personalities. Made the forums and Palatine Hill come alive.
@Momofadult…thanks for the recommendation for I, Claudius. I went and reserved it at our library. I have purposely foresaken watching any Italy travel shows…as I want to see everything for the first time while I’m there. I’d rather come home and watch them and say, “look…that’s where WE were!”. However, anything that is historically based (loved HBO’s ROME) I love to watch. ROME is sort of what got me excited about, well, Rome! We had a Rome exhibit come to our city at the Art Museum about 7 years ago and that was just fascinating. I’ve watched some Pompeii shows. All of these things make the history come to life for me, so I think I will enjoy it all the more.
In the vein of “I, Claudius,” someone with time might try the Steven Saylor mystery books set in Ancient Rome. Lots about daily life.
Re neighborhoods: The area around the Campo dei Fiori is my favorite part of town to stay. I agree with your strategy to spend your entire week in Rome – you need at least that much time to get a feel for the rhythms of the city. There are endless things to see and discover.
Conmama, so glad you jumped on here.
I’ve been toying with dates all day lol! I am thinking 8 days, 7 nights hotel. H has tons of vacation time so I for one am not worried but know that he won’t want to be away more than that.
I’ve been looking at the Alberto del Senato, I’m now looking at early April but am not finding any availability. Easter next year is the end of March so I am avoiding the time around then.
I am quite a history buff myself so I love reading, I must say that I haven’t read much about Ancient Rome but I did like the HBO series. I originally was thinking Paris but H thought Rome weather would be better than Paris. Now I’m excited about Rome.
Thanks again, all of your advice is great.
I would contact the hotel directly via email about availability. I always book hotels like that now. Did you use their website. Even if it said no availability I would still email.
I absolutely love Rome. Will be back again in October. As a classics major, being in Rome was like being in my history books. I spent an entire day at the Colosseum and Palatine Hill. For me the highlight was touring Augustus and Livia’s villas. Augustus is my favorite Emperor.
That said, I also loved Vatican City, and the rest of the city. The food of course is incredible and the art is spectacular.
I heartily agree with the suggestions to go to Pompeii. It is possible for a day trip, using the high speed rail. You truly feel like you’re in another time when walking through the streets. I’d recommend taking a guided tour as it’s a sprawling site.