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I have not been to Italy in decades. Can anyone recommend a nice moderate priced hotel in Rome that would be good for American tourists with a good central location? Any advice appreciated.
Right, but well known chains are pretty standard everywhere you go.
Best way is to use Google maps. You will see prices AND location, and details when you click on.
Zoom in and you will see more hotels. Use filters.
What's your budget for "moderate" price? Clarify "good for American tourist"...
The Google Map is a great resource. Zoom to a zone and get a bunch of banners indicating hotel by rate
Or, just book the first night, aand in the morning, choose a locality and do a lovely introductory walking tour, giving several properties the sniff test. But, of course, that may not suit everyone's taste.
When we travel, we generally choose to not stay in 'tourist central'. We prefer to stay nearby with very easy and quick access to the sites using public transportation, with an occasional Uber. Obviously, the hotel cost is decreased, but so are the restaurant prices, the crowds, the waiting time to get a table, etc. The atmosphere is more 'real' including restaurants and shops that aren't tourist traps.
In Rome, we stayed in the Travestere neighborhood. For our tastes, it was perfect!
We stayed near the Pantheon last year - I feared all the touristy downsides jk mentioned - but none appeared, except, obviously, the tourists, including me. It was walkable to nearly everything, except the vatican and borghese gallery. Both technically walkable, but too far for me.
Restaurants were entirely affordable and of good quality (er, rather, you can find whatever your looking for - don't get me wrong - certainly some are tourist traps, but they are sharing a wall with something amazing...ya never can tell...).
We never waited for a table (or else we had reservations) for both lunch and dinner, and just a few hundred steps in any direction puts you out of the crowds.
We were skeptical - at first - but we grew to love the neighborhood, and to dread waiting on a cab to go anywhere else. Walking was the answer. We saw the pantheon each and every day - which meant I could mosey in anytime the line was gone, which was quite often.
Anyway, that's not the OPs Q, I got distracted - how much did ya wanna spend on the hotel?
^^^^Yes, we stayed around the corner from the Pantheon too. It was terrific! As you say, walked everywhere. Even the outdoor cafe right next to the Pantheon was not too crowded (May) and good quality. Never felt like the places were tourist traps---EXCEPT the Vatican which I do not recommend to anyone, ever. Worst experience ever.
The Borghese was fantastic, however.
We found a tiny detached room on the 5th floor of an old building with an ancient elevator; it was on an Air BnB-type site before their "fees" got so outrageous. I didn't even look for hotels....( 6 days). It was $110 back then with its own private rooftop terrace....2018.
We stayed in an old hotel near St Maria Maggiore Church. This location worked out fine for us, as there were always cabs outside the Church & the tour bus ( Hop on Hop off ) also had a stop there. I think we got a 2 day pass & that was how we got around the city. It was about 2 blocks to the Termini. We took an organized day trip to Pompeii, the hotel staff arranged that for us & the bus picked us up at the hotel. It was also near a Lidl, so we could buy some cheap eats or drinks if we did not want to go out.
But it was an old building, & some travelers may not be comfortable with that. I think it was called Hotel Coliseum. Had a roof top terrace which was beautiful.
We’ve stayed at the Hotel Regno several times, right between the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. I love the hotel and location, easily walkable in the historical centre.
We haven’t been since Covid and the hotel renos, so affordable may be the only questionable thing now.
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