A week in Rome—hotel or apartment?
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Anonymous
I disagree with PP. OP, if your teens enjoy history, historical building and architecture, and just being in a city with so much culture, good food and daily gelatos( so much cheaper and better than a mid icecream here), then, I would spend a week in Rome. I would rent an apartment or even try a monastery or hostel stay ( if no plans to cook). Many hostels and monasteries have private rooms- most have breakfast included. When we visited Rome 14 years ago, we did AirBnB in a residential building, 5 mins walk from Trevi Fountain. It was great because kids were younger and we were able to cook dinners at home. The cons- lack of a/c in all rooms except one. Young adults partying late into the night- noise factor (especially since windows had to be kept open). Lastly, the garbage and recycle trucks would make loud noises very early in the mornings. Recently, when we traveled to Rome with two teens- we booked Hotel Primavera- excellent location and good breakfast. They may have discounts via 3rd party booking sites for one week stays. Lastly, I would highly recommend a day trip to Pompeii and Florence or Bolgna( if foodie in the family). Have a great trip! |
Anonymous
A day trip to Florence? No, spend a few nights there. Has the OP taken their kids to Italy before? If not, then spending the entire week in Rome is ridiculous, I'm sorry. |
Anonymous
| A week in Rome is a great idea. There is SO much to see and it’s a big city. An apartment would be fine you just need to research good neighborhoods. There are a lot of small private rentals not through Airbnb that can work well. But - there are always risks of course. I would recommend the Gianicolense or portuense or monteverde area. |
Anonymous
Several PPs disagree with you. |
Anonymous
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OP back, thanks so much for these many helpful replies! I was not familiar with the Marriott homes site and will definitely check it out.
I was not expecting controversy on a week in Rome! This is my kids’ first trip to Italy and of course there are a zillion wonderful things they won’t see, but we think for their interests Rome will be a good fit and we’ll find plenty to do. |
Anonymous
Ha, as if I care! Personally, a week there is not for me but you do you. |
CosmicFlower
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Florence was my base for a couple weeks during my Italian trip. Gotta say, it was pretty sweet. Cheaper than Rome, which was nice on the wallet. And man, Florence is so compact - you can walk everywhere! Though I'll admit, Rome's got the edge on public transport.
Since I was there for a while, I snagged an apartment. Saved some cash that way. I used some of that money I saved to hire a local guide from https://gowithguide.com/Italy/Florence/guides for my first day. |
Anonymous
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We stayed here in Rome a few summers ago, and it was a nice compromise between a hotel and an apartment. The best part was the amazing breakfast that it came with. It was just a 6 minute walk to Piazza Navonna.
https://www.smeraldoroma.com/en/family-suite/ |
Anonymous
Not OP but thank you for the info: looks fantastic, checks all the usual apartment boxes (two bathrooms, more beds, more space, kitchen) - the only thing I didn’t see is washer/drier. What did you do for laundry? |
Anonymous
NP But for a week I want to eat good Italian food! Otherwise, I could stay at home at cook bad Italian meals |
Anonymous
Not pp, but I don't work much about laundry for a one week trip. |
Anonymous
We didn't need to do laundry while there. We were on a 2.5 week trip to Italy, and only in Rome for 4 nights, and had done laundry at previous stop at an AirBnB in Florence, and had a w/d at our next AirBnB in Sorrento. |
Anonymous
Thank you! I can totally relate 
For PP who does not worry about laundry for a week: count your blessings! |
Anonymous
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We did a week in Rome last year as my kids first trip to Italy. We did one day trip to Pompeii. In retrospect one said they thought it was too long in Rome and we should have added a second stop but I actually disagree — this felt not rushed, and I think adding a second city would have let to a lot of complaints that people felt overscheduled. They seemed to be having fun and not bored — the only place they were fussy was actually Pompeii because our guide was not great and it was hot, and maybe palladium hill because it’s really big and we didn’t have a guide so I think felt a little challenging.
We stayed in this apartment near navona square that we booked thru vrbo. The management company was great — they let us in early and then came right away when we had a problem with a key. The location was great — there’s a taxi stand right there, plus a bus line and it’s a short walk to almost everything and a long walk to most other things. One thing I’d note is that there was a cafe in the first floor with an outdoor patio and there were some nights after closing where they were putting chairs up on the patio tables and dumping o it bottles for recycling that was very loud — if you have light sleepers, it might disturb them. One of my kids was irritated by it. Also, the hairdryer supplied did not work for more than 5 seconds at a time. |
Anonymous
| Oh, also — there was a washing machine but we did not see a dryer! Did not occur to me that laundry facilities might not include a dryer. We didn’t want it hang stuff around the apartment so we just made do without laundry for the week. It was cool enough in March that we weren’t sweating that much. |