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07/25/2003 Archived Entry: "Bargain Beds in Rome"

I am more and more asked where to sleep and eat in Rome. Many of my Cook At Seliano guests make a stay in Rome part of their trip, either before or after they spend a week with me. Many other listeners to my radio show are calling in with questions about Rome and other places in Italy.

So now, instead of staying with friends, and eating at restaurants of which I am fond, I find myself staying in small hotels, bed and breakfasts, and eating in restaurants that are new to me. I’ve turned into a travel guide and writer.

Rome is a glorious city. I know there are people who don’t like it, but I find this unfathomable. There is beauty around every corner, and inside practically every building, and although it is a big city, Italy’s largest, it still has the gracious pace of the Italian south. Romans take time for long lunches. They sit in cafes and gather in squares (piazzas) to meet their friends and watch other people. They have style. There is no denying that some Romans can be brusque with tourists, especially the ugly American types that think everything should be as it is at home and everyone should speak English. But if you put on a smile, or even attempt to speak a few words of Italian, they will be sympathetic and treat you well.

To make the most of a trip to Rome (indeed, a trip to anywhere), do your homework. First, get a map of the city. See where you’re going. Familiarize yourself with the main streets and squares, and where the historic landmarks are. Read a few good guidebooks and decide ahead what you would like to see. To give one tiny example, everyone wants to see the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. But until you read a guidebook you might not know that the famous chapel ceiling by Michelangelo can only be viewed at the end of a long trek through the Vatican museum. The museum is filled with an overwhelming number of things to see, plus an equally enormous number of objects bought by Popes who had no artistic taste at all. In other words, it helps to know what’s the good stuff and what isn’t.

For that you need a good guide book, or better, a good guide. I have one. The best. Her name is Iris Carulli and for nearly eight years she was my personal assistant. She now lives in Rome and is making much better use of her masters degree in art history and her native ability with the Italian language. She knows Rome as well as she knows her hometown of New York. She can be reached through her website: www.imcarulli.com. Or, call her at 011 39 328 06 299 90. If you call, remember there is a six-hour difference, so don’t call later than 4 p.m. New York time.

Here are two places I can recommend to stay because I have stayed at them myself. Tomorrow, I’ll file a few short reviews of Roman restaurants.

Caesar House, “Residenza Romana”
Via Cavour, 310
06.6792674
Giulia Barela, owner (english-speaking)
www.caesarhouse.com

I can’t rave enough about this beautiful, beautifully located, and blessedly well-air-conditioned bed and breakfast. It is just one block from the ancient Roman Forum, which you can see from the window of its big suite. And it is at the edge of an up-and-coming residential area. (Gentrification is touching every part of Rome, as it has in New York.) It is close to other historic sights – the Coliseum … I can go on.

More than just a good location, it offers comfort, beauty, and a price that is hard to beat. The rooms were decorated by the owner in a spare, contemporized traditional mode mixing lush fabrics, modern art, and painted wooden furniture. (To see the rooms click on the website above.) Unlike at most bed and breakfasts, you don’t have to carouse with other guests while sipping your morning coffee. A sumptuous Continental breakfast, including rustic bread, elegant cornetti (the Italian answer to croissants), butter and jams, is served in your room. The regular rooms are smallish, but with very high ceilings. They cost about 170 Euros a night for two, 150 for one. The suite, which has a bedroom, a bath, a large living room with a dining area (and that view of the Forum), plus a small kitchen, all off a hall, like an apartment, costs about 270 Euro for two, 230 for one. Ask about prices for more. The bedroom sleeps two. The sofa in the living room opens to a bed for two. And, for an additional room fee, a second bedroom can be added to the suite, still maintaining the apartment-like privacy. This is an excellent place for a family to stay, or for someone who wants to cook with Roman ingredients while they visit the city.

Hotel Cardinal
Via Guilia, 62
06.68.802.719
www.cardinalhotel.it

This small hotel is ideally located on one of the quietest antique streets of Rome, where the most exclusive antique shops take the ground floor of very grand palazzi -- apartment buildings. It is only steps from the Tiber river and the bridge that takes you across the river to Trastevere. It is practically around the corner from the Campo de’ Fiori. It is walkable to the Piazza Navonna. And in any case the street is serviced by one of Rome’s newish electric mini-buses. The air-conditioned rooms can be smallish, but they are decorated in grand Italian style with heavy drapery. It’s hard to complain at about 160 Euros a night for two. Do ask for a room with a bath. Some rooms have showers that were not designed for large-size Americans, and the tubs always have shower spray “telephones.” I stayed in a rather large room that had a bed for two and a day-bed that was very comfortable, another good family room. The buffet breakfast in a room off a courtyard with ancient artifacts is adequate, but the bar near the lobby is a treat. It has a wall of ancient stone and comfortable seating, just right for an afternoon refreshment.