Recommend an apartment rental service for Rome?

May 3, 2007 5:13 PM

Please help us find a reliable source for vacation apartment rentals in Rome.

We need an apartment in Rome that sleeps 7-8 for 6 days in June (18-24). Everything we're finding online is a swamp of "email us and we'll get back to you". We don't want to stay too far "out of the way", but beyond that we're not neighborhood-fussy. We'll be on foot. We'd prefer to stay under $400 per night. If you have personal experience or recommendations to share, please do.

posted by ersatzkat to Travel & Transportation around Rome, Italy (12 answers total)

not a specific personal recommendation, but

have you tried going through craigslist? I haven't used it in Rome, but in Rio (much sketchier place to rent!) it's full of individual short-term sublets and rental service companies.

alternatively, Rick Steve's guidebooks have recommendations that have been vetted, and he has not disappointed me yet. He's in general been a fan of renting apartments when possible/sensible...
posted by whatzit at 5:40 PM on May 3, 2007

i recommend the trastevere district.
posted by phaedon at 5:56 PM on May 3, 2007

I highly recommend Cross Pollinate. I got a great apartment through them last month.
posted by malaprohibita at 5:57 PM on May 3, 2007

Best answer: I am from Rome myself, but I don't know about b&b and apartments...only hotels.

I can recommend you www.venere.com search engine. When using it, select Rome and then select the map of the city+hotels. All the neighborhoods that are within the "magnified lens" portions are excellent and are close to the center of the city (except EUR, but it very well connected 20 mins of underground away from center)

I highly recommend you to find any location that is close to the underground, as it is by far the fastest mean of transportation and taxis are quite expensive, buses go everywhere, but suffer from traffic jams. You can metro map and metro information here

I second phaedon choice, but keep in mind : the closer to the underground, the happier you will be in terms of speed of transporation. Suface transport is good, but traffic is relatively high during all day long..and during evening the only efficients ways are underground and taxis.
posted by elpapacito at 6:04 PM on May 3, 2007

Ops forgot to mention : the Metro map is all lines and stuff, but the only two very fast lines MA and MB (Metro Line A an Line B) ..the others are A LOT less frequent and slower.
posted by elpapacito at 6:07 PM on May 3, 2007

Valley Castle is an intriguing place- they have room for a crowd, and reasonable rates for multi-person, multi-day stays.

Second Venere and Cross-pollinate.

Also:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/vr/list.asp?r=Rome
http://www.realrome.com/apartmentscentre.html
www.nibiru.it
http://aaa.villaescapes.com
http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/rome-italy.html
http://www.bedandbreakfastroma.com
http://www.bedandbreakfast.it/
http://www.bbalessandra.com/lacasetta/dove2_eng.htm
http://www.rentalinrome.com/spagnastepsapartments.htm
http://www.millennium-beb.com/spanish_steps_area.htm

Double-check the places with tripadvisor; I failed to do so and was stuck with a pretty horrible living situation the first time I visited.

Be aware that you're getting into the sticky hot season in Italy, if you're going over the summer- as a budget traveler, I snub air-conditioning, but you may not be able to sleep or rest comfortably w/o a/c on the hottest nights in Rome.
posted by arnicae at 6:33 PM on May 3, 2007

I've had good luck finding great vacation rentals from OwnerDirect.com.
posted by whoda at 6:47 PM on May 3, 2007

I've used Vacation Rentals by Owner for several trips and it's worked out well. Their listings for Rome are here.
posted by mogget at 8:46 PM on May 3, 2007

Best answer: Caveat to elpapacito's metro advice: Metro Line A's last train departs from its respective endpoints at 9 pm as it is undergoing rennovations. There are supplimentary Bus lines MA1 (Andata - Extended; Ritorno - Limited ) & MA2 (Andata - Limited; Ritorno - Extended) until midnight, at which point the normal nocturnal bus services kick in.

Also note that due to said rennovations, the Manzoni stop on Line A is closed for the foreseeable future.
posted by romakimmy at 4:45 AM on May 4, 2007

I stayed in this lovely apartment in Rome last month. This fellow's account of his stay in the same place is spot on.

I'm not sure which agency we booked with though - it seems this apartment is registered with lots of different ones.
posted by tiny crocodile at 11:11 AM on May 4, 2007

Another vote for Venere. I've used it for locating both hotels and apartments, and it has always been fine.
posted by hydatius at 1:00 AM on May 5, 2007

Response by poster: We used venere.com and had an apartment in Rome for 6 nights and an apartment in Venice for two nights in about 30 minutes flat, and that's saying a lot, given ersatzjef's love of extensive research. Thanks also for the Metro tips!
posted by ersatzkat at 5:21 PM on May 6, 2007