Stayed at the Residenza AT at Piazza Barberini in Rome over my birthday at the end of June 2008. My husband and I were a little bit dubious as we could not find any reviews about the hotel, apart from the odd one or two on hotels.com and expedia.
We needn't have worried. What a fab little hotel. I would definitely recommend it and would definitely stay here again.
The hotel.
It is situation right on the corner of the junction of Piazza Barberini, Via del quattro fontane and Via del corso. It is fairly easy to find if you know what you are looking for. It is a large yellow building right outside the Fontane Tritone, which has its entrance in between a clothes shop and a snack bar. The hotel requires that you locate the relevant buzzer (marked AT). They will then buzz you in. Once inside you need to press the light switch, as you are now faced with lots of stairs, and the lights are on timer (although they give you plenty of time to get up). The hotel is situated on the third floor of the building, the suites are on the fourth floor. When we arrived, it was a very hot day, we were able to walk from the station (its not that far, only about a ten minute walk), there are buses and the metro stops at Barberini too, for those less able or willing to walk. We were greeted by a very friendly young lady, who immediately offered us a drink of fresh orange juice... she must have seen how unfit I was!! We were shown our room, which was very modern and cool, air conditioning was a godsend! Our only disappointment was that ours was the only room that did not overlook the Tritone fountain, but we got over that very quickly!
We were given a key to both our room and the entrance door downstairs, so we could come and go freely, and were shown how to use the safe in the room, which the staff told us they had no access to, as you put your own code in, from 4 to 9 digits long, but don't forget your code, because it takes 24 hours for someone to come out and open it in this case. We were also asked to book the time we would like our breakfast to be served, between 7.30am and 10am.
The hotel reception is manned 24 hours a day, and the hotels owner is a very jovial and very helpful man, who told us of all the best places to visit and eat at. He also gave us some leaflets about cheaper tour buses, and supplied us with a map of Rome, on which he highlighted the best places and the steer clear of places... although he highlighted the shopping area as a no go area because it is full of designer shops and very d
expense, which my husband and the owner thought was highly amusing!!
The breakfast, although simple, was lovely and set us up for the morning, it consisted of croissants, biscotti, toast, yogurt, orange juice and coffee, and a selection of jams and honey. The owner also told us that if we wanted more, just to let him know, but there was plenty.
Eating out.
Around the immediate area there are plenty of bars and restaurants. One word of advice, don't go anywhere that does not display prices, we went in one bar on the way to the spanish steps, out of the hotel and immediate right, that offers eggs and bacon for 6 Euro, but when we got in he talked us into getting a salad, which we did, the salad itself was very bland and not like ours at all, and also full of olives and oil, and we also had a cappuccino, we were charged 40 Euros!!! So beware!! Immediately opposite the hotel there is a gelato place and snack bar called Squisito Cook, the food here is cheap and very tasty, the service is impeccable and the gelato is to die for (homemade). We ended up eating here for most of our stay. The snack bar immediately next door to the hotel was a nice place to sit and people watch, although the street does get very busy as it is a meeting place for tours. It was also very cheap, compared to normal Rome prices.
Rome.
Don't bother doing tours, using the buses or metro, you miss so much. Just do it on foot. We were only there for two days, and had seen most of what we wanted to on the first afternoon. Go down Via del corso to the big cross roads, then go diagonally to your left down the back streets, you will find a selection of shops and restaurants and will stumble across the Trevi fountain. From here, cross back over Via del corso and head toward the Pantheon. Back onto Via del corso and follow it to the bottom and you will reach the tomb of the unknown soldier, and also one of the first set of ruins. Follow the main road up and to the left and as you round the bend in the road you will see the collosseum directly in front of you. From here, head toward Basillica Santa Maria Maggiore, a most awesome and humbling place, we were lucky enough to visit during a service, and the echoing chants were mindblowing. Follow the Via del quattro fontane back down and you will pass Barberini Palace, and five minutes further is the hotel, you have come full circle. This took us about three hours all told, and we were plodding, and stopping to have a break (it was very hot).
The second day we turned right out of the hotel and headed toward the Spanish steps, which from this direction, you hit from the top, so no walking up!!! If you decide to do so, you can follow that road and it will take you toward Sant Angelo and the Vatican city. We did not bother as we happened to visit on the feast of St Peter and St Paul, the only day it is closed!!! If you want to visit the Vatican and the museums, it is free on the last sunday of every month, just remember to get there early.
All told we had a fabulous two days in Rome, which was very much helped by the fact that our hotel was in such a prime position.
