My husband and I went to Italy in October 2012 for our honeymoon and months before that, I did a Tripadvisor search on the best B&Bs to stay in. The Al Colonnato di St Pietro caught my eye because of its location – it’s just next to St. Peter’s Basilica which is one of the places we would want to spend time in. We booked the Red Room and stayed there for 6 nights. It’s the best decision we have made for this trip. The positive comments you read on this site are true!
The gorgeous B&B owner, Rosa Maria made us feel at home right from the start. She waited for us on our day of arrival, and spent some time giving us useful information with regards to the neighbourhood, available public transport and places of interest.
Her assistant, Imelda (affectionately known as ‘Meldy’) is a vibrant and helpful lady from the Philippines. Breakfast is prepared by her and placed on a cart which is wheeled right to our door step. L-o-v-e it! Bed linens and towels are changed every day, and our room and washroom (located across the room) are very clean. At night, it’s quiet and safe as our room faces the Aurelian walls.
We could get almost everything we need within a stone’s throw away; laundry service, tabacchi (to get bus tickets), Carrefour market and gelato! Just around the corner, there are two restaurants which we frequented during our stay (recommended by Rosa). Their menus include English texts and food was delicious and affordable.
And did I mention that it’s located just opposite St. Peter’s? We would walk past the basilica on our way home almost every day, and oh, what a view especially when they turned on the lights at dusk. The experience is sublime. If you are looking for religious items such as rosaries, crucifixes etc, you could go to Via del Mascherino (also recommended by Rosa, it’s just 15 minutes away by foot) where there are many shops offering these at very good prices.
But what I love most about this place is Rosa and Meldy themselves. I love Italian food, so I wanted to get hold of some items such as good quality olive oil, dried porcini mushroom, coffee powder etc. So I did a lot of research before I came over. But all I needed was to just talk to Rosa and she’d set me off at the right track. Rosa was there to greet us every morning to ask how our previous day went and also gave a lot of tips on the things I wanted to buy (the brands etc) and the places we should not miss on our way to wherever we planned to go. She also advised on the public transport (which bus to take) - the quickest way to get there. Rosa also provided phones in case we need to reach her for emergencies, that was really comforting.
On our third day, Rosa generously offered us with a bottle of champagne (she ‘conspired’ with me to give my husband a lovely surprise). This added such a memorable lovely touch to our stay, and indeed I’ve not encountered such a personalized, hospitable service before.
All in all, if you are not familiar with Rome, I truly recommend this B&B - Rosa and Meldy are simply wonderful, the location is excellent, breakfast is hearty, rooms are clean, neighbourhood is quiet and safe and oh, the list goes on. You won’t regret it.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
November 14, 2012
Dear Guests,
Thank you for your valuable feedback. It is very important to us.
We appreciate the time you took to write about your wonderful experience at Al Colonnato di San Pietro.
Sincerely,
Rosa Maria
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.