Misleading photo for this post as I took it in Paris because that was the last time I was in Europe!
I hope you all had the best holiday weekend! We are headed to Rome and then on a 7-night Celebrity cruise that goes to other areas of Italy, France, and Spain. We are SO excited. We spent so many hours this past long weekend researching and planning.
We are going to be staying in Rome for 3 nights before the cruise and then 2 nights after the cruise. Neither of us has ever been to Italy. Our cruise will stop in Portofino, Italy, Cannes, France, Ajaccio, Corsica, Barcelon, Spain, and lastly, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
We have come up with a handful of hotels after doing a ton of research and literally looking at every single Tripadvisor page we could find for reviews and photos.
Anyway, I know so may of you have been to Rome and probably have way more knowledge so I thought I would share our list with you all that we came up with and would love your input if you have ever stayed at any of these places and if you would recommend them or not. I put them in order of our top favorites but we loved the look/location/reviews of all of them.
St. Regis
Singer Palace
JK Place
Hotel de Russie
Maalot Roma
Palazzo Dama
We would like to stay at two different hotels since the trip is split by our cruise. So we will do 3 nights at one hotel, and 2 nights at another. We are running into an issue in the latter half (the 2-night portion) as a lot of hotels that we liked are already booked since it falls on a Saturday.
Anyway, we are leaning towards 3 nights at the Singer Palace and then 2 nights at the St. Regis. But would love to hear any feedback you have on this! JK Place and Hotel de Russie are our two secondary options but we are running into availability issues with both of those.
I'd also love any recommendations for meals, can't-miss sights, things to skip, and whatever other recommendations you have!
I have to admit, I kind of forget how to travel for a long period of time... things like taking a long red-eye flight, dealing with the time change, and all of that seem daunting. I haven't been to Europe since 2017- I am rusty and that makes me a little anxious. Whenever I get anxious I just try to prepare and plan as much as possible!
Thank you all so much for your time in recommending things- I appreciate it so much! I will be sure to do a big travel guide and give you all of the details upon our return (it's still a few months away!).
9 comments:
Hi Sydney! Our friends swear by Russie and had the best experience there. Their mom will ONLY stay there in Rome. :) But, I'm sure the ones you found are all amazing! I'm like you and research EVERYTHING. It's expensive but one thing we learned on our Italian honeymoon was how much we valued our experiences at the nicer hotels. A few things about Rome we still talk about... the fried Roman artichokes (you can get them all over the place) and Roma Sparita (for Anthony Bourdain's favorite cacio e pepe -- go right when they open for lunch!).
How exciting!! My mom and I went to Rome in 2017 and it was so special. Our absolute FAVORITE restaurant that we ate at was a little hole in the wall, no frills place called Il Fiammifero Strano, in the Ludovisi neighborhood in Rome. Like I said not very fancy, but by far the best pizza and pasta we had on the trip! I still have dreams about their white pizza. Not sure if this place is still around, but you won't regret a visit if it is!
xoxo A
www.southernbelleintraining.com
Hi Sydney!
A must do is the Galleria Borghese - it’s absolutely stunning (advance tickets/reservations are required).
Off the beaten path is Basilica San Clemente, which includes a walk through an archaeological site - definitely recommend.
Both of these are in addition to the main sites (colloseo, Roman forum, Vatican museums, etc. that are a must see). Highly recommend a small tour for the Vatican museums and St. Peter’s, else the crowds can be a bit overwhelming. Trastevere neighborhood is super quaint and fun (wine bars, shops, great restaurants). We tend to stay at smaller/boutique hotels so I can’t comment on your list - although they look beautiful- but I can recommend Mood 44 hotel, which we loved on our last trip to Rome. Enjoy your trip, it sounds amazing!
You will have the best time! Highly HIGHLY recommend getting private tours for the big sites (Vatican, Roman Forum, Colosseum). The tour guides in Italy are highly qualified - they have to pass exams in each language they will be providing tours and are only able to give tours for specific places so when we went we had one tour guide for the Vatican and a different one for the Colosseum and Roman Forum. I also recommend getting to St Peter’s Basilica right away in the morning (before a guided tour of the Vatican) as you will have the ability to really take it in. It gets SO CROWDED and so it’s hard to really appreciate it when there’s so many people inside (and the volume goes up) later in the day. You can also go to confession - it’s an experience! We went to the Spanish Steps and I think that’s something that could be passed on. I think the Trevi is something you can do on one trip and then not have to do it again. Do explore churches when you are walking around, so many of them are open at all times and the architecture, art, etc is like nothing we have in the US. In terms of restaurants, definitely spend a few hours enjoying a leisurely meal and drinks and take it all in of the piazza’s like Piazza del Popolo or Piazza Novano (you can also check out Campo de’ Fiori). I’ve been twice and can say I’ve never had a bad meal! Of course some are better than others but none of them were bad! Don’t stress about the restaurants you will find amazing food! And sometimes the best restaurants are the ones you stumble upon :)
Trattoria Pizzeria Luzzi near the Coliseum. It’s no frills but very good and not a tourist trap despite being in a heavy tourist area. Drinks on the rooftop bar at Hotel Gladiatore around sunset can’t be beat!
Make sure to get tickets to the Vatican in advance!!! The walk-up line can get VERY long and if you have an advanced time ticket, you walk straight up to the front. HIGHLY recommend! https://tickets.museivaticani.va/home
You can also choose to get a guided tour or do a self-guided tour. My husband and I went to Rome a few years ago and we used Rick Steves audio tours all over the city. (Rick Steves has lots of travel programs on PBS). Get his Rick Steves Audio Europe app on your phone. Before you leave, download the tours that you are interested in - he has them for all over Rome. Then you just wear your earbuds and get a free guided tour.
I have only stayed at the Hotel Hassler atop the Spanish steps. It was fabulous. But that was like 40 years go!
Hi Sydney! I stayed at the Hotel Hassler in 2019 and it was wonderful!
I second the Trastevere neighborhood for a dinner. It's exactly what I had pictured in my head of what Italy would look like.
I did a cruise in 2017 with a few of the same stops, and one activity I did that I loved and think you may enjoy was making my own perfume at Galimard Perfumery in Grasse, France. My mother-in-law and I took an Uber from the Cannes, France port location. It was super easy to get an Uber to and from Galimard Perfumery. Proving link below for workshop to make your own perfume. You'll have to name your perfume, so you may want to think of this beforehand. Good luck planning your fun vacation!
https://www.galimard.com/en/product/perfume-creation-workshop-in-grasse-private-individuals
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