Stephen Box

Finding good quality budget accommodation is always a bit of a crap shoot. You read widely, guide books, reviews on Booking.com, TripAdvisor and then hope that the district you’ve chosen is not a shady hell hole with crack dens on either side of you. On this trip the usual hostels were just not going to cut it in terms of quality accommodation, so it was on to the next best option for the budget minded traveller, small hotels and B&Bs. A Peace of Rome is on all of the major booking sites and is well reviewed by most, so we took the plunge.

Located in the up and coming Prati district, A Peace of Rome is within a few blocks of two metro stations and a ten minute walk to St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum. The hotel is within a couple of blocks of two up scale shopping strips, and food, drink and amenities are plentiful within a short stroll.

We arrived in Rome a little shell shocked after spending the night in a pretty dull apartment hotel in Dubai and having spent far too many hours on aircraft from Sydney. So we were thankful that we had opted to use the car service provided by the hotel. For €55, a poultry €7 more than the equivalent cab ride, we were greeted at the airport by a friendly chauffeur who escorted us to a new Mercedes S Class and took us to the hotel.

We were greeted on the street by our host, who showed us to the B&B, located within an 19th Century apartment mansion. The accommodation takes up two of the former apartments, with six rooms in total. After checkin our hosts provided up with a map and details of a suggested walking tour, taking in some of the most important tourist sites in Rome.

The room itself was about 24m^2 and contained a European Queen size bed, small couch come foldout single bed, three door wardrobe and desk area. The bathroom was well appointed with new fixtures, however the shower was a little cramped and could at times have low water pressure. Tea and coffee making facilities, a 32” LCD TV and small fridge were also provided.

For the price, €70 per night, it was an excellent value, well appointed room. The Prati district is well serviced with quality restaurants and eating. Traditional family style restaurants are plentiful as well as some cool upscale all day eateries such as Romeo (http://romeo.roma.it, Via Silla 26a, 00192, Roma Italy) and simple yet tasty La Compagnia del Pane (http://www.compagniadelpane.net, Via Fabio Massimo 89, 00192 Roma).