Rome, Italy
The Colosseum at Dusk
We were lucky enough to visit Rome at the perfect time of year (late September/early October). The weather was gorgeous — warm but not hot, with cool nights — and the light stunning each night as the sun went down. There were a few unpredictable passing daytime storms, but they never lasted more than 30 minutes and then the sun was back out.
Rome is a gorgeous city, filled with important and awesome historical sights (see: The Colosseum, The Vatican Museums, etc.), cool restaurants, and interesting and distinct neighborhoods. Most stuff is walkable in the nice weather, but Rome is also Uber and Taxi friendly — so you can get most anywhere (other than the Vatican) in a few minutes (or with a longer leisurely walk).
We chose to stay in a cool, non-touristy neighborhood called Monti, which is on the edge of center. Monti has lots of cute shops and small, casual places to eat. We liked it and we loved our hotel, The Fifteen Keys Hotel (see my full detailed review below).
*This was part of a 15-night trip to Italy. To see our complete Italy trip itinerary click here.
The Gimlet Traveler Rundown:
All ratings are based on our experience and are on a 5-star rating system (see Site Info for more details). For mapped locations and links to the places listed here (and more) visit Google Map at bottom of page.
Gimlets: *****
Blackmarket Hall (casual bar with well-crafted cocktails — check out the combo of that gold-rimmed glass and the fancy lemon twist in photo below), The Stravinskij Bar (for elegance and special-occasions — silver martini glasses and all), and G-Rough Hotel Bar (a trendy, dark and cool mid-century feel). Our last night we had pre-dinner drinks at Coming Out Roma, a small, unassuming gay bar with a few tables out in the street…just steps from the Colosseum! The photo at the top of this page was taken from there. Recommend it, but only if you sit outside — you can’t beat that view at dusk. The crowd can be friendly (we met a fun straight couple from Scotland who were lovely. They hadn’t realized they were staying at a gay B&B above the bar. But they didn’t care — they were having a grand time!).Restaurants: ****
Our special-occasion night was at Le Jardin De Russie (The Garden of the Hotel De Russie — just up a flight of stairs from the lovely Stravinskij Bar at the same hotel listed above). It was a little bit of a let down for the price, despite a beautiful garden setting and top tier service. We had a lovely, tasty, cozy, and buzzy dinner at Pianostrada — an upscale Italian restaurant very popular with locals.Sights: *****
I mean: The Colosseum, The Roman Forum, The Vatican Museums, St. Peters Basilica, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc. etc.GT Tip: Splurge on early entry to the Sistine Chapel. It’s worth paying a little extra to beat the crowds and you get to walk through the empty halls of the Vatican Museum before it opens to the general public.
Shopping: ****
We discovered many cool little home design shops walking around our base neighborhood of Monti (and a small “Urban” flea market), and found some high-end design and cool clothing shops elsewhere. All the usual “Fifth Avenue” shops (if that’s your thing) are accounted for on Via Del Corso.
Review of The Fifteen Keys Hotel Rating: *****
Fifteen Keys is a small, stylish and comfortable boutique hotel in the great Monti neighborhoo; away from the tourist center but close to plenty of restaurants, cool shops and bars to keep you busy. And only a 20-25 minute stroll to get to most of the central attractions. The hotel staff are great and helpful, the breakfast is generous (and includes hot food), and you can get a proper cocktail any time of the day or night upon request. The rooms have all the mod-cons including good a/c — we were in the master suite on the top floor which was a spacious suite with a large bath, plenty of storage, and a cute balcony that overlooked the street. It was our first time in Rome and we highly recommend for value and comfort and location!Show less
Date of stay: October 2019
Room tip: If you want plenty of space and storage to spread out, request the master suite on the top floor.
Other Hotel Choices:
• G-Rough Hotel for it’s design and cool bar. Ultimately we chose Fifteen Keys because of the location slightly off-center, pricing, and it seemed more full-service and better-reviewed.
• Also, the new Hotel Chapter Roma looks fun and funky with striking design elements and pared back modern design for its rooms. Also key is the cool Chapter Lobby Bar & Lounge.
Below is a map of hotels, restaurants, bars, shopping and sights found during our research. We didn’t have time to visit all of them during our trip, but all were of interest. Click on the icon at top left of the map to view the legend. Or you can click on the full-screen icon at top right to expand, which will also bring up the legend.
