Hotelrome.net Blog : A guide to news and events in Rome

What a day! We’re having snow, serious snow, for the first time in a long time in Rome. Get ready because tomorrow you’ll get the photographic evidence!

Today we bring you 4 tricks to improve your experience in the Eternal City!

1.- Roma Pass: You might have already know about this one, but offers good value, so it’s worth mentioning: for 30 euros you get to use the public transportation sysem for 3 days and free entrance to the first 2 museums you visit. Besides, you get discounts on all the museums you visit after the first 2. You can find the Roma Pass in many Tabacchi shops and newsstands in the Termini station, where you will likely arrive from your airport.

2.- Book Vatican Museums in advance: The lenght of the queue to get into the museums is almost legendary among tourists, but you can easily avoid it if you book the entrance in advance.To do it go to this website http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do ; from there you can check availability and book your tickets.

3.-Atac website: Rome is not particularly easy to figure out, when it comes to transportation, but the things are slowly changing thanks to the internet. ATAC, the public transportation agency of the city has o neat website that allows you to check yhe best routes toget from one point of the city to another using the public transportation system. It also shows in real time how long will it take for a bus to arrive to a given stop,so it’s a great resource to check on your mobile.

4.- 060608: This is the Municipality of Rome’s official tourist information service. You can call them at (+39) 060608 to get general information about the city and even book museums. Even if the service has been around for a while, is not very well known but it’s really useful!

Our blogger today: Raul

An eccentric character to say the least, Salvador Dali was a Spanish Catalan surrealist painter. Born in Figueres, Spain, Dali was a particularly skilled draftsman and the use of this in his work is quite astounding.
A self confessed genius, Dali managed to grab attention not only for his masterful works but also gain much, if not more, for his extremely eccentric behaviour. He was known to have driven a car filled to the roof with cauliflowers, lectured with his head enclosed in a diving helmet and had a bewildering but amusing affinity for rhinoceros horns, to which he claimed that rhinoceros horns and cauliflowers were the base of his inspiration.
Dali had a rather large repertoire including film, sculpture and photography collaborating with a range of artists in a variety of media. His skills in painting are often attributed to the influence of renaissance masters.
Now in Rome you have the chance to acquire some insight of your own into the painter. The exhibition, held in the Complesso Del Vittoriano from the 10th of March to the 30th of June, investigates the artists complex personality and his multifaceted genius. An aspect of the painters life that has been so far ignored by exhibitions and research into Dali will be brought to light, this aspect is his relationship with Italy.

If you need more information about the exhibition and for the best accomodation in Rome, don’t hesitate to check our website or send us an e-mail!

Our blogger today: Liam

This one is no secret, but many people don’t know about it. the Vaticam Museums, the most important museum in Rome and home of at least one absolute masterpice of our entire civilization (the Sixtine Chapel) can be visited for free the last sunday of every month.

Here you can check the official calendar; the days marked  green are for free. Note that on those days the museum is open from 9.00 AM until 14.00 PM with the entrance closing at 12.30.Sure, the queue tends to get kilometric but, hey: it’s part of the adventure. And if you want to have the ultimate catholic art experience you can attend the public blessing the pope gives (for free! that’s the key word here) every Sunday at noon at Saint Peter’s Square. And then you can visit San Peter’s Basilica (do I have to mention you don’t have to pay to get in?).

For those not lucky enough to be in Rome the last sunday of the month, or just not willing to wait to get in, my advice is to book your entrance in advance through the official website of the Vatican.You will pay an extra fee, but it will save you lots of time.

There you go: an incredible day at zero cost.
And again, if you need info for accomodation in Rome or anywhere else in Italy, contact our booking office. Or, if you only want to tell me about your catholic-action packed day, drop me a line.

Enjoy yourselves!

Our blogger today: Raul

Rome is packed with things to see and do. Believe me, you can live here for years and still keep discovering incredible things you never heard about before. That’s why we are starting today a series of articles to introduce you to some of the greatest things you can do in the Eternal City withot spending a dime.

First on my list (let’s see what Liam comes up with!) is the church of San Luigi dei Francesi, located near the Pantheon.
From the outside the church looks pretty much like any other church in Rome; you might not imagine that inside you can find an artistic treasure many museums would kill to have, and here it’s available for free: all you have to do it’s walk in!

Inside the church you will find many chapels with religious works of art that, of course, are great but in the end they all almost blur in your mind. That is, until you get to see the Caravaggios. Even if you don’t know anything about art, and just happen to stumble upon the curch by sheer luck you will immediatly be able to tell that here we are dealing not only with an artisan, but with a master and a visionary.

Caravaggio’s works (there are three of them at San Luigi) are vibrant, human and stunning, unlike other religious works of art you will find inside most churches in Rome. I can assure you the passion and strenght that comes off them will become one of your most treasured art memories- and you will get it for free!

You can learn more about Caravaggio and his troubled life on Wikipedia – where else? ; )  To get to San Luigi dei Francesi you can take the bus 40 from Termini. Get off at Largo Argentina and the follow this map we have dutifully put together for your walking pleasure.

If you need accomodation in the city don’t hesitate to write us or visit our website. And while you’re on the internets why don’t you drop me a line to tell me about your Caravaggio experience? It’ll be great to hear from you.

Have a great time!

Our blogger today: Raul

Needless to say Rome is one of the most romantic cities in the world. People fall in love in Rome, people get married here. Every year we witness in our hotel many couples that happily celebrate their wedding and honey moon in the eternal city. In many cases they considerate not only the romantic reasons (which could be more than enough) but more practical ones. Many items are relatively less expensive if you compare the cost in other countries. ‘’Roma Sposa’’ is a National Exhibition that takes places every year in the Italian Capital totally focused on ceremony, wedding dress, services,  accessories providing ideas and solutions on every aspect regarding marriage celebration.

From 12/01/2012 until 16/01/2012 with  350 exhibitors which cover 30.000 square meters with all information about: travel, floral decorations, wedding lists, furniture, photo shoots everything…Actually if are about to get married you have realized that it takes time and it is not enough just visiting web sites. Many things you have to see it at the very place, touching and talking face to face with people that you will rely on. Is it not a great advantage to have all those people you deal with at the same place, at the same time. The place is Nuova Fiera di Roma, from 15.00 until 20.00 on Thursdays and Fridays, from 10.00 until 20.00 on Saturdays and Sundays and from 10.00 until 14.00 on Mondays. For more information about the exhibition check: www.romasposa.it. If you need accommodation then: www.yeshotelrome.com and www.hoteldesartistes.com

When it comes to coffee it’s difficult to go wrong in Rome: almost avery little Bar (as cafés are known in Italy) has good or even great coffee, but as in everything else there is always one that stands above all the others.

In Rome, the place that is regarded as the best for espresso is Bar Sant’Eustachio. The place was opened in 1938 and it’s almost mythical among the horde of caffeine consumers in the capital. They have their own website where you can buy their celebrated blend to enjoy the best coffee in the eternal city even if you cannot come here personally!

But of course, there is nothing like the real deal: even if the place might seem hardly out of the ordinary from the outside, you cannot help but feel as if you are steping into a sort of temple when you walk into Sant’ Eustachio. The employees have a sacerdotal gravitas to them and clients are advised to let the personel known if they want their espresso without sugar, since you get your coffee with the right amount of sugar already on it- something not many cafes in the city do. Maybe it has to do with the fact that some suspect that the sugar is actually an important part of their secret!

Sant’Eustachio is located at Piazza Sant’Eustachio 32, near Navona square. If you are staying at Yes Hotel or Hotel Des Artistes, or anywhere near the Termini station you can take the bus 40 from the station to get there (get off at the station “Argentina”). Here you have a map showing the bus route and the part you would have to do walking from the bus stop.

Have a great vacation and do not hesitate to contact us for accomodation if you are staying in Rome!

Our Blogger today: Raul

After the success achieved through a global journey that has touched the major European capitals and many cities in South America, a sensational exhibit comes to Italy, entitled Days of the Dinosaurs.

A fantastic journey back in time that will engage and amaze every audience. The exhibition holds 51 robotic dinosaurs and 14 scenarios of natural size, which differs a lot compared to classical museums.

This unique experience will involve the whole family, parents and kids will live through the adventure and learn what our planet was like 60 million years ago.

Your appointment with the dinos is at the Fiera di Roma from November 18 to January 18, 2012. The Fiera can be easily reached from Rome using the train that goes from Tiburtina Station to the Fiumicino Airport (Stop “Fiera di Roma”)

To have the best vacation in Rome. check our rates at Hotel Des Artistes and Yes Hotel to find the most comfortable accomodation at the most affordable rates!

Maroon 5 are a music group, pop rock / funk rock, formed in Los Angeles, U.S. in 1997. The group was born from the ashes of Kara’s Flowers, formed by high school classmates of Brentwood in Los Angeles. After the debut album, “The Fourth World”, in 1997, the group changed its name to Maroon 5 and consists of: Adam Levine – vocals, on keyboard Jesse Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden, guitarist James Valentine and drummer Matt Flynn.

In June 2002, with the release of a new album, “Songs About Jane” certified four times platinum, which produced four hit singles: the famous “This Love,” “She Will Be Loved”, “Harder to Breathe” and  ” Sunday Morning “.

In March 2007 the album “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long”, preceded by the single “Makes Me Wonder”, which reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

Things will not change in 2010, when Maroon 5 will release the album “Hands All Over”, as it is very immediate and pleasant in their style, just like their smash hit Songs About Jane,Out in 2011, “Moves like Jagger” with Christina Aguilera, which immediately became a great success, and reaching the heights of charts worldwide.

After cancelling the beginning of  their 2011 European tour, Maroon 5 are now ready to be forgiven by their fans announcing the new Italian dates! Two chances to see Maroon 5 live:

Saturday, December 10 – Rome, Atlantic Area

Sunday, December 11 – Milan, Alcatraz.

Let me tell you about a curious place, away from common tourist routes in Rome .. it is the Orange Garden, located in the Monte Aventino, one of the seven hills of the city, from which to enjoy one of the best views of the Eternal City.

This garden is the perfect place to unwind after a day spent visiting the city, but also the place where you will see a door that hides the Piazza of the Knights of Malta, closed to the public, but you can see peering out of the lock …

Rome we know more or less. But not everyone knows that in addition to St. Peter, Coliseum, Castel Sant’Angelo, Piazza Navona and other famous monuments there are lesser-known small and great wonders that deserve our attention in the same way. Some tips to follow to not lose all that Rome did not want to, hide in the shadow of the greatest works

The Delicious square eighteenth century, the fence and the entrance to the villa of the Priory of Malta are the work of Giambattista Pirenesi, who also found the original of the keyhole of the door, through which, with a view to a tunnel formed by avenue of trees specially cut, you see the dome of St. Peter (beautiful view at night, when, on festive occasions, the giant dome is lit).

After a walk to the ‘Parco degli Aranci’ – the romantic garden in winter and summer – we suggest you peep this view at sunset, when the first light of evening light in color and brightness of the Roman countryside. So is the Parco degli Aranci that before you put the lock of the door of access to what is known as ‘Villa of the Priory of Malta’. ….. you’ll see something really nice! And not to forget!

This important building is the historic seat of the Grand Priory of Rome of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Has the right of extraterritoriality in 1869. It houses the embassies of the order, and to the Holy See and to the Italian. Inside the beautiful, lush garden is the Church of Santa Maria del Priorat, called ‘Santa Maria Aventina’, which was renovated by Giovanni Battista Piranesi in 1765 rearranged the main entrance of the Palace.

The view from this oasis of peace, unknown to many tourists, is wonderful and the pictures may not match reality.

It has a wide view, which stands er dome of St. Peter’s and other architectural wonders of Rome

Entertainment guaranteed.

If you stay with us at the Hotel des Artistes you can reach  this wonderful place in just 20 min!

Our blogger: Rhodora