Grrrrrrr... LOVE italy, LOVE italians, HATE how slack the customer service is. Can anyone help Aitch find an apartment to stay in for a week in Rome at the end of May?

[AitchTwoOhelicopterfraek]

sorry about that, it's naff when you put your own name in a title but i'm a bit desperate.

anyhoo, i know, i know, i'm rubbish, i always go to Rome but you know a holiday is about me having a nice time and i know the city so well.

so i'm looking for CHEAP accommodation (under 100 euro per night) in Rome for between the 27th May and 4th June.

i've found some great places on a website but when you email they just try to upsell you to more expensive accommodation and so far have taken 72 hours to get back to me anyway so it's most frustrating. i've phoned and emailed etc but they couldn't care less really...

does anyone have any recommendations? (at this rate i'll be forced to ask my Italian mates which would be fine were it not for the fact that they would instantly invite us to stay with them, the generous bastards, and it would be awkward refusing but all i want to do is potter around just the three of us).

really it needn't be nice, just fairly central. dd can sleep in our bed if necessary so we don't need a lot of space, i'd rather spend money in restaurants than on accommodation that we'll just be flopping into anyway.

areas? navona, colosseo, spanish steps, trastevere, campo di fiori, anywhere really. preferably not st p's as it's a bit antiseptic round there.

if anyone can help me that would be FABULOUS. i've looked here www.rentalinrome.com and here www.homelidays.com mostly so far, so any good websites (with some actual fookin customer service) would be really helpful.

did you see this, unfit?

thanks habs, i looked at that site last night and couldn't see the kiddie info.

how long did dd's take to come back, habs?

Quite quick - less than 2 weeks, maybe?

fingers crossed, then. hey ho.

by the way, unfit, if you want to email me at aitch at babyledweaning dot com i can send you the list of the others as well. i have some more at 800 ish and 900 ish.

Blimey, that Stuart guy's an excessive worrywort. What was he expecting? Concrete "esplanades" all'americana? Italians do breed in ancient cobbled towns and cities and yes, the cobbles do help send children to sleep in their pushchairs. I had DD when I lived in the centre of Milan and we both managed to survive the cobbles and/or holes in the concrete, as well as the cars parked on the pavements (though I have seen this in the UK too). IMO you'll need a slightly sturdier buggy, I also have a lightweight Maclaren but tend to use my Loola for city centres. However, please also bear in mind that there are hardly any of those wonderful automatic doors and ramps that shops in the UK put in for wheelchair users, so you will be struggling with steps and holding doors open, in which case the lightweight might be a better idea.

There are hardly any changing facilities, that's true, which is probably why Italian kids tend to be potty trained sooner I imagine. Bring a portamat and change on park benches. Alternatively, if you feel up to the challenge, you could try potty training before you leave. I don't know how old your DD is but mine figured it in a week at 2years 10 days, so it can be done. Re snacks when out an about, Italian "fast food" is a thousand times healthier than most things you'll find on a UK high street and usually a lot ncer. My DD tends to live on grissini, pizzette and olive focaccia when we're far from home.

PS. Go for the Trastevere one, you have a twee courtyard in front of your door FFS. Public transport is so cheap in Italy so it doesn't matter if you're a bit farther out.

Thanks Aitch,
just tried to e-mail you but no joy. That was babyledweaning.com wasn't it?

i'm waiting to hear back from them, Brange, ta. it's just across the bridge, tbh, so it's not even that far into trastevere, it's just oppositie sidney sonnino and it's on the tramline. oh i LOVE the trams.

really? i'm getting emails on there...

this is my spare jane, though... my lesser one. tallis did rather generously offer me the lend of a quinny, but i worry about having no buggy in an airport.
where is tallis, btw?

mind you... would i have it in an airport if i checked it in?

On cheapo flights to Italian airports you can usually pick the buggy off the tarmac when you get off the plane, if you took it up to the plane on the way out. Don't check it in, it's handy to have for chucking coats and hand luggage on, if nothing else.

You should be able to take it to the plane and then it gets put into the cabin there, but it depends on the airline, I think.

i wonder what ryanair do? the most awkward bastard thing possible, i'll warrant.

Normally you can take a buggy right up to the plane door, through the jetway (tunnel bit). You will notice a pile of collapsed buggies as you board.

TBH I can't remember much about collecting them inbound. From my own experience, they are then put in the hold and are first off on the conveyer belt before all other luggage.

Well, Easyjet don't warrant a tunnel at my local airport, so it's a bus to the terminal, which is great because by the time the bus arrives to pick people up form the plane the hold in unloaded and the buggies are geaming on the tarmac. Ditto Ryanair at Bergamo. Are you going to Ciampino? It'll probably be the same there, though it might be an idea to ask someone who's actually done it....

Success!

i could phone them and find out. PMSL. they don't answer The Phone. oh. i could phone the airport!

have emailed you in a panic about dates... you're sure you haven't asked for the same time? we're staying until the 4th june?

LL - you lurking? Bad news here

Haven't read all thread but assume you have found somewhere to stay by now .....
We found v cheap small hotel near Campo di Fiori. Good location and walking distance of pretty much everything. We had absolutely wonderful holiday there, however....warning re your wallet and your luggage from my in-laws experience last year!
First day of holiday FIL had wallet stolen on the tram (their friends was also stolen but on a different tram they think!) and he foiled an attempt to steal it again at the train station. (he was asked for the time and caught "the hand" reaching for his pocket as he lifted up his arm to look at his watch!)
Finally on the train returning to Rome from Piza one of their suitcases was stolen.
Joining the very long queue at the police station spoilt the whole experience for them, which is a real shame as we absolutely love Italy (got married there too)and would love them to join us on a holiday to Tuscany but they are not keen.

funnily enough i said to dh, if i'm going to italy i'll need a zipped up handbag... might get one in fausto santini.

actually though, it's a great point. i'm a bit lax about that now with trying to herd dd. i might have to get something downright unsightly but safe.