$weet dreams in the big 3 / ROME

FOR AGES, there seemed to be nothing in Rome between expensive luxury hotels, such as the Hassler at the top of the Spanish Steps, and the dirt-cheap pensions around unlovely Termini railway station. But in 2000, when the Eternal City prepared for an influx of pilgrims celebrating the Roman Catholic Church Jubilee, the municipal tourism agency tried to better categorize and promote lodgings offered by religious institutions and encouraged Romans to open bed-and-breakfasts.

Now there are more than 1,000, according to the tourism agency. Some of the convents and monasteries have facilities as polished as those in good hotels, and Romans have put their own spin on the B&B; formula. Increasingly, they are more like small inns than private homes, with a professional staff and attractive amenities.

But most Americans prefer hotels in the four- and five-star categories, said Daniela Martellucci of the tourism agency. Those are frightfully dear, from $265 to $900 a night, on average. Even three-star places can cost as much as $250.

Thus, budget travelers would be consigned to generally uninviting, bare-bones hotels with a maximum of two stars were it not for the fact that Rome has two distinct tourist seasons, priced accordingly. Top rates are the rule from April to October, but if you can visit Rome in low season, from November to March, excluding holidays, you can get a room in a handsome upscale hotel for less than $200 a night.

*

The Beehive

THE Beehive was opened in 1999 by Steve Brenner and Linda Martinez-Brenner, a young couple from L.A., and it’s a happy surprise just a few blocks northeast of Termini. The neighborhood is neither the safest nor most storied part of Rome, but from there you can easily get a bus to the Vatican or a train to the airport.

The Brenners used clean, contemporary Kartell-style furnishings and original art to decorate a large ground-floor apartment, converted into a little inn with six doubles starting at about $90 and a mixed-sex bunk room that starts at $27. The results are cheerful and airy, in striking contrast to the dim, claustrophobic rooms that are the Roman budget standard.

All the rooms share baths and toilets, but there are plenty of them on the same hall as the chambers, and they come with shampoo, shower gel and soap. WiFi access is available even in the little garden out front, and the basement has a communal kitchen and cafe whose menu includes smoothies, banana bread and organic yogurt.

If you check in, make sure to get “The Beehive Recommends,” a thoughtful booklet full of the Brenners’ favorite restaurants, shops and sights.

The Beehive, 8 Via Marghera, 011-39-06-44-70-45-53, www.the-beehive.com; doubles from $90 with shared bath.

*

Hotel Campo de’ Fiori

FOR many years, the Albergo del Sole and Hotel Campo de’ Fiori in the medieval section of Rome were two of the city’s top budget accommodations. The upkeep and service at the Albergo, where I stayed for several days on my visit in February, have flagged, I’m sorry to report, so I can’t strongly recommend it.

Hotel Campo de’ Fiori has closed until mid-April for renovations that will give all its 22 rooms private baths, Internet access, satellite TV, air-conditioning and double-glazed windows.

Prices will increase accordingly. When I stayed there a decade ago, a small double with a private bath cost about $110, single occupancy. Now the price of rooms for two will begin at about $180. Nevertheless, this hotel remains one of my favorites, largely because of its central location, near the marvelous Campo de’ Fiori piazza with its wine bars, antiques shops and open-air market.

The hotel occupies a narrow, seven-story Roman tenement building, which will become more user-friendly when it gets its new elevator. Views from rooms on upper floors can be extraordinary, especially 601 and 602, from which you can see Michelangelo’s dome at St. Peter’s.

On my most recent visit, I toured three of the 16 well-kept apartments the hotel also handles. They are priced from $108 to $180, double occupancy, with kitchenettes and living rooms, and are all in the prime Campo de’ Fiori area.

Hotel Campo de’ Fiori, 6 Via del Biscione, 011-39-06-688-06-865, www.hotelcampodefiori.com; doubles $144 to $240, including breakfast.

*

Hotel La Rovere

I was on my way to lunch at the Trattoria Sor’Eva, a workaday Roman restaurant that serves terrific pasta, when I found the Hotel La Rovere tucked away on one of the little streets that climbs the Janiculum Hill just south of St. Peter’s. It’s the only hotel in a forgotten corner of Rome near the Tiber River, an easy walk to the Vatican, central Rome and Trastevere.

When I first chanced on La Rovere five years ago, it looked fussy and somewhat tired, but the owner has been renovating it room by room, re-exposing wood beams, simplifying color schemes and replacing carpets, making the hotel lighter and more stylish. Several chambers on the third and fourth floors have inviting terraces. Doubles begin at about $168 and include such amenities as air conditioning, refrigerators, heated towel racks, TVs, telephones and bicycle rentals.

Hotel la Rovere, 4-5 Vicolo di Sant’Onofrio; 011-39-06-68-80-67-39, www.hotellarovere.com; doubles from $168, including breakfast.

*

Hotel Navona, Residenza Zanardelli

HOTEL NAVONA and Residenza Zanardelli, both in the medieval heart of the city, are owned by a friendly Roman aristocrat with five names, though he tells people just to call him Corry Natale. He’s also an architect and is constantly making changes -- renovating the staircases, exposing antique ceilings, laying tile, perfecting Baroque plasterwork, especially at the Navona, which is built on the ancient Baths of Agrippa.

The Navona is simpler and less expensive than the Zanardelli. It has 31 well-equipped rooms with private baths, Murano glass lights and vintage prints of Rome starting at $145.

A few blocks away, the Zanardelli occupies part of a grand 19th century palazzo overlooking the Museo Nationale Romano, with its renowned collection of Roman statuary. Its seven doubles there are decorated in the ornate style of the Roman nobility with Versace tile and silk wallpaper.

Hotel Navona, 8 Via dei Sediari, 011-39-06-68-64-203, www.hotelnavona.com; doubles from $145, including breakfast.

Residenza Zanardelli, 7 Via G. Zanardelli; 011-39-06-68-21-13-92, www.hotelnavona.com; doubles from $180, including breakfast.

*

Hotel Scalinata di Spagna

FORMER Times Travel editor Jerry Hulse is often credited with discovering the handsome Hotel Scalinata di Spagna several decades ago, when rooms cost less than $50 a night, a steal for a chamber on the Piazza Trinita dei Monti at the top of the Spanish Steps. Now the smallest of its 16 doubles begins at $204, though these are extremely well-appointed with gold-framed mirrors, burnished woodwork, chaise longues, fabric wallpaper and the occasional knockout view of Rome.

Like the similarly priced Hotel Locarno just off the Piazza del Popolo, Hotel Bramante near the Vatican and Hotel Santa Maria in Trastevere, I think of the Scalinata as a budget splurge. Even if you book one of the least-expensive rooms without a view, you can see the Eternal City from the top-floor breakfast room and terrace.

Hotel Scalinata di Spagna, 17 Piazza Trinita dei Monti; 011-39-06-67-93-006, www.hotelscalinata.com; doubles from $204, including breakfast.

*

Residenza Cellini

A dignified building just off the Piazza della Repubblica is beginning to fill with little B&Bs;, three of which occupy vast erstwhile apartments on the fourth floor. The cool, contemporary Bellesuite and Target Inn opened in the last year and have doubles from $144, including breakfast.

But I like the more traditional Residenza Cellini best. It’s owned by two brothers and their sister, all Roman born and bred. It started receiving guests in 2000 after a yearlong renovation that gave it such surprising features as heated towel racks and hydro-massage showers.

The Cellini has just six rooms, starting at $192, but all of them are large and decorous, with high ceilings, carefully restored plasterwork and polished hardwood floors. Other enhancements include Oriental rugs, framed prints of old Rome, Empire-style writing desks and fresh flowers.

Residenza Cellini, 5 Via Modena; 011-39-06-47-82-52-04, www.residenzacellini.it; doubles from $192, including breakfast.