# RCI: Residence Dehon and Dimore la Vecchia Firenze



## MCPokerAce (Nov 7, 2009)

My wife and I are looking to spend two weeks in Italy for our 10th Anniversary. We're members of Shell Vacations Club and would use our points to exchange with RCI. We're particularly interested in Residence Dehon and Dimore la Vecchia Firenze. Does anyone have any reviews or experiences with these properties? What other Italian RCI properties do people recommend?


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## DeniseM (Nov 7, 2009)

If you *join TUG*, you will be able to access our Member's timeshare reviews, with ratings and reviews of Italian properties.  There are 31 resorts in the reviews for Italy.

To find info. about Italy that has already been posted, use the "Search this forum" button and search for Italy.


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## jerseygirl (Nov 7, 2009)

We stayed at Residence Dehon in Rome about 5-7 years ago.  It's a bit far from central Rome (west of the Vatican), but had great transportation options so we were happy to get it.  From memory, it was about a 5 minute walk to the bus.  Once on the bus, you could either stay on all the way to Piazza Venezia (20 minutes?), or jump off a few minutes later and take the subway (faster, of course).  We did both, but generally preferred the bus as it usually wasn't crowded and we enjoyed the sightseeing and people watching.  The bus line goes right through Vatican City.  

Our room would probably have been classified as a studio as there was only a partial wall separating the living room/kitchen area from the sleeping area.  It was nicely furnished (not luxurious, but nice ... very clean ... everything in good shape).  For some reason, I recall that the bathroom was HUGE, comparatively speaking, and very nice!  There was just a mini-kitchen ... but it had everything we needed as we usually just had breakfast there.  

They offered us some sort of "half board" option when we checked in, but we declined.  It seemed as if a lot of the big tour companies stayed there (you could see their buses -- because it was off the beaten path, there was actual room for bus parking) and they possibly offered meals with their tours.  We had one dinner there, it was okay -- but you got what they had (no menu), so I wouldn't consider it as having a full-service restaurant!  It wasn't terrible or anything, but I wouldn't make it a point to return!

Oh -- and there was a small pool.  Quite unusual for Rome.  But we were there in the heat of the summer, so we did jump in once or twice just to cool down.

The only negative I remember is that on the walk home from the bus, the resort was uphill -- and it seemed steep after a LONG day of walking.  I can remember thinking, "I'm never going to make it up this hill," but of course I always did!  I mention it in case someone in your party has trouble walking uphill.

Since our experience was quite a while ago, I would check tripadvisor for newer reviews to make sure everything is still nice.  If I found current, positive reviews, I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.  Would I rather stay in central Rome?  Yes.  But, the hotels are very expensive (especially with the price of the Euro these days), and Residence Dehon gave us the opportunity to stay for an entire week and fully explore that beautiful city!  I'm not sure we would have stayed an entire week if we were paying for an expensive hotel.  It was our first visit ... and we really felt that we had the time to see everything we wanted to see.  We've been back a few times since, for shorter stays, and there's no getting lost -- we feel like natives instantly thanks to that trip!  There are (were?) a couple of more centrally-located timeshares available through Royal Holiday Club.  They were hard to book -- but it might be worth your time to look into renting from an owner if the location bothers you.    

I know this is dated information, but I hope it helps.


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## MCPokerAce (Nov 8, 2009)

Thanks Jerseygirl.  From the few online reviews I've seen, you seem to hit the nail on the head.  It sounds as though Residence Dehon is the best Rome option, especially in light of the extra charges for Capre Diem Roma Golf, etc.



jerseygirl said:


> We stayed at Residence Dehon in Rome about 5-7 years ago.  It's a bit far from central Rome (west of the Vatican), but had great transportation options so we were happy to get it.  From memory, it was about a 5 minute walk to the bus.  Once on the bus, you could either stay on all the way to Piazza Venezia (20 minutes?), or jump off a few minutes later and take the subway (faster, of course).  We did both, but generally preferred the bus as it usually wasn't crowded and we enjoyed the sightseeing and people watching.  The bus line goes right through Vatican City.
> 
> Our room would probably have been classified as a studio as there was only a partial wall separating the living room/kitchen area from the sleeping area.  It was nicely furnished (not luxurious, but nice ... very clean ... everything in good shape).  For some reason, I recall that the bathroom was HUGE, comparatively speaking, and very nice!  There was just a mini-kitchen ... but it had everything we needed as we usually just had breakfast there.
> 
> ...


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