To the many designer fashion fans out there, Summer sales are on at the Castel Romano Designer Outlet in Rome.

According to Castel Romano, from July 3 to August 13, there are more sales, more savings, more shopping pleasure, all in one place!

And to make sure that shoppers have more time for shopping, the summer opening hours for the Centre are 10.00 to 21.00 from Mondays to Sundays. In addition, during this weekend, July 10 & 11, the Centre will open an hour earlier from 9:00 to 21:00.

And, Getting to Castel Romano is also much easier these days.

Happy Shopping!

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18 shopping days to Christmas and we know that Rome’s Castel Romano outlet is still a popular shopping destination for locals and visitors who are looking for some designer clothing for their Christmas stockings.

If, like me, you’re always having to have your new clothing altered because the sleeves are too long or you’re not quite the shape the designers require you to be, the good news is that there is now a new tailoring service at Castel Romano that can adjust your new garments.

Castel Romano Outlet, Rome

The Piccola Sartoria tailoring service is located on the first floor, close to the playground area. The shop is open from Monday to Saturday, from 10:00 to 20:00 and closed on Sundays.

With this new service, you’ll be able to wear your newly acquired clothing during your Christmas holidays and look glam.

STAN the 13 metre T-Rex skeleton is still at Castel Romano to keep the children entertained whilst you enjoy your Christmas shopping!

Getting to Castel Romano is easy with the Castel Romano shuttle.

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If you’re planning on doing some real shopping in Rome and intend claiming the VAT refund, the Customs process has changed a little as we found out this week.

Non-EU residents who purchase goods to the value of Euro 155 or more from the one shop are entitled to claim a VAT refund, but you have to go through a couple of hoops before getting your tax refunded.

Read our blog HERE on the current process at Rome Fiumicino Airport’s Terminal C.

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Getting to Castel Romano Designer Outlet is now so much easier and more affordable with the new Castel Romano daily shuttle service.

We’ve checked it out and here is our latest update on Getting to Castel Romano.

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Bargain hunters go to Castel Romano to hunt for designer fashion labels that are dinosaurs in the international world of fashion.  Now, a different type of dinosaur has arrived at Castel Romano!

Visitors to this very popular Rome designer outlet can now discover the most important skeletal T-Rex ever found: 13 meters long and 4 high, the faithful reproduction of STAN!

Castel Romano is hosting the largest Italian equivalent of this type in the reconstruction of an archaeological site by Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, renowned worldwide for their excellent fossil preparation and restoration skills.

Children and adults can enter into the fascinating world of dinosaurs and follow the traces of the past.  According to the Black Hill Institute, the story of STAN, the Tyrannosaurus rex,  apparently began some 65 million years ago in the heart of what is known today as North America.  By studying the earth, along with fossil bones and plants, scientists can piece together a picture of what life was like then – and how this largest carnivore to walk the Earth lived out his days.  Some pretty awesome stuff to discover on your trip out to Castel Romano.

Visitors can also enjoy STAN™ PARK and there’ll be many books and dinosaur-themed toys on sale – the tents are located in Piazza del Foro Romano, in front of the T-Rex.

During the event there’ll be prizes and gadgets for everyone. There’s also a competition you can enter and who knows – if lady luck is shining your way, you could win one of three great trips to New York for you and your entire family to visit the American Museum of Natural History!

But, most importantly, it’s Sale time at Castel Romano and up to August 14th shoppers will enjoy reductions of up to 70% on outlet prices.

I’m certainly looking forward to being there soon!

Read more  on Getting to Castel Romano
Read more on Shopping in Italy

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Like a viral epidemic, the much anticipated SATC inflicted excitement on women around the world last week, many of whom clamoured to be at the first night’s viewing. The receptionist at our gym hurried everyone out of the changing room before closing time. I asked her if she had a hot date and she said no. She was bursting with excitement as she was going to Sex and the City and didn’t want to be late for the show. Now that she’s seen the show, she can’t wait to see it again, moaning that she doesn’t have any money this week for the movie ticket, let alone the Manolo Blahnik shoes that Carrie’s got every fashion-conscious woman craving for.

Wow, so if you have an addiction for Labels, but don’t quite have the huge salaries that these four trendy New York gals have, where can you go to acquire some of these wonderfully branded goodies. Designer outlets is a good place to start and one such place in Rome is Castel Romano. The place is run by the McArthurGlen Group who have outlets in several countries in Europe. At Castel Romano you will find a range of prestigious labels and quality items at discounts ranging from 30% to 70%, depending on whether they are current or previous season’s stock. Given the price tag of some of these labels, even a 30% discount would only merely make a dent on the full-priced item, so it may be necessary to hunt down those items with at least 50% discount. As mentioned in the previous blog, the tax refund will also help in bringing down the cost of purchase a little further.

There are over 110 boutiques in the mall, some more fabulous than others and certainly some of the labels that Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda were dressed in are available here, e.g. Ferragamo, Gucci, Cavalli, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, and the list goes on. By the way, this is not a ladies only domain as there are lots of menswear too. Apart from fashion wear you’ll also find sports wear, homewares and gifts, leather goods and fashion accessories.

Designer outlets are usually located on the outskirts of town where the rents are cheaper and there is more space available. This is the case with the Castel Romano Outlet which is situated on the outskirts of Rome and there’s no easy way to get there on public transport. For this reason, private tour companies have sprung up to capitalize on the gap and create guided shopping tours for tourists. A disappointing aspect of these private tours is the limited hours of shopping and the price is not cheap either, which means erroding into the savings from your discounts.

We decided to find our own way own there and had an interesting experience on our first expedition out to the outlet. From Termini Station, we caught the train for Laurentina (blue line). Laurentina is the end of the line and there is a bus terminus here. There are different bus lines here and we managed to establish that it’s the COTRAL buses that we needed and one that is going in the general direction of Pomezia. The depot employees didn’t speak any English and as long as they didn’t shake their head in the negative, we assumed we were on the right bus. Once on the bus and not speaking any Italian, we tried asking people on the bus if they knew Castel Romano. A couple of the men shrugged, others consulted each other, but generally it appeared that they didn’t seem to have any idea. The discussion reached the hearing of an elderly lady at the front of the bus and straight away she knew what we were after. From the pitch of her voice and her hand gestures, she appeared to be admonishing the men for being ill-informed. Straight away she hit the bell and motioned us to get off the bus and pointed across the road. Yes the big tents of Castel Romano is a prominent landmark along the route so how could these men not know it. Bless this kind signora for being on the bus and hearing our call for help. Later on, I surmised that the men must have thought that, being tourists, we must be looking for a Roman castle! Once we got off the bus, finding the entrance to Castel Romano wasn’t that straight forward either.

Once you’re at the place, it’s quite a pleasant place to spend the day checking out all the shops. There are food outlets there, so there’s no problems with sustenance. We bought some really nice stuff from our trips here, including leather jackets, shoes, etc. For our return trip to Rome, we caught a cab from Castel Romano back to Laurentina. We thought it would be too crazy to try and catch a bus back especially as there’s no bus stops on the road and we didn’t have a clue as to the bus schedule. Things are a bit easier these days and the Outlet office administration has made arrangements with taxi drivers for a fixed fare back to the station. The last time we did the trip it cost us Euro 30, which was much more reasonable than in the earlier days.

So if you’re planning on venturing out there on your own, make sure you write the name and address on a piece of paper to show the bus driver as you’ll not find many people on the outskirts who will be able to help you with directions in English. Perhaps on your first trip out there, it may be a safer option to catch a cab from Laurentina.

Happy Shopping!

Helen

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We’re on the train from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport, or Fiumicino as it used to be called, to Roma Termini (Rome’s Central Station).  The middle-aged lady sitting facing us looked very elegant.  The suitcase next to her seat confirms that she’s just been off a flight, like the rest of us.  Yet, she was a picture of composure, her coiffured hair was not flattened by the pressure in the plane and her face showed no strain of hours in uncomfortable airline seats.  She had gold jewelry around her neck and wrist and matching earrings and her sun-glasses were the latest in fashion accessory.  She was one stylish middle-aged lady and I wish I could look as good as her after a long-haul journey.

Italians of course have a great sense of style and it doesn’t just stop at high fashion.  Think Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati and even home appliances such as those by Alessi.  Italy is one of the leading centres of alta moda or high-class fashion with eminent names like Valentino, Gucci, Prada, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi and Versace, to name a few, consistently dominating the international fashion stakes.    Designer wear from the likes of Valentino, Prada or Armani come with a high price tag, made much higher by the strength of the Euro.  I must say that the only time I dare venture into these boutiques is when I see SALDI or SCONTI on the shop window.  During the sale season prices are slashed by half, but they would probably still be rather pricey and so I hang out for further discounts to occur.  With a 50% discount, VAT refund and good exchange rate, you could come out with a reasonable buy.

Although many of the great designers are based in Milan, Rome is still a pretty attractive and thriving centre for shopping.  Summer sale time (SALDI) generally starts from mid-July and ends around mid-September whereas the winter sale starts just before Christmas and stretches to early March. Via Condotti is where all the big names of Italian fashion are located and it’s good to start from here to see what the high end of town has to offer. Then stroll up and down the streets that run down from the Spanish Steps and you’ll find heaps of shops selling shoes, bags and other leather goods, jewelry shops, fashion accessories, etc.  Around the back streets you may find interesting light fixtures, handicraft and gift shops. 

Leather goods are a good buy in Italy and the workmanship is very good.  Even if you’re not looking to buy anything in particular, it’s great strolling around the streets near the Spanish Steps to see what the latest fashion item is.  The locals enjoy window-shopping as well.  When shopping or window-shopping, it’s handy to learn a few Italian words as the prices are often quoted in Italian.  For instance you may see an outfit on display in the window and the tag tells you the price of the camicia or pantaloni and what colors are available.  If the budget does not allow you near designer fashion wear, then try the grandi magazzini like La Rinascente, or chain stores like Upim and Oviesse. 

There are a couple of outlet stores in the centro historico but it’s a case of potluck in these places.  One serious outlet place is Castel Romano, managed by the McArthurGlen group.  This place is a little out of town and there’s no easy public transport there although the town council have been threatening to put in place transport for years.  Things have improved a little and it’s good that the Macarthur Glen people have made arrangements with cab companies for a fixed price fare that takes you to the railway station.  Alternatively, you could join a tour that takes you to the place and back but the problem with this option is that they usually only allow you three hours of shopping.

More about outlet shopping later.

Helen

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