Hotels in Italy

[babs]

Hey there!

I'm helping my friend plan her honeymoon to Italy. Here are the cities they'll be staying in: Rome, Venice, Florence, Sorrento and Bologna.
Although most of the people on this board usually stay in hostels, I was wondering if any of you had nice hotels to recommend for these areas. They're looking for nice, clean and well-located hotels (max 100 Euros/night).
Thanks!

[LHR02]

Do I ever! Not a hostel gal, hotels are fine with me. Just moved so will have to dig out old journals, but can offer some good choices for these cities! IVery nice low=mid range hotels, good accomodations at a reasonable price. 'll be back directly!

[babs]

That's great! Looking forward to your recommendations. I'm especially having a hard time finding hotels in Rome and Venice for their price range. Maybe they'll have to go higher..

[LHR02]

Still not found the journals yet...I'll get them for you...but 100 euros is frankly not going to get you much in Rome...or Venice either for that matter. If they want a 'decent' hotel with nicer ammenties they are going to be looking at closer to 150 range. I need to double check, but believe it was Hotel D'Alba in Rome. Outstanding location, one block from metro Cavour stop, 4 or 5 from Colisseum, on 4 magor bus lines. I booked via Travelocity and seem to remember it was 135 or so per night, single....high for most on the boards but acceptable to me. I'll get back to you. Oh, and in Venice I stayed last in a nice B&B....again, need my notes to be sure of the name. BUT...for Venice, if they've a bit to spend, B&B is the way to go.

ging

[LHR02]

Oh! In Florence look at the Hotel d'Medici! loved it! Good, but not great, location but totally acceptable. Anything closer in runs in to huge bucks...this is extremembly nice, huge marble baths, excellent breakfast included, 3 or 4 blocks straight north of st Lorenza.

[WillTravel]

For Venice, I have a good hotel to suggest, but it will be less than 100 Euros in off-season for a double, and more in high season.

www.laforcolahotel.com

For Rome, the hotel I stayed at had cheap singles (relatively speaking), but much more expensive doubles:
www.hoteljulia.it
I would find it hard to suggest that they pay 190 Euros per night to stay there (that's the top high-season price, but it's less in the off-season).
A very highly recommended B&B in Rome that I've read about, but not stayed at, is the Nicolas Inn.

For Florence, I think you can manage that budget - but if they're going in high season, they might want stuff like good air conditioning (applies to all three cities, but the heat and humidity would practically knock me dead otherwise).

I guess my recommendation is that they go in the off-season. It will cost a fortune otherwise!

Convents are another relatively cheap option for all three cities, and they would meet their budget in all seasons, but the drawback is that most double rooms have twin beds - not ideal for a honeymoon . The other drawback is that if they haven't reserved already, it might be too late.

[WillTravel]

Several sites to look at:
www.eurocheapo.com
www.ratestogo.com
www.laterooms.com
www.bookings.org
www.venere.com

Tell them to get right on this, though. The best places are probably already taken. And have them be clear about whether they really need air conditioning and private bathrooms and good locations enough to pay for them - because it could be dear.

[LHR02]

Not 'all' of us are hostel people. Never stayed in one in my life...I need a door to close behind me when I am going to bed. And am too old to sleep in a room with 12 strangers. HA

Convents, as WT suggested, are generally clean, central, and a good value. Not sure how they would fit in to a 'honeymoon' though.

Take a look at Travelocity and Orbitz just for a general overview of what is out there if they have a bit of money to play with. Check Tripadvisor for first person reviews before you book...but remember, it's all one persons opinion in the end.

ging

[WillTravel]

Lots of hostels do have private rooms. One hostel I stayed at basically had private flats. The hostel I'm staying at this summer has only single rooms.

So tell your friends to consider private rooms at hostels as well. They can look through the Hostelworld.com link at the bottom of the page here (and if they book through the link, they contribute to GuideforEurope.com ).

[LHR02]

I'll concede. ;D
I am as stated not a hostel person, although many are quite nice and do have private rooms. Just not for me. I read your note to say they were looking for reasonable hotels. That is why I responded as I am more in line with that.

As I said, I have stayed in several mid-range spots in the cities you list. Feel free to contact me directly if I can offer additional help or information. Always glad to help if I can. Just not with super cheap sleeps....just not my style. Sorry.

[WillTravel]

The sad thing is that even the hostel private rooms can get pretty expensive . These are just three expensive Italian cities. I should add that the Hostelworld site also has B&Bs and hotels, some of which are (sort of) reasonably priced.

[LHR02]

Generally speaking...throughout all of Europe, as a single traveler I found single rooms in hostels to be MORE expensive than 1,2, or sometimes even 3 star hotels. Which, btw, usually offered much better ammenities for less bucks. It's all in your budget and what you are looking for. Hostels are a great deal if you don't mind a dorm room...if you want a single room be sure and check out 'budget' hotels as well. Hostels are not always the best deal to be had...although they are a cheap option if privacy is not a priority.

[WillTravel]

Hee, DOM, you know I agree with you for the most part. Certainly as a solo traveler, this summer is the very first time that I've found a hostel single room to be the best value - but it's not really a traditional hostel after all, but a university residence.

In Rome, though, there are several combination hotels/hostels with pretty good reviews that might be worth considering - the Beehive and Hotel des Artistes come to mind. All the same, this is a honeymoon, and if any occasion is worth a bit of a splurge, that would be it.

[madamtrashheap]

I'm somewhere in the middle, but lean more towards you DOM in the accom stakes - however allow me to throw some suggestions in the ring:

Florence:
Hotel Bigallo, en.venere.com/hotels_florence/duomo/hotel_bigallo.html?sd=22&sm=05&sy=2006&ed=23&em=05&ey=2006&pval=2&rval=1&ref=23896 Located right in the centre of town, good prices too. The bells of the Duomo will wake you every morning which is kind of cool, even if they do start at 6am! I used to live behind this hotel but never went in, shame.

Hotel Mediterraneo, www.venere.com/hotel/index.php?htid=3914&ref=23896
Located right on the Arno River about 10min walk to Piazza Santa Croce and another 5mins to the very centre Piazza della Signoria.

Or you could try this website if you’re having trouble booking: www.aboutflorence.com and click on the accommodation link.

Rome
Hotel della Nazioni
Via Poli 7, www.hoteldellenazionirome.com/
Located 30seconds from the Trevi Fountain. The rooms are typically small in Italian fashion, but they are clean and well appointed (and airconditioned!). It’s in the historical centre of Rome so the Metro is a 10min walk away, but you could walk to almost every sight from here, and see things on the way (The longest walk would be 30-40mins from the Trevi to the Vatican).

Hotel Fontana
www.hotelfontana-trevi.com/
Incredible location, right at the Trevi Fountain. Again it’s in the historical centre of Rome so you can walk everywhere and see everything. It’s a “special occasion” hotel as double rooms start at €200 per night, but what a view!

Some of these may be too expensive, but if your friends want to splurge on a honeymoon hotel then they should go for either the Nazioni or Fontana in Rome - fab! Or there's always the Hotel Danieli in Venice, but that's just being ridiculous! ;D

DOM - I've walked past the Hotel d'Medici a few times but never wandered in. Good to know for furture reference!

[babs]

Thanks so much everyone for the recommendations! I think I'll try to convince them to splurge a bit more in Venice and Rome, otherwise they might end up in a dump.