Lauren_Strunsee

So, our 2 week trip has been divided like so:

Dates: Jul 22 - Aug 2 (give or take 3 days)

London, England (4 days)
Paris, France (2 days)
Venice, Italy (2 days)
Rome, Italy (3 days not including return flight home)

We are now searching for hotels (or apartments) for London, Paris and Venice and Resorts (if any) for Rome.

There are 5 of us, 4 adults and 1 child. (age 17)

So far, I've researched hotels/resorts in Rome, and these selections have caught our eye and are within our price range:

-Home Suite Rome ($913.76 Total for three nights)
-Clarion Collection Hotel Principessa Isabella ($859.18 total for three nights)
-Alpi Hotel ($913.76 total for three nights)

Do you have any suggestions for affordable but enjoyable places to stay in London/Paris/Venice area?

Thanks so much for any feedback~

Lauren_Strunsee

*Rome, Italy (4 days would be including the day we head home)

nytraveler

Not sure how you are calculating days - but 2 days for Paris is really cutting it short.

And sorry - a 17 year old is an adult -not a child. I hope you didn;t tell hotels you are bringing a child or they may provide you with a crib for the 17 year old.

nytraveler

I was very curious about the lodging you listed and would suggest that yu might want to clarify te information you have.

Looked at Home Suite Rome - which is apartments and they don't seem to have any that hold more than 4 people. Also the price listed - and you may have found a wonderful deal - seem to be more like $500 per night for an apartment for 4 people.

Lauren_Strunsee

So technically, it looks like the days spent in Paris and Venice would be looked at as over-night stays, where London and Rome would be 3-nights each.

Lauren_Strunsee

**5 adults then.

I'm running into the problem of finding hotels and such with room for more than the listed 4-person limit...which is bringing me to look into Suites or rooms that can be connected.

We haven't made any reservations or bookings yet.

Lauren_Strunsee

Hotel Borromeo has space for 5 in a family-room option.

I'm finding others as well which have space for us all now, which is good, but none listed as resorts.

ggreen

What are you looking for in a resort? It may be that what you'd expect to get in one could be addressed in a different manner in an urban environment like Rome...

uhoh_busted

Have you tried Venere.com? It is one of my favorites for finding lodgings. When discussing time per location, I suggest you look at it as how many nights, not days. Rather than simply searching for 5'people in "1" room, specify "vacation rentals" as well in your search criteria...that way you will get choices such as 2 bedroom apt for 6 people, 4 nights for $1567.66 @ London Apartments Shoreditch -- which is one that came up when I put your dates in. It's a starting point, anyway.

Then Read the reviews posted, check out the map, do a search here to see if anyone has stayed there. Give yourself a couple choices in each city. You may want to consider getting 2 rooms in destinations where you will stay less than 3 nights, as 5 people and one bathroom may not work all that well. It will also give you more options to chose from.

Lauren_Strunsee

What my dad is thinking of is a place that has:

a) an in/outdoor pool
b) fitness/workout room
c) dining
d) nice views
e) a place to relax and stay most of the day
f) is all inclusive
g) holds (5) adults

bilboburgler

Lauren, I admit I'm not aware of "all inclusive" resorts in mainland Europe away from the "normal" European holiday areas. Though www.clubmed.com might have somewhere

charnees

Lauren, you will not find a lot of those all-inclusive resorts in the major cities in Europe. Anything you do find is going to be very expensive. I think your Dad needs to realize that if you are going to these places you will be spending little time in your accommodation, and lots of time, and lots of walking, seeing the sights. A swimming pool is not needed for exercise after you have spent the day walking. And a gym may be something you just dispense with for the duration of your trip. If you want an all inclusive resort, you need to change your destination!! Head for the Amalfi Coast.

You should not confine yourselves to a hotel dining room. You will get a filtered version of the local cuisine. Get out into the cities and find little local cafes and restaurants that serve good food.

I really think you need to get a better idea of what people go to those cities for. It is not for a resort/spa expeerience.

charnees

Another alternate destination in Italy would be around the lakes: Como, Bellagio, etc. There would be more resort-type opportunities there. But you will then have an entirely different european experience.

uhoh_busted

1. What is your budget?
2. You are unlikely to find a pool unless you have a very LARGE budget.
3. Ditto, workout or fitness rooms,
4. If you are only there for 2 nights, I hope no one is planning on staying most of the day in their room...although if you get a flat in London and Rome, the privacy of having your own living room should fit that need.
5. "all inclusive?" Like the resorts Jamaica or Mexico? Not going to happen. The city, it's food and culture are the draw.

Most family rooms assume two adults and YOUNG children. Sometimes you will find triple or quad rooms but they are only going to have one bathroom' unless you find a place with two bedroom suites. (and those will only be found in 4 or 5 star hotels ... Again your budget will determine if that will be possible.)

socaltraveler

If you have not made bookings, perhaps you should think about how much time you will spend getting from place to place in a 2 week period. Also, charnees is right about European cities and the all-inclusive resort exerience, you may not find a fit. There are resorts out in the countryside, so perhaps you need to do some reading and get a better idea of what you really want, I would also cut out one city in your time frame.

kybourbon

You don't have enough time in these cities to worry about work out facilities if you intend to see anything. You won't be at the hotel to use them.

Your priorities need to be:
1. Central location
2. Air conditioning
3. Two bathrooms

Most apartments have a three night minimum.

ggreen

Lauren_S, that's what I was thinking you might say... and as others have said, Rome is really not the place for (a) staying inside a hotel room all day; (b) spending significant amount of time in a pool or fitness room; and (c) eating "all-inclusive".

That said, we were going to spend a night (anniversary) at this hotel two years ago. (The Icelandic volcano changed our itinerary.) Just look at that pool! In the middle of Rome!!
http://exedra-roma.boscolohotels.com/

We did end up staying at the Hotel Valadier. Breakfast was included - IMO, if you're used to all-inclusive, you might want the ease of knowing where your first meal of the day will be - and the hotel has two good restaurants, Il Brillo in the cool cave-like cellar, and Hi Res with a rooftop view. The third restaurant is where the breakfast is served; we didn't eat any other meals there. Rooms are small, typical of an urban hotel, though they list suites and junior suites on the website. If I remember correctly, they also have an apartment for rent nearby.
http://en.hotelvaladier.com/

Dayle

Hi again Lauren,

In your other post, one Fodorite suggested apartments for your family trip. Have you looked in to any? It's really the best answer for a family group of 5. However, most require at least 3 night says so for your planned itinerary an apartment will probably only work in 2 cities. One advantage of hotels is you have the staff to help you get acquainted on a first trip to Europe.

I hope you are sharing the advice received here with you Dad. He will need to adjust his ideas of travel in order to enjoy Europe.

Since you are trying to stay within a "reasonable" budget for 5 people, you really should think about this: less is more. The more you move around, the more it costs and the less you actually see. You are spending more time and money GETTING somewhere than actually BEING there.

I know you have already cut way back on the number of destinations, but I think you need to consider further.

As mentioned above, 2 days in Vencie is really only 1 full day. A minimum of a half day will be taken up just getting there from Paris. Same on the day you travel to Rome. Almost a half day will be used just to get there.

I would highly recommend adding these 3 additional days you seem to have available, plus cutting one city. You choose.

Keep working on it, keep asking question here, and you will have a wonderful trip.

dugi_otok

I found the best site for looking for rooms for a family of 5 is booking.com, a priceline company.A lot of info on their site, and they will describe exactly what you are getting. I would do 2 searches . One search for 5 persons(adults) 1 room and the second search 5 persons 2 rooms.Do not limit yourself to connecting rooms. Important is location, you do not want to be too far from the tourist area.Read the reviews.There are no resorts. If your dad is expecting newer American type hotels at your price point, he will be disappointed.The cities are 1000+ years old and so are their mattresses.But that's part of the fun.

nytraveler

Sorry -

Major cities in europe don't have all -inclusive resorts - any more than does Manhattan.

There are all-incusives - a few - but they r in typical resort areas - not capitol cities. And agree that getting a hotel with a pool in any of these cities is going to be probbly a 5* property - at a very high budget. I would assume that a suite for 5 people in such a property woud be well over $1000 a night.

You really need to make up your mind if you want a city or a resort. And if you really want all-inclusive beach resorts - frankly, europe is not the best plae to go.