jansenke

My husband and I are taking our first trip to Rome and Florence the first week of April. I teach so it has to be over spring break. We have been reading other posts here and have also been looking at venere.com to find the best ideas. We are staying in Rome for 5 days and Florence for 3, in both locations our main concern is being close to the major historical landmarks. We are looking at spending less than 120 Euros a night on a room, we want it to be clean and in a good location. I guess what is hardest for me is that I don't know what districts are good to accessing major landmarks.I know that the collosseum and pantheon aren't necessarily "close" to the vatican but how far is it? Is it walkable or must you take the metro? I know these are a lot of questions but its my first time to Europe

Tim_and_Liz

We are also heading to Rome and Florence over my spring break (in March)....


After much research we've decided to stay at the Daphne Inn Trevi in Rome and the Alloro B&B in Florence. Both are well located.

The Daphne is 150E/night but there is a 10% discount for paying cash. The room rate includes breakfast and the use of a local cell phone while in Rome.

http://www.daphne-rome.com/

The Alloro is 80E/night, incl breakfast. It is quite small but the rooms look large and gorgeous, with frescos on the ceilings. The photos on their website are not as good as those posted by travelers on trip advisor:
http://tinyurl.com/ykspw

www.allorobb.it

Both receive VERY high marks on tripadvisor.

Hope that helps!
Liz

ira

Hi J,

www.mappy.com will give you walking directions.

Tim_and_Liz

If that tinyurl isn't working, just go to www.tripadvisor.com and type "Alloro" into the search box.

MrTaz

My wife and I had a wonderful stay at the Il Bargello B&B a few months ago. It meets all your criteria. The location could not be better--right in the middle of everything, a short walk to all major sights, yet quiet. It takes up the top floor of a centuries old building, completely renovated in the past year. Gabriella, the owner/host is great -- friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and Canadian, so English is not an issue. She will happily make you museum reservations in advance, recommend and reserve restaurants, etc. Ideal for a first trip to Florence. The ONLY concern might be the walk up to the B&B, if you're not in ok shape, or have large, heavy bags. Read the reviews on tripadvisor.com, but don't hesitate too long. Email Gabriella directly at: [email protected]

BellaVitaItalia

For Rome: http://www.pantheonview.it/

For Florence: http://www.relaiscampanile.it/

Buona fortuna!

woot

In this price range, I highly recommend B&B Surprising in Rome. It is only a 10 minute walk from Piazza Navona, and a 12-15 minute walk to the Vatican. I reviewed it on tripadvisor if you'd like more detail.

Lauricelli

I stayed with a friend this past May at a B&B in Florence right near the Duomo. The owners are very nice, Roberto and Paola. They made reservations for the Uffizi and the Academia for us. Breakfast is typical continental, not bad esp. for 3 days. Wouldn't want to eat their breakfast 7 days in a row. The name is La Residena del Proconsolo.
www.proconsolo.com

jay

The A Teatro B&B. Very nice and the Bathrooms and rooms are huge.

esd

We were in Rome recently and stayed at a miserable hotel. But that's not why I'm here. We met an elderly couple (both retired teachers who travel a lot) who highly recommended the B&B where they stayed. I wrote it down..just in case.

"Best B&B" at 13 Tarati..run by a Mrs. Emmers. They said it was 85E a night and they had a nice room w/private bath. (It is on the internet, by the way). Normally I take recommendations with a grain-of-salt but I really liked these two and valued their opinion. They said it was a couple of blocks from Termini station where you'll probably be taking the train to or from anyway...from the airport and then on to Florence. (Our hotel was close to Termini and we had no problem with the area, just our hotel selection!)

We did a day tour from Rome to Naples/Pompeii. We really enjoyed that. It's about 13 hours..they pick you up at your hotel, do a drive through tour of Naples, a nice lunch in a restaurant in (the town of)Pompeii, a guided 2+ hour walk through Pompeii and then the drive back to Rome. I was so glad I booked it as it was a high-lite of our Rome stay. I booked it through 'viator.com' before we left and had no problems. I also found the tour listed on Orbitz (same exact description!!) for about $40 more pp!!

Termini station is a good location to get wherever you want to go from. Subways and buses leave from there to all points. There is also a tour bus that leaves from there and runs continually all day and makes (I think) 8-or-so stops at key sites. You can stay on or get off, then get back on when you're ready to leave. We wished we'd done that. We'd have seen a lot more in the time we had. If I recall, you can buy a one or two day pass. I think 'viator' lists that tour too, so you can read about it on their site. It's a hike between sites so staying near one is not advantagous to seeing everything you'd like to. We took the subway from Termini to the Colosseum and used up too much of one day in the hassle!

Now you know as much as I do! I hope you have a great time on your trip. Sorry I can't help with Florence.

One more thing. Train tickets are mainly sold through travel agents over there now. Yes, you can still buy them at station(s) but that can be another hassle. We were in Genoa for weeks and walked into a travel agency one day and bought our tickets to Rome etc in advance which is what our relatives advised us to do. She even had an express train listed that was not on Trenitalia's web-site and for less than the trains listed cost! So you might keep this in mind while you are sightseeing in Rome should you spot a TA!

ONE MORE THING! We ate at one restaurant in Rome and had a small bowl of rather 'yukky' pasta and a small bottle of wine for 27E!!! Part of that was a 'table set-up' charge which, untill this trip, I'd never seen over there before! So be careful and - if you are trying to economize - and have kitchen facilities where you stay, you might buy some bread, coldcuts and VERY inexpensive wine and do your own thing for some meals.

Gosh..I didn't mean to make this book-length!!!

esd

I just looked at viator out of curiosity and the Naples/Pompeii tour is more than we paid. It's still early and so, if you are interested, you might wait and see if the price goes down. Then again, it may just cost less in the fall when we went opposed to spring/summer which is what they hope to start booking.

esd

I just remembered that though we booked through 'viator', we were picked up at our hotel and driven to a 'greenlinetours.com' office where we boarded a 'big' bus (new and very comfortable)for the tour itself. I thought I'd check that out when I got home...I wasn't sure if they were one and the same or not. Still don't know! Greenline's website price (listed in Euro's) is a few $'s cheaper so, should you decide to do it, you might check both sites later on.

jansenke

These are some awesome suggestions, now its just a matter of narrowing them down and booking our stays.

CollK

We enjoyed our stay at Relais Cavalcanti in Florence, its in an excellent location. If you do a search here, you'll find lots of comments about it.
http://www.relaiscavalcanti.com/english/

MaureenB

Another definite vote for Relais Cavalcanti. Here's my report:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34813784

jansenke

Okay we have narrowed it down to RELAIS CAVALCANTI and A Teatro B&B in florence. They are the same price, but A Treatro serves breakfast. In the response email the hosts at Relais seem to be more accomodating. Any last minute input before I book?

MaureenB

If you would like to see a couple of my photos taken at the Relais Cavalcanti, post your e-mail address and I could send you JPEGs.
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jansenke

[email protected]

MaureenB

I've sent you four photos re: Relais Cavalcanti. I wish I'd taken more interior shots, like of the inside entry foyer, because it's like a private home. But you know how hard it is to get shots in smaller spaces. We did find Francesca, the owner, to be very helpful.

We had a little frig in our room, which they stocked with some complimentary water and Coke. But having breakfast would be tempting, too, at Teatro, if it's a hot breakfast. Otherwise you might do just as well with complimentary hot drinks and packaged pastries at Cavalcanti, plus access to the dining room at all hours.

The Cavalcanti is around the corner from the Uffizi, very close to the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, etc.

Wherever you stay, I think you will enjoy Florence.
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MaureenB

P.S. Francesca at the Cavalcanti will make your reservations for you at the Uffizi and the Accademia. It's no additional charge, and she's happy to do it. Most hotels offer this service, and it's the easiest and most economical way to get reservations, I believe.