dwzemens

I am making final plans for my September 2004 Rome lodging, and think I have settled on the Alle fornaci Bed and Breakfast Roma San Pietro: two blocks from St Peters, 100,00 euro, private bath for each of the three rooms (across the hall, not ensuite).

I am looking for anyone who has stayed there, or who has other comments of interest about the area, the location, etc.

Thanks very much.

Eloise

First of all, I see you have decided for Rome rather than Venice. I love both -- for different reasons -- so I hope you will enjoy Rome.

The location is not ideal. Except for the Vatican and perhaps Castel Sant'Angelo, you will pretty well have to take a bus to any of the other major points of interest in Rome. I and most frequent visitors to Rome prefer the Piazza Navona/Pantheon area, from where you can walk to almost anywhere, with the possible exceptions of St. Peter's and the Vatican Museums at one end and the Colosseum at the other. It's also an area that is full of restaurants in all price ranges and where one can walk safely at night because there are still many people on the streets.

dwzemens

Actually, we are flying into Rome and spending four nights, taking a train to Lugano (I think) for two nights, and onto Venice for three nights and departing from there.

I could be talked into somewhere else for the other two nights tentatively set for Lugano, however....Verona, perhaps?

Eloise

All the better: Rome AND Venice!

I know both Lugano and Verona fairly well, having spent time in both. Lugano has nothing to offer beyond a fairly pretty lake and -- probably, although I cannot swear to it -- higher prices than Italy.

Verona has quite a bit to offer: the Tombs of the Scaglieri, the Castelvecchio (the fine arts museum), San Zeno Maggiore with its wonderful 9th-century bronze doors and an important Mantegna painting, the Roman arena, and various places theoretically associated with Romeo and Juliet. Also, just sitting in a cafe in the Piazza Bra or the more interesting Piazza della Signoria (off the Piazza dell'Erbe, where there is a market most days -- I think). If you go to Verona, do have a meal at La Greppia (near Piazza dell'Erbe): classic rather than "innovative" Italian cuisine but very well done.

dwzemens

Thanks for the comments, Eloise. I appreciate them...YOUR experience will benefit ME.

I take it that you would go to Verona and spend the whole nine nights in Italy, eh? Can you make a Rome hotel suggestion for me? I am staying at the Locanda San Agostin in Venice (www.locandasantagostin.it ). I am happy with the overwhelming positive comments on www.tripadvisor.com, and with the other recomendations from this web site.

Rome, however, is causing me some difficulty with the hotel. Help me!!!!

Eloise

Yes, I would certainly spend all nine days in Italy rather than go over to stuffy Switzerland for two of them. (Please forgive me; I tend to get carried away. I love Italy and rather dislike Switzerland for all kinds of reasons that it would be too complicated to go into here.)

I'm not a great authority on hotels in Rome. For 30 years or so, I stayed with a friend who had an apartment near the Campo de Fiori. She moved back to North America at the beginning of April this year; when I was in Rome in May, I stayed in a convent. (Thus are the mighty fallen...)

As mentioned, most frequent visitors to Rome prefer the Piazza Navona/Pantheon area. One hotel that receives consistently good reviews here is the Santa Chiara (a three-star hotel in the middle of everything but on a quiet street). An apartment-type place that is most often well reviewed here is the Palazzo Olivia. A B&B called Relais Banchi Vecchi also gets mostly good comments.

Unfortunately, I can't help with a personal recommendation...

dwzemens

Thanks, Eloise. Ironically, I have a room offer from Santa Chiara and am awaiting a decision on what hotel to pick. I am also awaiting email response from the Relais Banchi Vecchi ... both loding ideas coming from Fodors folks...Thanks again. Come on, tell me why you don't like Switzerland ... email me if you like at [email protected]

Eloise

We've obviously been reading the same Fodorite messages...! I hope one or the other works out for you: the locations are excellent.

Maybe one day when I have lots of time I will tell you why Switzerland grated unpleasantly on my nerves... But many thanks in any case for posting your e-mail address: I hope your spam intake doesn't balloon as a result!

dwzemens

Eloise - HELP

One last question, avoiding "stuffy" Switzerland in the process...do you have any thoughts on spending the two days in Varenna .... I value your opinion.

I am leaning toward Verona, as it will limit my train travel to a more manageable amount...your thoughts???

Eloise

Thank you for valuing my opinion -- although I'm not at all sure that it deserves it...

Varenna or Verona is, I think, very much a decision that depends on what interests and pleases you more. I'm more into art and architecture than natural beauty, so my personal preference would be for Verona. I'm also much more a city mouse than a country mouse, which again makes Verona more appealing to me.

And I also have to admit that I only know Varenna from the many postings in this forum, most of them by people who loved it. I did spend four days on Lake Como a few years ago -- and escaped into Milan on one of those days, which is again a pretty clear indication of my personal predilections...

So my best advice would be to follow your own personal inclination.

I realize that isn't really much help as solid advice...

dwzemens

Eloise:

If you are still reading this thread, we decided to skip the two days in Lugano or Verona and add one day to Rome and one to Venice. So, we will be spending five nights in Rome and four in Venice, which we hope will make for a more relaxed and pleasant experience in each city. Plus, traveling by train on a Saturday and utilizing Trenitalia's promotion for Saturday travel, the cost of two first class Eurostar tickets from Rome to Venice is only euro 60. I thought that was a good deal.

Hopefully, with the extra night in each city we can come away with a better feel for both Rome and Venice.

Eloise

Bravo! I couldn't agree more with your decision: both Rome and Venice deserve as much time as you can give them.

Eloise

Dwzemens:

I don't know either whether you will see this, but I've been following your Roman hotel decisions and wonder where you have finally decided on. At one point it was Residenza Canali, then it became an -- unnamed -- hotel near Trevi (or at least I assume you settled on the one near Trevi). Or have there been developments I don't know about?

I'm also following your Venice hotel decisions. May I put in a plug for a guest house called "Al Campaniel"? I stayed there in April 2003 and liked it very well for its location, its very reasonable price, and the friendliness of the owner/manager, Marco. It's located right at the San Toma vaporetto station; there is also a traghetto (a gondola that plies its way back and forth across the Grand Canal for 0.40 Euros a ride) at San Toma, and with it you can get to Piazza San Marco quickly -- I won't risk giving an exact timing, but it's quick -- without putting you onto the main and very crowded day-tripper route between Rialto and San Marco. And you're very close to the main points of interest in Dorsoduro: Accademia, Frari, Scuola di San Rocco, etc.

There's no canal view possible at "Al Campaniel." The rooms are nicely appointed but fairly small (most Venetian hotel rooms are smallish, although I did read about the large one at the Sant'Agostin), breakfast is a do-it-yourself affair with an electric kettle and various packaged baked goods (or you can grab a cappuccino and a cornetto at a nearby cafe).

Marco, the owner/manager, speaks English very well and is very nice. If it interests you at all, deal with him directly rather than through one of the brokers.

http://www.alcampaniel.com/

The Trattoria San Toma, a few steps away, is pleasant and inexpensive. Marco also suggested Casin dei Nobili, just off Camp San Barnaba. I couldn't get a place when I went -- late -- so can't recommend it personally, but a number of posters here have liked it.

dwzemens

Thanks Eloise. I tried the Al Campaniel based on an earlier post I saw of yours, but they had no rooms available. My most recent "probable" for Venice is Locanda Gaffaro in Doroduro, a bit northwest of Camp Margherita. Your thoughts on that area, or that facility in particular, would be greatly appreciated!

http://www.nycevenice.com/hotels-in-...faro-home.html

Eloise

I don't know the Locanda Gaffaro; it looks attractive from the Web site.

My quibble -- as with the Alle Fornaci that started this whole thread -- would be with the location. While quite close to the Frari and the Scuola di San Rocco, it's a little remote from the Accademia and from the main points of interest in the sestiere of San Marco. But Venice is a much smaller city than Rome and almost anything is within walking distance of almost anything else; it's really a matter of somewhat farther or somewhat closer. The sestiere of Santa Croce is also relatively untouristed. Restaurants and cafes may be less numerous than in Dorsoduro or the part of San Polo that neighbors on it. This is not entirely a bad thing, as the ones there are will be frequented largely by locals, but there will be less life on the streets in the evenings.

I also checked out the Sant'Agostin, which, if I recall correctly, is more expensive. Purely from the point of view of location, I do not think it would be a significant

Eloise

I don't know the Locanda Gaffaro; it looks attractive from the Web site.

My quibble -- as with the Alle Fornaci that started this whole thread -- would be with the location. While quite close to the Frari and the Scuola di San Rocco, it's a little remote from the Accademia and from the main points of interest in the sestiere of San Marco. But Venice is a much smaller city than Rome and almost anything is within walking distance of almost anything else; it's really a matter of somewhat farther or somewhat closer. The sestiere of Santa Croce is also relatively untouristed. Restaurants and cafes may be less numerous than in Dorsoduro or the part of San Polo that neighbors on it. This is not entirely a bad thing, as the ones there are will be frequented largely by locals, but there will be less life on the streets in the evenings.

I also checked out the Sant'Agostin, which, if I recall correctly, is more expensive. Purely from the point of view of location, I do not think it would be a significant improvement over the Locanda Gaffaro.

Eloise

So sorry about the double post -- it happens to me every so often: I press some mysterious combination of keys and the unfinished message gets posted.