Jenster8

Since I will on my honeymoon, I'm looking for a nice area, one that is conducive for evening walks. I originally was going to stay near the Termini in Rome, only to find that it's not the best neighborhoods.

Any suggestions? Price range: $150 to $220/night.

I think I should splurge in at least one city for a nice hotel but which city?

nytraveler

What do you mean by a splurge.

IMHO the best areas to stay are:

Rome - the historic center
Florence - the area between the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio
Venice - near San Marco (I know a lot of people disagree - but if there for only a few days this keeps you near the center). Do NOT stay in either Mestre or the Lido

Caveat: This is not our price point - so I can;t make specific recos. But if you look at threads here I'm sure you will find a lot of info.

kfusto

Your price range is modest for these three cities especially if you are going in high season.

Consider Priceline in Venice and Rome for your splurge hotel. www.biddingfortravel.com has lots of great info. I have used it for Venice where the hotels IMO and IME are the most expensive for what you get and was pleased with the results. In Rome, the Intercontinental often goes for under 200 USD a night.

In Florence, I find it easy to find a nice 4 star hotel for a reasonable price. We prefer NOT to stay right in the middle of the main tourist areas though so this makes a difference in the quality we are able to get for our investment. Two of my favorites here are San Gallo Palace and Personal Hotel Athenaeum.

MFNYC

A nice hotel in your price range in Florence is Hotel Casci. It's 2*, but clean, quiet, comfortable, great location, and run by a delightful family. Venice is fairly small, so almost any location is good. In Rome, near Piazza Navona, Pantheon or Campo dei Fiori are all very central.

suze

www.lacalcina.com in Venice is a nice 3-star overlooking the Giudecca Canal. Depending the time of year there are rooms in your price range. A nice breakfast on a patio on the canal is included. It's conveniently located for walking yet a bit out of the hussle and bussle.

christrmpt04

I think that your price range is certainly do-able for the nice areas of those cities. I am going on my honeymoon in October and have booked my hotels based on reviews from TripAdvisor.com and these forums.

In Rome, we will be staying at the Palazzo Olivia (146 euro per night cash discount), which is within a couple of blocks of the Piazza Navona in the historic city center. Everyone I've talked to said you MUST stay in the historic center for the most convenient location. Everything is within walking distance here. The only other option that was recommended was the eastern portion of Trastevere. It's a little farther away, but a little less traveled. Palazzo Olivia is an apartment building that seems to be managed similarly to a hotel. For us, this was the perfect solution for the last 5 days of our honeymoon as we will have a kitchen and a ton of space to relax and unwind. One other hotel we considered as a splurge was Residenza Canali al Coronari which is also near the Piazza Navona. If you don't want to go the apartment route, you may be interested in this hotel. Specifically, check out the suite on the top floor with the terrace! Be sure to note that their prices are listed as per night per person.

In Florence we will be staying in the Hotel Bavaria. This is our "cheap" hotel (91 euro/night) of the trip since we will only be here 2 nights, but it came highly recommended from a friend. It is centrally located within a few blocks of the Duomo. If you are in the "historic" area of Florence (anywhere between the Duomo and river) you will be easily within walking distance of all sites.

In Venice we will be staying in the Ponte Al Mocenigo. This is the #1 hotel on Trip Advisor and was recommended by several people on these forums. This is our "splurge" and we reserved the suite for only 185 euro/night! This hotel is located in the area of Venice known as San Polo. Like most places in Venice, it is within walking distance of the major sites. From what I've read, it is a good area to stay in.

Hope this helps and congratulations!

Jenster8

Thanks so much for all the wonderful input, everyone!!! Very helpful!!!

giannetta

Rome: Hotel Ponte Sisto is lovely, easy walk to Campo dei Fiori, just off the river across from the wonderful Trastevere district where you'll find great restaurants. Also near Via Giulia a lovely walking street. My husband and I rented an apt. in Trastevere for a month and many times I walked past Ponte Sisto hotel as it is close to the Ponte Sisto, the bridge crossing the river from central Rome to Trastevere. I later recommended it to my friend and she said is was perfect...both the proximity to all things Roman as well as the staff and accommodations. Walking along the river at night is great!
Venice - the hotel Ca'Angeli is in district of San Polo not far from Campo San Polo and sits on the Grande Canale with a lovely lovely view of the canal from the public guest area . The public guest area is like a personal library with comfortable chairs, books on shelves and deep window seats for just sitting and gazing out on the canal.
We loved this hotel. Like many hotels in Venice it is down a tiny calle(street) on the 3rd and 4th (I think??) floors of an old palazzo that houses apartments on other floors. - yes there is an elevator...
Florence: ?? I've always wanted to stay in the area on the Pitti Palazzo side of the Arno as it's less touristy but one would, of course, need to traverse the Ponte Vecchio (VERY crowded bridge) to get to the meat of Florence - We stayed up on the hill in Fiesole which is a 10 - 15 minute bus ride into Florence center..
Look up the Rome (Ponte Sisto) and Venice (Ca'Angeli) hotels on line and you'll get good information. One other hotel we have stayed at often in Vcnice is Locanda San Barnaba. It's just off of the Campo San Barnaba in sestiere Dorsoduro. It's also VERY easy to get to as the vaparetto stop, Ca Rezzonico is 2 minutes from the hotel...NO bridges. No bridges to get to Ca' Angeli either but it's tucked away and the 1st time finding it can be a bit tricky...
My feeling about Venice is that wherever one stays that place is central as Venice really is not very big and walking is wonderful in Venice. We used to stay on the Santa Croce side of the Grande Canale near the RR Station. Periodically we went to concerts near the Rialto bridge or - near Piazza San Marco. We found, surprisingly, that walking to the concert often got us there more quickly than taking the vaparetto....of course you need to know your way around Venice a bit or you might NEVER get to that particular concert on THAT night...

bardo1

nytraveler put it best - I totally agree:


Rome - the historic center (Piazza Navona, Campo Dei Fiori or Pantheon areas - NOT the Roman Forum or Collosium areas. The Hotel Ponte Sisto is in the historic center but way beyond your budget. Here are historic center options in your budget:
http://www.eurocheapo.com/rome/hoods...-de-fiori.html
http://www.eurocheapo.com/rome/hoods/piazza-navona.html

Florence - the area between the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio
Again, http://www.eurocheapo.com/florence/hoods/duomo.html

Venice - near San Marco
http://www.eurocheapo.com/venice/hoo...co-venice.html
or http://www.eurocheapo.com/venice/hoods/castello.html

PeaceOut

We liked these hotels:
Rome, the Domus Julia/ Hotel Julia
Florence, the Relais Cavalcanti
Venice, the Hotel Riva

Amanda23

Rome - to echo previous posters, Residenza Canali ai Coronari is wonderful, and Palazzo Olivia is also a great choice. Or rent an apartment through Real Rome - Tim is great to work with and can help you find something in your budget.

Florence - Hotel Cestelli or Il Bargellino (great rooftop terrace)

Venice - Pensione Guerrato

Amanda23

Rome - to echo previous posters, Residenza Canali ai Coronari is wonderful, and Palazzo Olivia is also a great choice. Or rent an apartment through Real Rome - Tim is great to work with and can help you find something in your budget.

Florence - Hotel Cestelli or Il Bargellino (great rooftop terrace)

Venice - Pensione Guerrato

kfusto

As a frequent visitor to Rome I disagree with bardo1 about avoiding the area around the Colosseum. We much prefer it there to the much busier areas around the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. It is still the historic center of Rome. Different strokes...

bardo1

Yes, yes, different strokes.

However, anywhere east of Via del Corso is not considered by most to be part of the Centro Storico. Also, most of the narrow, pedestrianized streets in the Centro Storico are VERY quiet - Via Giulia and Via dei Coronari come immediately to mind. I've only been to Rome four times so take my advice FWIW.

I would, however, NOT recommend staying right ON Piazza Navona, Piazza della Rotonda, Campo Dei Fiori (or Corso Vittorio Emanuele II). The smaller streets and alleyways are all fine (and utterly charming).

lmont

bookmarking

SaraLaw

Rome - Trastevere
Florence - area between the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio
Venice - near Piazza San Marco

Axlrm

In Rome a very good and safe area is the Prati district, the area around Vatican city.

Dickie_Gr

In Rome, We spent a week in an apartment just off Piazza Del Popolo, a couple of weeks ago.

We walked everywhere, nowhere was more than 20 minutes away. It also has the huge benefit of being on the edge of the Villa Borghese park, allowing you to get away from it all.

Some areas near Termini are not good and Trastevere is nice but invokes far too much walking.

Vatican area was awful in our opinion, just hoards of people.

girlonthego

In Florence, we stayed at the Hotel L Orologio which is just two blocks walk from the train station and an easy walk to the entire city. It is clean, has a/c and comes with breakfast. I am not sure if the price is over your budget? I can't remember exactly what we paid, but it would be at the higher end of your budget anyway. It was a very nice small boutique hotel.

In Rome, we used points and stayed at the luxurious Hotel Cavalieri, which is not in the center of Rome and we liked that too, but is way beyond your budget. I would not recommend the vatican area for stay. Too far away from everything but the vatican. I also would not stay in trastever as it is also a hike from there to all the sights.
I think many here have it right to stay in the main piazzas of the city where you can walk from sight to sight easily.

Mimar

Old thread. However, let me go on record as recommending one avoid Piazza San Marco and the Rialto area in Venice. Almost all year round now, these are very crowded during the day with daytrippers. And, in Rome, for first-timers I like Campo dei Fiori/Piazza Navona/Spanish Steps