jtgixxer

All,

I am currently out in Iraq and I am planning on taking a vacation out to Italy to visit Rome and then Venice. I already have flights scheduled but would love some help as to some of the accomodations there in those two cities.

I will actually be arriving in Rome on New Year's Eve and I heard it will be a ghost town on the first of Jan. I plan on leaving Rome for Venice on 4 Jan and then coming back on 8 Jan to fly back to the US. Anyways, I have looked at quite a few hotels, mainly from hotels.com and expedia.com. I am clueless as to where to stay at in both cities. I am thinking of Forty Seven in Rome and BONVECCHIATI in Venice.

As far as hotels are concerned, I am hoping to find a place no more than $300 a night but has great accomodations with a above average sized room and at least a big bed. My fiancee and I will be meeting up in Rome. This will be our first time seeing each other in nearly a year so it is supposed to be a romantic vacation together.

I have another question about the train between Venice and Rome. Do I need to buy tickets in advance (like airline tickets) for travel between the two cities? Also, where in Rome is the train station that travels between the two cities? Is it called the "termini station?" Also, what is the usual cost for 2 adults to travel on the train?

I appreciate any and all of the help out there and I just wish that I could spend more time out there but I have to come back to the states to visit my family before finishing my tour in Iraq. Any and all advice is more than welcome and I thank you all in advance.

elaine

Hi
Termini station, the main train station in Rome, is in the heart of town, not considered to be in the 'historic center' but easily accessible to other areas because Rome's metro lines cross at Termini. New Year's Day is a Sunday this year, some businesses may remain closed on Monday, especially in the morning, but most services and businesses will be open on Monday the 2nd.

Your hotel choice in Rome gets great reviews, or do you already know that?
see
http://rome-hotels.tripadvisor.com/
Hotel_Review-g187791-d319527-Reviews-
Forty_Seven_Hotel_Rome-Rome_Lazio.html

The Venice hotel gets mostly good reviews
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...69264-Reviews-
Hotel_Bonvecchiati-Venice_Veneto.html

I have files on Rome and on Venice; if you'd like to see them (and can print them out, they're long), email me at
[email protected]

jtgixxer

Elaine,

Do you have any personal lodging favorites of both cities? Just wondering for I did read into both hotels and they look real interesting but I don't know if the location of them is great for someone with only a couple of days there.

So, the "termini" train station is where I would go to catch a train to Venice? Just wondering because I have thought about finding a hotel near both train stations at both Rome and Venice. I just don't want to end up staying at a hotel that is too far away from everything and I would have to travel just to see things. I would like to walk around the area that I am staying at and enjoy the sights. In the same aspect, I would also like to stay close to a place that I can hop onto to get to either the airport or to get to Venice. That is my dilemma now that I finally have the dates set in stone.

I am sending you an email here in the next few minutes, Elaine, and I thank you.

Leely

If it is a ghost town in Rome on January 1, then that would be a perfect day to just amble about, make your own walking tour, check out the architecture without hordes of people on the streets, etc. I think the best day I ever spent in Paris was Christmas when, supposedly, nothing was going on.

Enjoy your holiday. I'm sure Elaine's files will help.

elaine

The Termini area in Rome is, on average, one of the least charming neighborhoods.
The few good hotels are surrounded by cheap rooms and cheap eats. For a romantic interlude, it is an area I would definitely not choose.

If you'd like to save a little money, there are some budget-minded hotels in Rome in more charming areas.
Look into some hotels that are almost universally praised in the historic center, such as, to name just a few,
the Hotel Portoghesi, the Hotel Santa Chiara, the Albergo del Senato (check current prices to make sure it's within your budget), the Hotel Campo dei Fiori, the Hotel Teatro di Pompeo.

Venice is quite small and though its train station isn't as central as I prefer, it's perhaps a half hour walk to Piazza San Marco, which is the hub.
Well-located hotels include the one you already chose, Violino d'Oro, Flora, La Calcina, Accademia/Villa Maravege, etc.
Someone here recently posted a recommendation for a nice hotel a couple of minutes' walk from the train station,
the Abazzia. One of the details is that the bathroom was very spacious, which would be unusual.

elaine

by the way, here's a current thread on Rome restaurants

http://www.fodors.com/forums/
threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34689348

epi

I hope you and your fiancee have a wonderful vacation-you deserve it.
We just returned from Venice. I don't know the weather in January, but with just two days, I strongly recommend a day pass on the vaporetto for one day. You can do on and off, and get to see much more than if you walk everywhere. You can also take the vaporetto to Burano and Murano, which are fun.
We loved the Doge's Palace. I strongly recommend the audio tape you can rent there. It gives much more meaning to what you see. The ticket to the Doge's Palace also includes a ticket to the Correr(?) museum, also on Piazza San Marco. It is basically a museum of the culture of Venice.
Just walking around Venice is also wonderful. In january I assume it will be much less busy than September, which is good. Every corner you turn you find another beautiful facade. Just remember to look up - but not when you come to canals.
I have no particular restaurants to recommend. The ones we went to were fine, but not spectacular. I hope someone else can give you spectacular.
Enjoy.

Tweeter

I recommend the Locanda Orseolo in Venice. There has been a number of positive comments about it on this forum. See Tripadvisor.com for many more comments.

Following are my comments from my trip report:

This hotel is highly recommended! We had a superior king size room overlooking the Orseolo canal for 230 Euros a night. See Tripadvisor.com for hundreds of comments. Everyone leaves a comment there because they are so deserving of them. Everything is true and I will be adding our review as well. Not only is the location great (a block or so from San Marco Square), but the hosts make it even better. They are so friendly and helpful, and take their advice for how to get around and where to eat. The windows are insulated so you don't hear a sound until you open the windows. The breakfast was the best we had with made to order omelets and crepes.

Have a nice trip!

artlover

For Venice I'd go with Hotel Ca Maria Adele. Check out their website at www.camariaadele.it. We didn't stay there, but a friend gave us a tour and it was really fabulous and I would stay there next time. Very romantic and quiet, thought centrally located.

Good luck to you.

beanweb24

Another vote for Locanda Orseolo - I absolutely love it. Several rooms have been recently renovated (#15, Pulcinella, is particularly beautiful with a window over Orseolo canal). The whole hotel has 12 rooms and is very charming...but the staff is what really makes it a fabulous experience. Your special time together would be made even more wonderful with the kind and attentive service at Orseolo.

ira

Hi jt,

>Do I need to buy tickets in advance (like airline tickets) for travel between the two cities?<

You can find train schedules at www.trenitalia.com.

You can also buy your tickets online there, if you wish.

It will not be hard for you to buy your tickets at the train station at FCO when you arrive or at Rome TE when you take the train from FCO to the city.

jtgixxer

Wow...I am really impressed with this site/forums. You people are great! The information so far has been awesome! Thanks so far for you help.

I can't seem to find a way to book or price out rooms for "Locanda Orseolo." The place really sounds great too, but I am not sure if it is just booked and that is why it won't come up on venere.com (which I got sent to from tripadvisor.com) I will be checking out some other ones to see what is available from the nights of 4-6 Jan. I am sad that I will only be there for 3 nights but at least I will be there!

Elaine, thank you so much for the info so far, those files look to be very helpful. Ira, I also thank you for your little bit of information on the trains.

Everyone, thanks so much so far for the help and it has made me so much more comfortable about this trip. If you guys have any "inside info" on the best romantic places at those cities, please feel free to let me know

I have one last question for anyone out there...Will I have any issues with weather out there in January? I have read about and heard that it is the rainy season for both Rome and Venice, as well as high tides in Venice. I am just wondering if you may know what I should expect and pack. Thanks again for everything...hopefully I can book a room at Locanda Orseolo soon! *crosses fingers*

SAB

Here's the website for Locanda Orseolo

http://www.inns-venice-hotel.locandaorseolo.com/

JeanneB

JT:
I've also been looking at Locanda Orseolo for January (a little later than you).

But I've also come across a great looking deal on the Best Western website. These hotels are NOT like the BW's in the U.S. They're typical Italian hotels which simply use the BW reservation site.

One is Hotel Ala, which gets very good reviews here and on tripadvisor. I went to bestwestern.com and did a search on Venice hotels. Hotel Ala has a special offering for a queen deluxe room, canal view, for 153 euro/night---breakfast incl. It says "Early Web Special-no cancellations".

There are equally good offers for the BW hotels Cavaletto and Bisanzio. I haven't decided, but thought you might want to check it out.
Have a great time.

tuscanlifeedit

We have just booked the special canal view room at the Hotel Ala in Venice for the second time. We went there on our honeymoon 6 years ago, and it is the greatest value in Venice. Great location; great breakfast. I am only telling you about this because you are in Iraq and I would feel selfish if I didn't. I started keeping this one to myself a couple of years ago. gt;

In Rome, I just love the Portoghesi. The rooms are compact, as are the bathrooms, but the amenities, especially sheets, towels, and furnishings are so comfy and cushy, especially for Rome. But that doesn't really meet your above average size room with big bed criteria.

However, the special deal room at the Ala is very big, with a very big bed. I urge you to consider it.

tuscanlifeedit

Since you are arriving at holiday time, I think you ought to purchase your tickets from Rome to Venice in the train station at the airport (referred to here as FCO, standing for Fiumicino airport).

Get the ES or Eurostar train, which takes the least amount of time. Research your options on the trenitalia.com website, and just have the times and dates of one or two trains that your prefer written down to show the ticket seller at the station in FCO.

When you purchase your ticket into Rome from the airport, also purchase the two tickets for Rome to Venice at the very same time. When you arrive in central Rome at Termini station, you can take a taxi to your hotel.

When you arrive at the train station in Venice, you can take the water bus (vaporetto) or a water taxi (more thrilling and fabulous for a first time visit to Venice) from in front of the Venice train station to your hotel.

You are going to have a wonderful time. Even if Rome is quiet for the holiday, just think of walking those ancient and wonderful streets without hordes of visitors.

Our favorite romantic evening thing in Rome is to stand on the steps of the Campidoglio hill and look down into the Roman Forum lit up at night. There are always people kissing there. These are not the big major steps with Castor and Polux on either side, nor the ones that wind up through the Rupe Tarpea, but the ones that come down from the top of the hill to the via de Fiori Imperiale.

Leely

jtgixxer,

If you can't easily get maps, perhaps your fiancee can pick some up and bring them with her? Getting lost is fun (and inevitable if you're at all like me, especially in Venice), but since your time is limited it might be a good idea to arrive "map in hand."

I've stayed at the del Senato in Rome and it's very nice and central, but I'm not sure what the prices are like now. If you could swing a room with a view that would be fantastic.

Hmm...romantic spots. Frankly, I find the incomparable beauty and history of both Rome and Venice highly romantic, no matter what you do/see.

And, of course, wine is romantic!

wtggirl

You are arriving New Years Eve? I was there a couple New Years eves ago. I was told about music at the Piazza della Republica. Well, what a surprise we were in for. They had live singers from the Opera, and I mean real life Pavorottis. The whole thing was being televised and we watched as they were shooting from other European cities and then flashing to us. The cameras were flying over our heads as we counted down to midnight. Then, the prime minister came out and made his speech, which I didn't understand a word of. But, the experience is the most memorable New Years I ever had. If you are not too tired, see if you can catch it!

JeanneB

tuscanlifeedit:

Sorry if I divulged your "secret"!
It IS almost too good to believe.

Sadly, the Hotel Ala offer has now disappeared for our dates. Did you get January 25th by any chance?! It was there just a couple of days ago.

beanweb24

You can also find more info about Orseolo here:

http://www.veniceby.com/orseolo/index.html

I really do hope they have room availability for you - it's a magical spot in magical Venice. As high as my expectations were for Orseolo after reading reviews on TripAdvisor, I was unprepared for the actual experience.

January is likely to be cold and possibly wet, and yes, you run the risk of high water. However, same is to be said for November weather and we loved it so much last year we're headed back this Thanksgiving, too. A damp, foggy day in Venice with the person you love most is a most treasured experience - doesn't get much more romantic than that!

In Venice, one of my favorite restaurants is La Zucca. While there is a heavy emphasis on fresh vegetables, they also have an ample selection of meat dishes.

Here's a good website for seeing restaurant reviews:

www.restaurantsomh.com/venice.htm