Okay, I'm close to booking a room at the Albergo Del Senato for my 4 night stay in Rome, but am looking for recommendations the most secure form of booking. Do you book online at a particular site? And when you book, can I request a certain room with a view of the square? Any insight would be wonderful. I keep reading horror stories regarding hotels loosing reservations and so forth. This is a honeymoon so I'm extra paronoid! Thanks for the help.

I'd reccommend using Expedia for your bookings. However, I always phone the hotel a few days after I have used Expedia just to check that they have the reservation as per my specifications.

And I keep reading horror stories about divorces but I assume they won't apply to you.
I would e-mail the hotel DIRECTLY (assuming you have their e-mail address) and ask them to quote you a rate and also would ask them for exactly the sort of room (view/no view; balcony/no balcony, etc., etc.
You might very well get a better rate using a booking service such as www.venere.com but sometimes, not always, booking sites will be re-selling rooms the hotel cannot sell so it is always nice to have two quotes.
The "lost reservation" issue.

If you book through a site, you can confirm with the proerty directly through e-mail, fax, etc., if they have received the booking from the service.

If you are communicating directly with the hotel, take THEIR written e-mail confirmation of the room WITH YOU when you go...they'd have a hard time disputing it.

Good luck.

I on't think that Expedia would have ever crossed my mnd for this hotel. Are they listed there? I would have recommended www.venere.com though I think you could also correspond diretly with the hotel by fax, mail or e-mail. A website booking provides the added "safety" (perceived? actual?) of third-party arbiration, in the event of a dispute, and "secure" (https://) credit card info handling.

I think you need not worry about venere.com "losing" your reservation, and you can always do a follow-up confirm with del Sehato by e-mailing them directly.

Best wishes,

Rex

just a thought, but why don't you book directly with the hotel or call them directly if no internet is available...its the most perfect way in my mind...

A phone call - so that I can ask specific questions about, e.g., a room with a view - followed up by a fax with my credit card number and a request for a fax back for confirmation always works best for me. That way, I've actually talked to a human, had an opportunity to ask for details that may not be explained on a website, and have paper proof in hand when I arrive that I have a reservation.

Not everything can best be accomplished electronically.

I just use the e-mail to make my reservations, even if i know the language of the country that I am going to visit..

it works well for me..In my e-mail I specify what are my needs and preferences..

When the hotel answer back, I then send my credit card numbers...I make a copy of that also..
Before I leave the country, I send another e-mail to confirm the date of my arrival.

topping for our paranoid friend

So I took your advice and found the website for Albergo Del Senato in Rome and emailed them directly. I am curious what they respond.
If I don't hear back within a few days, I will call them and see that they have. I checked Venere.com and couldn't find them on the site, but will check Expedia. Thanks!

Don't worry, someone will respond to you, usually Alessandra

francophile03- Sounds like you have stayed at the Albergo Del Senate before. Any tips on the hotel? Best room for honeymoon trip, best way to book, best way to get below the rack rate? I would love to pick your brain.

I almost always make reservations by Fax. Sometimes, if the hotel uses e-mail, I make preliminary inquiries by e-mail, and sometimes (infrequently) I call with questions. When a credit card deposit is required, I always use Fax. Once, with an agriturismo in Sicily in 2000, I requested my reservation by mail, but never received a reply or a request for deposit, even though the reservation turned out to be fine. The next time I went there 2 1/2 years later, I made the arrangements entirely by phone.

Okay, Dumb Question of the Day! Are you ready? Everyone is saying to just call the hotel to confirm or to just ask questions. Do you use a calling card of some sorts or just call from your home phone? How much does calling Italy from the States cost? I haven't done it before so it sounds scary.

I get calling cards from the corner store and pay only a few cents per minute. Other people get special rate plans to phone Europe. Check your current rate plan to see what overseas calls cost - it probably is not that much.

For my previous trips to Europe, I have called the hotels, then faxed credit card information, and gotten return fax with confirm. This works the best for me, as it does for St. Cirq. Of course, the phone calls add up- and get expensive! Recently, I decided to try the "10-10-987" number, and I couldn't believe how cheap it has been to call France! Just 39 cents for the connect, and then 3 cents a minute. A HUGE difference from AT&T - I know, cause I just got my phone bill.

I ise 101-68-68 and then the number in Europe. It costs about 9 cents a minute to Europe, so virtually nothing to call a hotel for information.

TravelBug --

i'm also going to italy for my honeymoon this june and am likely just as anal as you are... don't mean that badly at all. I just like to double and triple check to make sure everything is done right.

I booked my room at the Albergo Del Senato back in the fall. I emailed them (back and forth) to confirm the room rate and kind of room i was looking for and then i faxed them my credit card info. I followed the fax up with an email letting them know that I had faxed in my details and asking if they could confirm when everything was all set. They did send such a confirmation email.

Hope that helps!

I like to email. On the couple occasions I used a call it was very stressful and I wasn't sure I absolutely understood everything. With an email both parties can ponder over the communication. You can look at the written message,revise things,etc. and you have a record of it.

Thanks for the info on the calling cards and calling plans, I will check with my long distance carrier and see what deals they have for calling Europe.
Question for nbs, (2 posts up), you said you booked your room at the Senato in the fall and are all confirmed; what kind of room did you end up with? If you don't mind me asking. Also, since you are traveling right around the time we are, did you find any deals on flights?

We stayed at the Del Senato in Sept. I can't say enough good things about it. The hotel has been refurbished and everything was so lovely. I did all the booking and confirmations by email from their own website. Remember there is a big time difference. They always responded to my emails within 2 days. They did NOT usually respond over the weekend however.

I requested a room facing the Pantheon. They have other rooms facing the back which some people feel are quieter. But we had no trouble with the noise. The hotel wrote back and told me that they would give us the room facing the Pantheon if it was available but they could not guarantee it. However, when we arrived, we did have the room with the Pantheon view.

I would have to warn you the room and the bathroom were very small by US hotel standards. However, the bathroom was completely modern and all the room furnishings were very elegant.

It was the perfect location. Couldn't have been better.