Book hotels online ?
 

Hi, <BR> <BR>I'm going to Italy (Venice,Florence,Rome) for my honeymoon next March. I've researched and picked a list of hotels. What is the best way to make hotel reservations? Not all the hotels have online reservations (I tried www.italyhotel.com). Will there be language problems if I call the hotel?

We have booked hotels using the net as a resource to locate where we have wanted to stay then faxing our booking. Has worked well so far. <BR>

<BR>Unless you speak basic italian, you may find it difficult to book by phone, and you have no record of the booking. I usually get best results by sending a fax. Often they reply within 12 hours, and then you have a piece of paper you can show the reception when you arrive, and are clear about being there on the right date and the price they charge. Write the fax in simple English, no long involved sentences. Ask for price for a room for two people, with bath or shower (in Italy they more often have a shower but no bath) and say your arrival date and departure date and the number of nights that makes. Ask the price per night for the room, becuase sometimes they tell you a total price for two nights and you are not clear whether it is for one or two. Ask if tax is included. Ask if you can pay by credit card (always preferable because overseas bank drafts will cost you plenty) and tell them approximately what time you will arrive.

I was in Italy this past October and used internet, fax and telephone to make hotel reservations. It's a good idea to followup with a fax when making your reservations by phone. Language is not a major problem. I called several hotels in Italy. There usually is someone around who speaks english, but knowing a few words .... especially numbers for dates and rates, helps.

Lots of great info here! <BR>My input: make sure when writing dates that you remember that the Europeans put the day first then the month then the year. So December 25th,1998 would be 25/12/98. Or at least that is my experience....can anyone confirm this? <BR>Have fun! <BR>Kittie <BR>

Yes, Kittie, you are correct. The europeon way for writing Dec 25 is 25/12.