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kellbell

Thanks, Ira. . .

Maryell- That is awesome information! I have to admit my fiancee is a bit irritated with all the Catholic church required marriage prep we've had to go through. . . so I don't know if he would welcome a Papal blessing on our marriage or not! : ) I think it would be exciting to see him.

Pjmay -- In terms of where I'm staying in Rome. . . I followed crystalnpat's advice earlier in this thread and contacted Hotel Italia. Have a room for 113 euros a night and it looks nice. www.hotelitaliaroma.it HOWEVER -- I just heard back from another place that I emailed called Pensione Paradise near the Vatican and they have a double room (no breakfast) for 85 euro a night. So, now I'm in a quandry. I think the location of Hotel Italia is better (between Vatican and ancient part of the city), but when you calculate it out, staying at the Pensione Paradise would save $68 (USD). That may not seem like much, but I'm thinking as you are -- so-so place in Rome and nicer place in Positano. (Princepessa. . . your Rome room is about what I want to spend in Positano. But 130 euro isn't bad!) Our last night. . . we are going to stay at Hotel Panda for 68 euro a night (shared bathroom).

Speaking of Positano. . . I'm having NO LUCK. Ok, not NO luck, but not really good luck. Every place I've emailed is booked. My mom called La Fenice today for me -- booked. Still haven't heard back from Villa Rosa. There is room at Villa Gabrisa, but they only have a giant suite available at 170 euro a night for two of the three nights we are there, and then they would let us move into a less expensive double for 120 euro. It is more than we had intended to spend, but the room they would give us for the first two nights looks FABULOUS. . . I think we should just go for it. (I probably sound like I'm a huge cheap-skate. . . not the case. . . just trying to do this without a ton of credit card debt.)

Sigh. Keeping my fingers crossed that the right place will come along. Anyone with insights on any of the hotels listed above? I would appreciate it! Hotel Italia or Pensione Paradise -- other than cost, what are the pros and cons?

Oh, have a room in Capri at Hotel Belsito for 124 euro. Not bad! Have you thought anymore about staying on Capri?

Chlo

Hi Kellbell,
I've been following your posts as we will also be on our honeymoon in Rome, Positano and Capri at the end of May.
We are booked at hotel Italia in Rome. If you ask for a Rick steves discount when you book, they will offer the room at 100 euros/night. Hopefully that will make your decision a little easier... As for Capri, we are booked at Villa Eva (www.villaeva.com)for 95 euros a night. I have read mixed reviews about this hotel, so it's up for debate... The website looks fantastic, though... Anyone else have any comments on villa Eva? Happy planning!

kellbell

Chlo:
Hi! I love that we are all planning our honeymoons together. . . .

Villa Eva for 95 euro sounds great! I just heard from Hotel Carmencita in Anacapri that they have a room for 89 euro a night (no view, but new bathroom). I'm not sure if staying in Anacapri is the best idea for us -- could be logistically tough (I'm imagining having to go back and forth to get bags, etc.) I'll check out Villa Eva, too. . . thanks for the tip.

Where are you staying in Positano?? Any good finds? The cheaper I get on my other lodging, the more likely I can justify "splurging" at Villa Gabrisa on their suite with the excellent view!!

kellbell

Oh, and thanks for the Rick Steves' tip!

Chlo

Kellbell:
Glad to help! In Positano we are booked at the Domina Royal. Its a 4 star at a great price! 90 euros a night! Do a google search for it. I think Travelocity has the best rates. I was only able to find one review of the hotel on tripadvisor.com & it was a good one.
I know what you mean about Anacapri. We are having the same reservations about staying there... I am looking at other options to compare. We split our honeymoon budget into 2 trips. We were married last October & we went to Antigua for a week. Now we are trying to keep costs as low as possible... Finding budget accomodations is proving to be quite challenging, but also kind of an adventure!! Good luck!

kellbell

90 euro!! That's amazing. . . .

Thanks for the tip! Let's see if I can be so lucky!

I may still go with Hotel Belsito in Capri for 124 euro. Might be worth the extra money to avoid the schlepping.

kellbell

Chlo:
No luck. Rates appear much higher for the dates I'm looking at.

Got the 100 rate at Hotel Italia through Rick Steves -- have to pay in cash, though.

Interesting how a lot of places offer an incentive to pay in cash. Villa Gabrisa offers a 5% discount to pay in cash.

Chlo

That's kind of odd that the rates would jump from one week to the next!? We will be there for 4 nights the last week of May.
Oh well, La Reginella in Positano seemed to be pretty well priced as well. Check www.venere.com. I am checking into Hotel Belsito as well for an alternative in Capri. Maybe they take cash too!!

kellbell

Waiting to hear back from La Reginella. I found a site that checks availability and rates, but didn't appear to let you book. I emailed an information request through ItalyBy.com. Did you happen to call La Reginella directly?

Not sure why the rates would change. They were listed at 144euro.

Having someone at Travel Intelligence (anyone go through them before?) look into availability and rates at several other properties in Capri and Positano. After I hear from TI, I'll probably make final decisions. We'll have to compare final itineraries! (I feel like people think I'm a stalker when I suggest that. . . )

Chlo

Kellbell: I just checked Travelocity & the rates are still there for Domina Royal at $114USD/night. We will be there from May 22-26th. It seems that they are all booked up for our time, but there is availability for the days before.
I didn't call La Reginella, but you can get an instant booking on www.venere.com. Hotel Vittoria is also pretty well priced. Take a look!

TamT

Dear Honeymooners-to-be,

Please, please get a room with a terrace and sea view! The little extra money you spend now will more than pay you back in future memories and photos!

Every anniversay pull out your honeymoon photo album and you'll be glad you splurged a little.

You only get married once, right?

All the Best,

TamT
(Happily married for 22 years!!!)

pjmay

Kellbell:
did you definitly book the hotel italia in Rome?
It looks pretty nice from the website. Do you know much about what the location is like where it is? I really wanted to stay in the Pantheon area, but it seems everything there is on the higher end of our budget.

What do you mean that you have to pay cash? When do you pay it? when you check in? How does that normally work? Like if I were to book a hotel now with a credit card, does my credit card get charged right away? Or I guess not until you check in?

And did you actually call the hotel or did you make the reservations through the website? I think you mentioned earlier in this long post about being nervous about calling, and so am I! I am afraid of there being a terrible language barrier! Do most people make reservations through the web or over the phone? I seriously dont even know how to make an international phone call!

Sorry for all the questions! I really have got to start making some final plans, you have me nervous with alot of these hotels being booked in May already...
keep us posted!

kellbell

TamT: That is the plan for Positano. Thank you for reinforcing this. . . and congrats on 22 years! If a terrace and a view will start us off in that direction, I'm all for the extra investment!

Chlo: Just received a very odd email message from Villa Eva. . . . hauntingly similar to some of the past Fodorite's complaints. . . what did you decide?

pjmay

TamT -
I agree & i do plan on splurging for rooms with sea views & terraces when in Positano & probably in Sorrento too.
Willing to go with no frills in Rome though, as i dont expect to be in the room all that much in Rome.

Can you recommend a really fabulous hotel in Positano and/or Sorrento? I really want a room with a sea view, terrace, & hoping for a jacuzzi, in a hotel with a pool, - for under $400/night - is that possible?

I have already researched this a great deal, & am leaning towards either Villa Franca or Hotel Posideon in Positano, and maybe Tramontano in Sorrento. But Im not sure what the bathroom situation is like in these hotels!?
any others i should consider?

kellbell

Hey PJMay. . . must have just missed you!

With Hotel Italia, I emailed them and actually send my credit card number via email. I posted a question earlier today about doing that and folks suggested that if you make reservations via email with a credit card that you split the credit card number between two separate email addresses. I, of course, did not do that (twice) and have two possibilities of having problems. Hopefully it is fine. Lesson learned.

You give them your credit card number to guarantee the room. They won't charge you though. You pay cash upon check out and receive the discount.

I don't personally know much about the location, my sister-in-law-to-be who is a frequent visitor of Rome and Italy in general told me that it was a good location and central to many things. That made me feel better about booking. It has received good reviews, as well, on tripadvisor.com.

So, I have that booked. Also booked last night's stay in Rome with Hotel Panda for 68euro -- shared bathroom. We figured we'll just want a simple room before we head back to the US.

Email seems to be working just fine for places that actually have an email address. I'll probably stick with it.

Where else are you planning to book rooms?

Feels nice to have a few things settled!! But there is much planning to do. . . .

kellbell

PJ May. . . might need to clarify my previous message.

I meant to say, folks suggested sending one email message with part of a credit card number and then send a second message with the rest of the credit card number. Not sure if that came through in my message above.

Oh, and I received an email message from a place called Hotel Marincanto. Have a standard double for 195 and many options with views. . . a junior suite for 275 euro and a special junior suite for 320 euro (406ish US?). Maybe look into them. . . . too rich for my blood!

kellbell

sorry. . . www.marincanto.it

Chlo

Kellbell: We are booked at Villa Eva, but the guy emailed me telling me to 'call him' when I get to Italy. I'm a little concerened that he might not honor the reservation as I have read on previous posts. Did he say the same to you? I just got word back from Hotel Belsito for 120 euros a night for 4 nights. I am leaning more towards this option because of the central location. Not to mention the backpacker factor at Villa Eva is not really the honeymoon atmosphere we're looking for! Although I maintain that the website looks amazing! Can anyone help with this decision? We will have 15 nights in Italy & we're trying to keep costs down, though maybe the Belsito will be the better way to go even if it means spending an extra 100 euros? At the end of the day the memories will be more valuable than the extra money & I would rather avoid any potential mishaps if I can.

pjmay

kellbell:
arrgh! speaking of language barriers, that website, www.marincanto.it, is only in Italian! their english version is down! but from the pictures, it looks amazing - that one picture, w/ the jacuzzi practically on the terrace, THAT is exactly the type of place i am looking for! do you think that is the special junior suite? If i could get a room like that for $400, id do it.

Thanks alot for the credit card number tip, id never have thought of that!

& I might go for the Hotel Italia too, we can compare notes when we return in June!