verbaslt

Can anyone recommend a good hotel in Florence and/or Rome.

Centrally located, clean, and moderately priced. I am hoping to do airfare and hotel for about 10 days for under $1500.

There are so many hotels out there and I am so tired of reading trip advisor. Im getting a headache.

Please help.

LucieV

Two I stayed at in October:
Florence: Relais Grand Tour
www.florencegrandtour.com

Rome: a b&b in Trastevere, Arco del Lauro
www.arcodellauro.it

Both wonderful. Check the websites and reviews on TripAdvisor.

mcnyc

I enjoyed my stay at the Hotel Desirée on Via Fiume, right off the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence. The other place I've stayed is the Hotel Laurus. Check their websites for the best possible rates. Another site to check out is Florenceby.com. I would check to see if the hotel has its own website and compare rates.

For Rome, try RomeBy.com for an area of Rome you'd like to stay. Once you find a hotel you like, you can search for reviews for that particular hotel. That's how I usually use TripAdvisor. Otherwise, I too would get a headache!

But while in Rome, I stayed in the Termini area, at the Best Western Mondial on Via Torino. Close to all transportation, it was the most expensive of all the hotels we stayed. Mainly because it was Rome.

To give you an idea of what the hotels cost, our goal was to stay under $150/night, and I would say we did so successfully...until we got to Rome, where we went a smidgen over.

Hope this is somewhat helpful.

francophile03

We liked the Berchielli in Florence as it faces the river and is just up the street from the Ponte Vecchio. We requested a riverview room and did get one.

JeanneB

<i>I am hoping to do airfare and hotel for about 10 days for under $1500.</i>

Have you bought your plane ticket? Knowing how much goes for that will tell us what your hotel budget is.

MFNYC

What kind of room, single, double? What time of year (prices vary by season)? Where are you flying from and when? Airfare can be around $1,000 during the summer months.

Convents have some very nice and inexpensive accommodations. If your budget is tight, you may want to consider this.

verbaslt

Havent bought my plane ticket yet. Im looking to travel at the end of March. Departure on or about March 24, from my research it seems to start getting expensive once you hit April.

Looking for a double room and Im flying from LAX.

JeanneB

At this time, the best rate on Kayak.com is LAX/FCO/LAX, 3/24 to 4/2, $699. I'm assuming your 10 days includes travel days, i.e. 8 nights in hotels in Rome/Florence. (If you leave on the 20th/return on the 29th, the fare is $647.)

If your ticket is $700, you'll have $800 for 8 nights in hotels. That's about 77 euros per night. You might check out B&amp;B Peterson in Florence. Double in late March, private bath, is 62 euros. Ira recommends it on these boards often.

If you spend 3 nights in Florence, that would leave you a budget of about 85 euros/night for 5 nights in Rome.

rkkwan

How many people? There's a big difference for one person having a $1,500 budget and two persons having a $3,000 budget, because of hotel cost.

MFNYC

I'm assuming you there are 2 of you, so it would be a $3,000 budget total. Gieven that, and $700 plane tickets, you are left with $1,600 for the hotel which should give you some flexibility. If you are talking 10 nights, vs, a 10 day trip (which may only be 8 or 9 nights), it will vary some, but will still open up lots of options.

In FLorences, check out Hotel Casci (www.hotelcasci.com). It's great value, in a great location, and run by a delightful family.