Alison

We are going to Italy in October and would like any advice on these hotels. <BR> <BR>Locanda Dei Mercanti-Milan <BR>Locanda Sturion-Venice <BR>San Gallo-Venice <BR>Hotel Due Torri-Rome <BR> <BR>Thank You-Alison

richardab

Of course, you may know, I am the psoter child for the Hotel Due Torri in Rome! <BR> <BR>Its a great little hotel which is very centrally located and with walking distance from many sights! Its not a fancy place, but it is very atmospheric and quaint. The staff is very friendly and speaks good English. They have a decent continental breakfast, the rooms are clean and the bathrooms are modern. <BR> <BR>If you would like some pictures, send ma an Email and i will Email then to you! <BR> <BR>Also, be careful when booking your Venice Hotel! Remember that there are no Taxis to take you to your doorstep so the closer to the Grand canal you are the better, otherwise you will have to cart your own luggage to your hotel! I think it is wise to stay close to St Marks or the Accademca Bridge. <BR>The "Cheap Sleeps in Otaly" is a good book to use for Venice. <BR> <BR>Richard

Paul

Alison - we stayed at the Antica Locanda Dei Mercanti in Milan in 1998. A very charming place to stay, if a bit hard to find (there's only a small brass sign on the outside of the building)! Very centrally located. We were able to easily walk almost everwhere. The Last Supper is 3 or 4 subway stops up the line (very easy to get to). We really enjoyed this charming, small hotel, and I don't hesitate to recommend it. They have a web site at &lt;www.locanda.it&gt;.

Anna

Alison, <BR>I stayed at the Locanda Sturion on my honeymoon in 1997 and it was great. We had a large, beautiful room over the Grand Canal. It was so fun to look out the windows and watch the boats and people go by. I would highly recommend the place, but be warned that there is no elevator and it is on the 4th floor. If you pack light and are able to do the stairs, I would definitely stay there.

Luigi

Alison, <BR>If you want some positive feedback about the Venice hotel, put Locanda Sturion in the text search window. Some of the posts go back a few years but it seemed to be highly regarded by the Fodorite gang. <BR> <BR>To follow up on Richard's comment, there are several places, besides the ever popular and overly crowded St Mark's area, that are close to vaporetto stops. In fact, the Locanda Sturion is very close to the Rialto stop. <BR> <BR>In my humble opinion, the less time you spend in St Mark's square and the more time you spend wandering around the small alleys and canals, the better feel for the "real" Venice you will get. Have a great time!

Me

Antico Locanda dei Mercanti in Milan is a wonderful hotel. We've stayed there twice and both rooms were charming and spacious. As mentioned above, it isn't easy to find - our taxi driver had to stop and ask someone on the street where exactly to find it - but that added to the charm for us. It was very quiet and it's in Brera which is a very pretty district close to the Duomo and Castello Sforza. Nice optional breakfast brought to your room. You won't be disappointed.

Anna

Alison, <BR>You may want to check out the Hotel Galleria in Venice. I haven't stayed there but my sister is next month. It got some very good reviews in several travel guides and in Travel Holiday magazine. <BR>http://www.hotelgalleria.it/indexbri.htm