My best friend and I are traveling to these cities June 20-Jul 1. We'd like the best possibe stay for of course the least price. Trying to save on hotels so we can spend our money on purchases. This is a trip of a life-time for lifelong friends, we're so excited!!! Appreciate the help. Denise

in florence, check ou hotel casci (www.hotelcasci.com). Great value, great place. Do a text search here for more info/comments.

When I was in Florence I stayed at a convent/hotel that was beautiful;<BR><BR>Istituto Suore di S. Giovanni Battista<BR>Via di Riopoli, 82<BR>50126 Firenze<BR>Italia<BR><BR>tel: 30 055 6802394<BR><BR><BR><BR>The name of the hotel part of the Convent is Villa Merlo Bianca, but the<BR>letters that I sent to them were addressed as mentioned above. If you send<BR>them a letter, ask them to send you a pamphlet so can get an idea of the<BR>rooms. If you have a car, they have space for you to park inside the gates.<BR>It is in the 'suburbs', but still close to city centre - you can take a bus<BR>there, but I often walked (about 15 minutes or so).<BR>The Mother Superior (Madre Superiore) was a wonderful lady, but didn't speak<BR>english. When I arrived, she took us on a mini tour of the convent and it<BR>was beautiful. There are a few rooms behind the library and are smaller and<BR>don't have a great view, if you get one of these just ask to see another on<BR>the other side of the building. They are very accommodating and won't mind.<BR>There is also a continental breakfast offered with the lodging.<BR>If you have any other questions please feel free to email me. This place<BR>was a great find - about 55 CAD per person a night, for the same kind of<BR>room in a Florence hotel you would be paying big bucks. Because it is<BR>walled off from the street it is very peaceful and quiet, nice when you have<BR>been amid throngs of people all day.<BR><BR><BR>In Rome I also stayed at a convent/hotel near the train station and the colossseum<BR>http://www.suorebambinogesu.it/DNB/camere2.html<BR><BR><BR>Good Luck!<BR>Julie<BR><BR>

with time so short before your trip, search the hotel listings at www.venere.it to see what's available.<BR>Then ask for input on some specific hotels here , or search the past postings. <BR>good luck

We just came back from Italy and the place that I like the most was an apartment that turned out to be the second least expensive place we stayed, but the best for comfort and convenience. <BR><BR>It's a beautiful little apartment that was renovated about a year ago and is only about a 10 minutes walk from many of the major sites (about 1 1/2 blocks from the Arno). It has all the comforts and conveniences of home, but is also close to some great restaurants if you choose to eat out. <BR><BR>Check out photos of it on their website www.florenceflat.com or contact Andrea through Hotel Alessandra.<BR><BR>We stayed for a week, but I believe you can rent for a few days at a time also. It was around 100 EUROS/day for a 1 week stay.<BR><BR>We really enjoyed our stay there as you can tell and I would stay there again if I ever get back to Florence.<BR><BR><BR>

Denise --<BR><BR>We stayed at the following two weeks ago in Florence & Venice. And we stayed at a nice place in Rome last year.<BR><BR>Florence: Soggiorno Battistero<BR>Piazza San Giovanni, 1<BR>Firenze, ITALIA<BR>Tel: 39 055 259143<BR>Fax: 39 055268189<BR>Email: [email protected]<BR>Website: www.soggiornobattistero.it<BR><BR>This is a B&B ideally located in the heart of Florence. We loved this place. Kelly and her husband Luca really stay on top of things here. Breakfast is served in your room. The building faces the Baptistry, Duomo, and Giotto Tower. From here, you can get to everything you want to see in Florence in just minutes. There are many places to eat in the area and gelaterias all over the place.<BR><BR>The facility is a brief 5-10 minute walk to the train station.<BR><BR>Rooms 1-2-3-4 overlook the Piazza and may have more noise than the inside room. We had requested a room that did not overlook the Piazza and Kelly gave us Room 6 and it worked out great for us. <BR><BR>We would definitely stay here again.<BR><BR>Our rate was E88 per nite.<BR><BR><BR>Venice: Hotel Riva<BR>Ponte dell Angelo 531<BR>Castello<BR>Venezia, ITALIA<BR>Tel: 39 04152270349<BR>Fax: 041 528.5551<BR><BR>We obtained rooms here thru www.guestinitaly.com. A modest booking fee is incurred.<BR><BR>We couldn’t have been happier with our choice here. We absolutely loved it. After a day of hiking thru the “streets” of Venice it was a nice place to come back to for rest.<BR><BR>We had read favorable comments about Hotel Riva and we are glad to add our own. It is situated at the intersection of 3 small canals. We had read about this but it was just so cool to see gondolas cruising by here especially in the late evening. We were even “entertained” by singing gondoliers at times. Our room was on the 2nd floor and one of the canals was directly below our two big windows. We could lean out over the passing gondolas and it was from this vantage point that we got some great pictures and videos. It was also from this point that we would hear the singing and the accordion playing of some of the gondoliers. It was the neatest thing!<BR><BR>At times water taxis and other small boats would pass by beneath us and the noise of their engines could be heard but this was minor in our opinion.<BR><BR>Breakfast was served in a breakfast room off of the lobby. The hostess, a sweet little Italian lady, welcomed you each morning with a beautiful ringing “Buono giorno” and upon departing the room an equally sweet “Grazie or Prego”! The owners of Hotel Riva were very helpful to us and extremely pleasant. <BR><BR>You can walk to St. Marks in less than 5 minutes but even though you are this close to the the Square you are not overwhelmed by crowds where this hotel is located. You are also about 10 minutes away from the Rialto Bridge! The Bridge of Sighs is located on one of the three canals that run by Hotel Riva.<BR><BR>Getting to the key vaporettos is very easy from the hotel as major stations are just outside of St. Marks Square on the water or just a short walk from St. Marks.<BR><BR>There are many nice restaurants in the area as well as mask shops and other shops and bookstores.<BR><BR>The hotel is located in Castello but is right on the border of St. Marks.<BR><BR>We would most certainly stay here again.<BR><BR>Our rate was E110 per nite.<BR><BR>Rome: Residenza San Pantaleo<BR>A bed and breakfast<BR>It is absolutely centrally located, very clean, at a great rate. Almost next door to Piazza Navona. www.residenzasanpantaleo.com<BR>email: [email protected]<BR><BR>Hope this is helpful to you. Have fun in your planning.<BR><BR>Bob<BR><BR><BR><BR>

Hello Denise,<BR><BR>I really enjoyed the hotels I stayed at in Florence and Venice.<BR>In Florence I stayed at Cristina House. It was only a few blocks to the Duomo, and also only a few blocks to the Uffizi. We walked everywhere easily - Santa Croce church, Ponte Vecchio, Accademia, etc. For a triple with bath in May it was 108 Euros/night.<BR>The phone/fax number is 39 055 21 4484. It is the same line, they just plug in the fax when a fax machine calls. <BR><BR>In Venice we stayed at B&B Ai Bareteri ([email protected], www.bareteri.com). I also enjoyed this hotel. It is very close to the Rialto Bridge (~5 minute walk). It is located on the San Marco side of the bridge, so it is easy to walk there also. They served a nice breakfast in a breakfast room, which was included in the price. It was a bit more expensive at 155 Euros/night for a triple room with private bath. The owners were very friendly and helpful and also helped us carry our bags up the stairs.<BR><BR>BTW neither hotel had an elevator. We didn't travel light at all, but found it not bad.<BR><BR>I can't recommend a hotel in Rome. I stayed at Residenza San Pantaleo, but would not recommend it.<BR><BR>Hope you have a great time.<BR>

FLORENCE:<BR>Hotel Firenze -- amazing location (a few blocks south of the Duomo) and quite affordable (I think we paid like $80/night a year ago). Great for budget travelers.<BR><BR>ROME:<BR>Hotel Smeraldo -- good location off the Campo dei Fiori and affordable (I think $80-90/night; you could perhaps find cheaper, but price vs. value is great).