Hotels in Italy
 

I am still in the planning phases of my trip to Rome, Venice and Florence in March. I have a lot of Amex miles to use, what do you think about the Starwood properties? I hear they are centrally located. In Rome and Florence the Hotel Excelsior and in Venice the Hotel Europa and Regina.
Thanks.
PS restuarant and tours/to do items welcome, too!

Hi

I can only help you with general information as I have not stayed at Starwood properties. But here is my Rome trip report: http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy.htm , my Florence trip report: http://gardkarlsen.com/florence_italy_travelogue.htm and my Venice trip report: http://gardkarlsen.com/italy_venice.htm

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Those three hotels are top notch and certainly among the best options in those cities. We have stayed in the Europa and Regina. It is a beautiful hotel with an unbeatable location - walking distance to everything. They even have their own dock so you can take a water taxi directly in and out. We have not stayed at the Excelsior in Rome but have been inside a few times. It is an extremely nice hotel and consistently rated as one of the premier hotels in Rome. Of the the three this is the only one that doesn't have a great location. It is located in the Via Veneto area near the U.S. embassy. It's a nice area but not real convenient to the major sights. It is a long walk to areas like the Coliseum or Pantheon. You could take a taxi or bus. We have not been inside the Excelsior in Florence but have seen it so I know the location is outstanding - on the river very close to Ponte Vecchio. I think you will be very happy with any or all of these hotels.

We stayed in Europa and Regina a couple of years ago - and while it has a great location - I don;t think it was worth the money. Our rooms were run down (may have been updated since then), staff was very cold - and there was an ongoing fight over the AC. (They put it on during the day for staff and turned it off at night so guests sweltered. They claimed they were not doing this, that it was a malfunction - but 4 nights in a row! And, then magically working again at 8 each morning!)

I much prefer the Danieli and even the Excelsior (though it;s on the Lido).

Our stay at the Europa and Regina was extremely nice and we had no complaints at all. AC worked great, very accommodating staff, great location, very nicely decorated room and huge bathroom. Go figure, but our experience was very different than nytraveler's.

Starwood has a "Welcome to Italy" program. If you're going to spend a minimum of 7 nights in those three cities, it offers a guaranteed US Dollar rate, daily breakfast, and all taxes and service fees. I think it's a pretty good deal.

Perhaps your experience was more recent than ours - about 5 years ago.

(And the AC problem was universal - a couple we met at breakfast was moving to another hotel and there were acrimonious debates with front desk staff by at least 6 or 7 other guests that I saw.)

My Son-in-law worked for Starwood for a number of years. They are known for high quality and service. I think you'll have no worries! :)