Inexpensive lodging...Siena, Spello and airport hotel in Rome
 

Hi all it is me again. I am posting this as a new post. I got many good suggestions from my previous post but I am looking for lodging in Siena for 2 nights, and outside of Assisi (maybe Spello) and a place near the airport in Rome (don't want to have to worry the day we leave about traffic getting to the airport).

I got some suggestions for around Assisi and Sienna on my last post but they were a little too expensive(over 300 usd a night). I am looking more on the lower end.

So any ideas for Sienna (we will not have a car there and would like to be near transportation (coming in from Rome on either a bus or train) and leaving Sienna on a train.

We will be renting a car to get from Chiusi to Assisi (Spello etc) for a few days. Any one have suggestions on staying out in the country on a farm or B&B for 2 nights.

Last place will be a hotel very near airport in Rome.

This all is taking place in Oct.

Thanks again for the help.

This October? You may not have too much choice. We stayed at the Hotel Duomo in Siena last year and really liked it. We did get the one room with a balcony. The rooms are pretty sparse, but we liked the location. Close to the Duomo, but a bit away from the tourist crowds. It's on the opposite side of town from where the bus from Rome stops, but we just took a taxi to the hotel. Do a search for "Siena Hotel" under Italy on the message board here and there will be lots of suggestions. There are several hotels closer to the bus stop that people here have recommended as well. Siena is not that large so most places are within walking distance.

If you come in by train to Siena, you will definately have to take a taxi. We took the bus from Rome and had not problems. It was a relaxing and scenic ride.

Take the bus from Tiburtina station in Rome and stay at this B&B:
www.villaliberty.it
Have fun !

6abc,
In Siena the Alma Domus http://www.hotelalmadomus.it/ is a good budget accommodation.

Henry

It sounds like you're taking a train from Siena to Chiusi to pick up a car. It is only 80 km (about 50 miles) from Siena to Chiusi. Why not just pick up your car in Siena?

We have stayed at Hotel Brunamonti in Bevagna - liked the town and hotel, and not too expensive:
http://www.brunamonti.com/it/default.asp

The hotel has only a few parking spots, but it was easy to park in the public lots outside the walls.

Here are some ideas for the Spello area - I haven't stayed at any of them, but had gathered the info for our 2006 trip to Spello:

Hotel Palazzo Brunamonti, Corso G. Matteotti, in Bevagna, 70-110E for a double in 2006

Villa Zuccari, www.villazuccari.com, outside of Montefalco. 130-190E, depending on season (it's probably high season right now)

Also, we had a GREAT dinner at Coccorone, in Montefalco (www.coccorone.com). I noticed at the time that they had several rooms available there. The website, which is only in Italian, doesn't specify prices, but does have some info on their B&B rooms.

I would also recommend Hotel Duomo, in Siena, http://www.hotelduomo.it/. Our room was in great condition and down a mysterious little hallway.

About Rome, I would always choose one last late-evening stroll through the historical center of Rome over an airport hotel any day, even if it meant leaving the downtown hotel early to leave extra time for traffic. The last time we stayed in Rome, we stayed at Residenza Canali ai Coronari, near the Piazza Navona, but it might be more than you want to spend.

hi lovisa,

We will be doing a hiking trip prior to renting a car.

We arrive in Rome and are training directly to Siena to stay for 2 nights. After our 8 days of hiking on arrangements have already been made by our hiking company for those days we will then be going getting dropped off at Chiusi that is why we are not going to get the car in Siena or Rome.

Lexma90 I will reconsider the airport hotel...I guess I get a bit anxious the day we fly about getting to the airport on time.

I will start researching all of your suggestions.

Thanks

Thank you Henry, I just sent an e-mail to Alma Domus.

Not to sound stupid or anything but in Italy is a Single room JUST for 1 person or is it a single bed that 2 people can use????

6abc,
Single room - one person.

Henry

Thanks Henry I thought so..

6abc - consider taking the bus from Rome to Siena instead of the train. There is no direct train from Rome to Siena whereas the bus is direct - and only 5 euro pp if you book ahead and you probably wouldn't need to take a taxi to your hotel. Check http://www.senabus.it/index_e.htm for schedules and information.

We stayed at the Albergo Chiusarelli and would recommend it. Our rear room was spacious and clean with a modern bath and a small balcony. The staff was helpful and the public spaces were beautifully done. The breakfast was quite good as well. It has a convenient location just outside the wall near a main entrance and is near the bus terminal. If choosing the Chiusarelli, book a room in the back since the front rooms face a busy avenue. The rack rate is about 125 euro for a double.

Thanks BarbaraJ I will look into the bus that seems to be the best options.

And Basingstroke2 I will check out your suggestion.

If anyone has any suggestions for lodging in the outskirts of Assisi I am opened to anything. I will check some more posts for suggestions.

Where is the best place for car drop off while in Umbria that is close to transportations to get to Rome. I have checked over my other posts and gotten some drop off info but I am concerned about being close to a terminal either bus or train to get back to Rome.

Thanks again.

6,

On my last trip I stayed one spur-of-the-moment night in Assisi. My hotel in Gubbio (a 4 star even) had proven intolerable due to church bells, all night every 15 mintues. I left with no clue where I would spend the next night.

The TI in Assisi directed me to Hotel Porto Nuovo a *** with free parking right at the hotel. It was only 50E (in 2005) for a double room, good breakfast included. The hotel was nothing special, but clean with nice owners. It's just outside the Porto Nuovo gate, of course. Very easy to drive to.

In Spello ( my next reserved stay) the Palazzo Bocci was one of the very nicest places I've stayed in Italy. A single room for 95E. The nice thing about Umbria is your $$$ go further. Not as expensive as Rome & Tuscany. I doubt you will be able to get a res at this late date, but maybe a cancellation will happen.

Buon viaggio!

Hi 6,

We stayed at the Holiday Inn EUR Parc Medici.

It is an international style hotel with all the mod cons and a vety good bkfst.

About 10 min from FCO.

They have free shuttle service.

((I))

Henry any suggestions on how to contact the Hotel
Alma Domus. I tried the online form several times. And then I sent them an e-mail. This has been going on since last week and I haven't heard back.

How did you get in touch? Did you have to call?

6abc,
Just call 0577 44177. The man on days speaks english. Keep it simple. To be safe have the basics for the reservations in Italian written down.

Henry

Some final questions on Buses and Trains.

QUESTION:I have decided to take the bus from Rome to Siena. Can anyone tell me how to get to Metro Line B from the Rome Airport to catch the bus to Siena??? And I do have the bus schedule but I am not sure if this applies to Sunday travel which is when we arrive? Even though I use the English version for the schedule it brings up only italian when I retrieve the schedule.

QUESTION:We are staying at the Hotel Almo Domus in Siena (with the nuns, very excited!! really). How far is the bus station from here. I know some of you have stayed there. Can we walk, or do we take a taxi?

QUESTION: Dropping the car in Foligno and then need to get back to Rome. Train or bus from here which is recommended?

QUESTION: Anyone ever stay at the Hotel Miami in Rome? We will only be in Rome for a few hours when we arrive from Foligno. Then we depart the next morning. I heard this hotel is not far from the train station that we can use to get to the airport. And it is close enough so that we can do a nice stroll in the evening and see a little of Rome before we leave. It is about $240 a night and that just seems so high. Or is that the norm for this area. Any suggestions? We are taking advise from some of you as to stay in the city and not near the airport for our last night in Italy.

Thanks again for any help.

ELEVEN days and counting for our departure. Nervous, excited and a little crazy at this point.

Oh one more question. Do you think I need to purchase bus tickets (arriving in Rome at 9am on Sun Oct 12) for the trip from Rome to Siena. And for any of the train rides.
Thanks!

for Assissi try Hotel ideale just on the edge of town as you are coming up the hill. It's very nice, the people are great, they have parking and a lovely garden with a view of the countryside. Reasonable too

http://www.hotelideale.com/inglese/home.htm

6abc,

1. Try http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

then click "Fermate e parcheggi di scambio”
You will see the train (FR1) runs from the airport to Tiburtina. This is the train on the left as you look at the tracks at the airport, not the express.

Go to http://www.sena.it/ and use the box on the top right with a Sunday date.

2. See http://www.italyguides.it/us/siena_i...p_of_siena.php zoom it to see the street names. You can walk from Piazza Gramsci to the church San Dominico in about three minutes. Alma Domus is about a two minute walk below the church.

Henry

6abc - we took the bus from Rome to Siena last October. Here's what I remember. First, we bought our tickets for the bus ahead of time, but not the train. The bus is only 5 euros if you buy ahead. We landed at 10:30 am and caught the 2-2:30 pm bus. Note- even though the schedule is in Italian, it's easy to figure out the time. Just click on Roma-Siena, put in your date and a table will come up with the times.

At FCO, follow the signs and all the people to the train station. As you enter, there will be a ticket booth to your left. As for the train to Tiburtina station. It's much cheaper than the express train. When we were there last year, the local to Tiburtina was on the right hand track. Note that there wasn't much room for luggage and lots of people entering and leaveing at stops.

We found it a little confusing after you get to Tiburtina and exit the station. Right next to the station is an area for local buses. Around the corner from that and across the street you will see an area for buses stretching up a slight hill. Start walking up, past the buses lined up there. You will pass a booth on the left and then come to another loading area that looks like a parking lot with shops and ticket offices on both sides. As you face this area, the bus for Siena was on the left hand side about 2/3 the way down. There wasn't a bus there, but just before departure, it pulled in with a big sign for Siena in the window.

I don't know where you buy the tickets there or if you get them from the bus driver. Maybe someone else knows. I'll check my notes and see if there is anything else.

Several more items:

Don't forget to validate your ticket in the machine trackside. You'll also know which train is the Express by the mass of people with their luggage waiting there.

There are several doors out of the Tiburtina station. We happened to walk out where the local busses were and then searched for the bus to Siena.

6abc,
It has been awhile but I thought the Hotel Italia was adaquate http://www.hotelitaliaroma.com/en.htm It is a couple of blocks from the Miami. See http://www.romaviva.com/roma-img/pop...popup=Rome_Map
for where to go

Henry

Some bus lines are no longer dropping off at Piazza Gramsci, they are dropping at the train station only. I would check with Sena bus to make sure where they drop you. If the train station you can take a local bus up to Piazza Gramsci (buy your ticket in the magazine shop in the train station).

From Piazza Gramsci follow directions for S. Domenico. Go down the street on the left side as you are facing Domenico. Right after the street curves around you will see the steps on the left down to the entrance of Alma Domus.

FWIW - The guy at the desk insisted to some other travelers that Hotel Alma Domus was not a convent and wasn't run by nuns. There really weren't any nuns working there, but I did see a few come through the breakfast room. Breakfast was not very good for the 5€ price tag so you may prefer to eat out. Cereal, bread, yogurt, apples, coffee. I was there Sept. 19/20/21 and it was a bit cold. They had not turned the heat on in the rooms (many places don't until November)so you may want to take something warm to sleep in. I don't know how small a single would be as they lost my reservation and I ended up with a double at single rates. Internet is free for 20 minutes and after that it's 1€ per hour.

6abc,

If you are dropping your car (Avis) at Foligno, it's right in the train station building. Couldn't be easier to take the train from the to Termini. As I remember, it took about 1 hr 20 min.

Buon viaggio!

Barbara, Henry and Dale thanks so much the info was very helpful. And yes it is an Avis car so that will be very convenient.

Also thanks for the no heat in the rooms untill Nov. I will be bringing some silk long johns.

OK I am starting to get excited and less nervous.

kybourbon thanks for the heads up on the bus station I will look into it. Oh heck I was all set for some nuns. It would remind me of my school days.

6abc - On the schedule on the Sena bus schedule, click on information next to the bus you want to take and a screen will pop up with the stops that bus makes.

Also, it looks like the fare is 20 euros per person if you don't book ahead. Our flight came in at 10:30 and we easily made the 2 pm bus.

For dinner try Osteria Nona Gina. It's on the other end of town from where you are staying, close to the Duomo, but still within walking distance. This was our favorite restaurant there (although we never made it to Cane e Gatto). It is a small place with only two servers - only one speaks English and she waited on the tourists. There were usually more locals as tourists. For an appetizer, they have a stuffed gnocchi in pesto that is to die for. The gnocchi are so light and fluffy. We also liked the pici w/ a wild boar ragu. Pici is a local pasta, resembling really thick spaghetti. It is a small place and you may want to make reservations. It was hit or miss as to the seating.

When are you leaving? We leave in a week and a half and can't wait!

Here are the reviews on Trip Advisor for Osteria Nona Gina in Siena as well the address and map:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...a_Tuscany.html

BarbaraJ Osteria Nona Gina sounds wonderful. We will check it out. I like the idea of non tourist places to eat.

We are leaving on Oct. 11. When do you leave? And will you be going to Siena?

Excited too!!!

6abc - I'm leaving on the 11th as well and my husband is joining me on the 15th. We won't be in Siena this trip. I'm going with several friends on a culinary tour based out of Parma and then my husband and I are heading for Florence and Milan.

We were in Siena for a week last year and enjoyed it. It's even better in the early morning or at night when all the crowds have gone. If you like art, there is a wonderful museum that has mainly Sienese artists from the 12th - 15th centuries. It's done in chronological order - it was interesting to see how the art progressed. Of course, once we were done, we didn't need to see another Madonna and Child for awhile.

For gelato, there is a great place just off the Campo. I need to look at a map, but as you exit the Campo going toward the Duomo it is immediately on your right. There is another one across the street with beautiful displays, but we found the gelato in the one on the right better - and so did the locals it seemed. I'll try to get out my notes and see what I have.

Also do a search on here for Siena. There were a lot of good recommendations that I found before we our last trip.

Barb

BarbaraJ thanks for all the tips and your trip sounds wonderful. Enjoy the cooking and post when you return.

Now that I think about it, I do remember seeing the Sena buses picking up and dropping off at Piazza Gramsci. It was the Siena Mobilita from southern Tuscany that were dropping at the train station.

As for a single room, they usually have one single twin-sized bed, not a double. Many times convents don't have any double beds, only singles.

Alma Domus says to follow their directions on their website, but I didn't find them very good.

I would also e-mail Sena about the bus location at Tiburtina. I started to take the Marozzi bus to Tiburtina from the Amalfi coast a few weeks ago as I had injured my arm and didn't want to tackle the steps in the train station at Naples. I had used the Marozzi before, but they told me the drop off point was moved and was now 1k walk from the Tiburtina station. The Tiburtina station is a bit seedier than other stations so watch for pickpockets. Use the ATM at the airport instead of Tiburtina.

Thanks for the heads up Kybourbon

stay outside Siena
more hotels have cable with driver to transport you to/from the center
We have choise ( nice..)hotel with
pool and gardens and it has been a lovely stay

Hi all just landed last night from our self guided hiking trip in Tuscany. I will post a trip report once I get settled in. I will start it as a new topic. Thanks again everyone for all of your tips they were all very helpful.

Hi everyone,

I figured I would put a link to my trip report in this old forum. All of you helped me so much in my travel plans.

The first few days are from Siena and the next part of the trip is the self - guided adventure then we are off to Umbria on our own.

It is a work in progress and I am still writing the last few days of our adventure.

Thanks again to all of you for your ideas.
6abc

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35169919