eurovoyages

When I travel to Europe, I always try to use budget hotels in at least the 3-star category. As I am a single male, this is fine for me, and by not spending so much money for a room, I am able to stay longer in a city, and to travel more often. In Venice, Florence, and Rome, the bathrooms were indeed small, and the one in Rome had no window or any other ventilation, so it got quite warm and humid in there, which I detest. As far as hairdryers, not all hotels provide them in each room, although one may be requested at the front desk. I had bought several adaptors in the states before some of my trips, and found that they just don't work very well. Finally, during my last trip to Paris, I went to a Monoprix store and bought a hairdryer for about €15, so now I have one that I can take with me and use in many countries on the continent.

LoveItaly

Hi eurovoyages, that is what my husband did. He didn't have a lot of luck with the adaptors either and consequently bought a hair dryer in Europe. And I have managed to lose it!! Oh well, they are not that expensive. BTW, we got ours in an electronic store in Italy.

Teri, the various bathrooms in Italy can be anything from fantastic to very annoying. Just make it part of the fun of visiting Italy!!

Katie2

My husband and I returned from Italy last week. Each place we stayed, we commented on their bathrooms. No matter what size their bathrooms were, the bidet was the most prominent feature!!! Fortunately, we didn't pull the string! While using the hand wand in the bathroom, without a shower curtain, we did manage to completely soak the bathroom!!

amp322

"RufusT" has it right about elaborate bathrooms. In my 3 star hotel in Rome, I had a KILLER deluxe marble bathroom with a beautiful shower, great mirror, fluffy towels, linen hand towels, etc. I really enjoyed spending time in there, and even spent some time with my make-up (which I hardly ever waste time doing).

5alive

The first hotel we stayed in Rome (not one I have recommended on this website) had very low water pressure. Above a trickle, I suppose, but not by a lot.

One of my first nights when I had jet lag I decided to do something about it. So I took a chair in the shower stall, and got up and looked at that showerhead. Lots of mineral deposits, so I took my nail file and nail scissors and cleaned it all out.

The shower worked great the next morning, but it turned out with all that increased water pressure, the water flowed over the side of the pan and across the floor.

The grate was bolted to the bottom of the shower firmly, so no chance for me to clear out those deposits. I'm sure we could have been given another room, but we wanted to be next to the rest of our group, so we didn't complain about it. Just learned to be quicker in the shower.

Branbal77

I had to laugh at this post because it is so true that you do not know what to expect when stepping into bathrooms. As for the string, I live in Italy and I have a string in my bathroom and have seen them in others. This string that you are talking about, I believe to be sort of like an alarm. For example, mine rings my doorbell. So, while bathing, I pull it and scare the mess out of my husband, hehe. As for the rest, be sure that you will have a toilet and bidet. Do not expect more than a shower and if you have a tub, consider yourself lucky! Make sure when making reservations that you do have a private bathroom and, in some places, you need to bring your own towels.
I say this for 3star hotels. I travel to see places not my room so, if you are planning on above that, then you may get something different!!