e17345

I have been following postings on this website as I am planning my first trip to Italy and noticed, that everyone is, for the most part, interested in recommendations of a good/reasonable hotel in Rome, Venice, Florence, etc.


I can compile this information so save everyone research time. So if you have stayed in a hotel that you would recommend to others please fill out the following info. I will compile it and post it. Please use your own experience when rating a hotel ((1-10 (1 being the lowest.

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City Name:
Hotel Name:
Hotel Rating:
Special Comments:
Hotel Website:

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rex

Fodors Rants'n'Raves (click on Hotels, at the top any page on this website) provides this function. Moreover, a "compilation" would give equal weight to what any of us might remember from x years ago, staying somewhere... compared to more current remarks. The entries on Rants'n'Raves are something that many here forget to use (add to, read)... and they suffer from being a set list (you can't add "new" properties, if they are not listed there) but for what they are, they are pretty helpful. And you can see the dates of info posted.

But it's something anyone can find, anytime. A compilation on a single thread (out of 100,000+ here) just can't ever be as effective.

Finally, there are the "independent" reviews (which just like Fodors... can't be verified as objective and unbiased) on tripadvisor.com and (some other "lesser" web sites, including) venere.com - - in the aggregate, they give pretty useful info.

Best wishes,

Rex

elaine

I agree with rex in that there are more comprehensive ways of accessing hotel information, in the ways he suggested.

Additionally, ira started this thread,Helpful Information Italy
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34443340
and its indicated sequel a long time ago, and some of us use the sequel
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34568596

to provide newer links to threads on Italy hotels and other information. It's still not ideal, but it is a good reference point for all things Italy

e17345

Agreed; one can always find more efficient to do just about anything.

However, the point of this posting was to collect data around recent experiences and postings so exchanges can take place amongst those who can, if needed, expand on their posting.

If you scan the forum on Italy, you will notice that folks continue to ask for hotel suggestions time and time again….even though other, more "efficient" ways exist...so I reckon some of us will find it useful.

cmcbride

e17345,
I would appreciate the list of information you mentioned. I have never been to Europe, am planning a trip for 4 in June, and quite frankly, I am niave but overwhelmed to learn that the prices for hotels are so expensive in Italy. I am a retired Michigan teacher, and we try to stay at nice, clean, places. Usually at a Choice hotel we spend anywhere from $65 to $100. At Las Vegas we spent three days at MGM Grand and $145 per night. I am not cheap but don't understand why rooms in Italy are so high. I would like to have your list to help me find hotel recommendations without digging up for the prices myself. I am new to this website, but I seldom find any room rates mentioned with the recommendations. Forgive me if I am missing something....I just can't find recommendations of a good/reasonable hotel in Rome, Venice, Florence". Also, what is the cost definition of "reasonable"? Is there a way you can add Hotel room type and rate to you Post?
Any help is appreciated. Thanks

suze

You could include room price range as part of the information. I think after the city location that's probably the most important to many.

suze

cmcbride- often a hotel website is included on a post. you can go to that and find the room rates.

rex

Have you looked at Fodors Rants'n'Raves or the venere.com website, cmcb? You can sort hotels on Venere by price, and/or subcategorize by specific locations. If you want a selected list of "budget" (is that another word for "reasonable"?) hotels, then see www.eurocheapo.com (baby sister of venere.com for what it's worth).

What <i><u>is</u></i> reasonable? I guess it relates to income... lots of very good jobs make less than $100 a day, plenty make less than $200 a day... making over $1000 a day still means that more than $300/night no longer seems &quot;reasonable&quot; (affordable, yes, maybe, but most people STILL call it &quot;expensive&quot. But clearly there is not a straight proportionality between income and what people will spend per night on a hotel.

The only question that matters is... what do YOU <i><u>choose</u></i> to try to budget for lodging?

I wouldn't give two cents for any compilation of rates that others <i><u>have paid</u></i> for a night at X or Y or Z hotel. When? What time of year? was that a special rate? The only figure that matters is: what are the <i><u>current</u></i> rates available for the dates YOU need?

Jean

&quot;... save everyone research time.&quot; The five (or six) lines of basic info you suggest really don't save much research time. It's hard to compare hotels if you don't know their addresses/locations, whether breakfast is included in the rate, whether there's air conditioning, parking, elevator, or any number of other amenities that some people find imperative.

Just like in your school days, as the teacher says, you must do your own research.

But there is one bit of &quot;research&quot; I'll pass on regarding your particular trip: Hotels in Venice are more expensive than hotels in Rome or Florence.

5alive

Rex is right; in three weeks when this message is buried in the cue that people will again post for &quot;hotel needed in Florence.&quot;

Tips: Use the search engine. Look at the other sites Rex mentioned, and a couple of guide books, and paste in the names of those hotels in the search engine here.

Spend about 3-5 hours searching this way and you will get lots of information.

Cmcbride brought up the issue of high prices in Italy: I would disagree with your assessment. Hotel price varies a lot in this country too. You can put down $200-250 to stay in downtown Seattle, which is a great place but it is not as reknown as sleeping in the middle of a Renaissance city next to the David or the Parthenon. Yet the hotel in downtown Florence we stayed in six years ago (Pendini) currently only charges 150 Euro in high season for a double, less than Seattle with current exchange rates.

(Los Vegas is not a good comparison to almost anywhere incidentally, because the hotel rates are often set to lure you to come gamble. That is, they don't make the bulk of the money on the room, it's on everything else you buy and gamble.)

That said, cmcbride I think you can still find a room at almost any budget in Italy. Do a search on tripadvisor by price. Also, in my opinion, I'd list the guide books in this order based from cheapest to most expensive in lodgings:
Let's Go: Italy and Lonely Planet (hostels and 1stars, primarily young adults and college students); Great Sleeps and Rick Steves (budget and value travel), Fodor's and Frommers (range from mid-budget traveler to 4-star hotels).

Finally, if you are truly on a tight budget, also consider the convents that rent rooms. To find a list of convents, visit the website of Santa Susanna (a church for American Catholics in Rome). http://www.santasusanna.org/ourChurch/ourChurch.html

Good luck and don't give up.

rex

Thanks for the endorsement... and no rudeness intended, but since cmcbride is fairly new let's clarify that to see the <i>Parthenon</i>, it would be necessary to travel to <i>Greece</i>, rather than Italy (or Nashville, Tennessee).

But how cool it is, to look out your window at Albergo del Senato and feel like you can virtually touch the <i>Pantheon</i>...



Italy IS expensive...

... and so worth it!

There are bargains galore, on this continent, and all the others also (especially on Priceline), but I have never failed to feel like I got my money's worth from travel in Italy.

If I (or cmcbride) occasionally got some better bargains elsewhere... well, then lucky me... or you...

jabez

Rex
I just assumed someone had very long arms.

WillTravel

The suggestions here are good. Also, Italy does have some cheap accommodation bargains, but these aren't typically in major cities. But in small towns and rural areas, you can get some great deals (I haven't been to those areas yet, but I'm always doing a bit of research). Also, convents, which are in the major cities and smaller places, are a good deal, as mentioned.

I'd set your accommodation budget, and then look to see what you can find to fit that.

5alive

Yup, Rex, I knew it was Pantheon, and thought I'd edited that. I considered reposting then, but sleep called.

But anyhow, I would also pay more to stay near the Parthenon than the Pike Street Market!