petite

I am now preparing for our first time trip to Italy for a family of 5- grandma(76 y/o),
kids ages 10 and 3, me and my husband.

1)I'm debating whether it would be cheaper to get an apartment vs staying in a hotel and book for 2 rooms(triple and double)?

2) Does my 3 y/o count when booking for a hotel in Italy? Or do I just ask for a cot or a crib?

Our itinerary will be Rome and Umbria- 2 weeks.

Thanks for any advise you guys can give me!

tory

We were in Rome and Tuscany this summer and stayed in an apartment and villa respectively. We were 4 adults and 2 children. We liked the idea of an apartment because it afforded more space and while we didn't price everything out, it was likely less expensive. Our kids were younger than yours (18 mos and 2 years). I think it would have been hard to have them confined to hotel rooms after spending the day in a car/train/stroller or some combination thereof. I think the two year old was treated as a "person" and the 18 month old as a "baby" but I imagine each establishment treats children/babies slightly differently. We used www.toscanet.com, www.initaly.com and www.sleepinitaly.com. Good luck. Tory

kismetchimera

Without doubt the apartment is more convenient, especially when you have small kids.
This summer I was in manarola, cinque terre, with my daughter and my 9 years old grandson... We rented a nice , spacious apartment for a week. I was great to have hot coffee, fresh bread, eggs and prosciutto( My grandson Trevor's
favourite )in the morning.. My daughter job was to go to the store and buy the supplies for the day, also it was a good way for her to practice Italian..
Buon Viaggio,
kismet

kismetchimera

forgot to add a (T)

ozgal

I would definitely choose the apartment. If you're staying in each place for a week, an apartment would be both cheaper and more convenient. Most apartments also have clothes-washing facilities, which you'll definitely need with children.

patti0467

DEFINATELY THE APARTMENT!!!!! It is usually cheaper, plus you will have a refrigerator, and kitchen which will save you Tons of money on food costs even if it is just breakfast, and maybe some deli meat for lunches, as well as washer/dryer. Patti

Statia

Here's another vote for an apartment. We recently used sleepinginflorence.com in Florence and venicerentals.com in Venice. We had a great experience with both.

One thing to remember to ask, however, when researching apartments is how many stairs to reach the unit. Most apartment buildings do not have an elevator and small kids might have a problem climbing so many stairs if you choose a unit that's on an upper floor.