OK, don’t yell! It’s a play on words!

I need to start making some hotel reservations, and I’m looking in the price range of 130 euros +/-, but hopefully less, per night. I can take a small and spartan room, but I really want a decent shower that’s enclosed, at least with a curtain, if not a glass door. Bathtub is optional.

What is your experience with showers in this general price range in Rome, Florence & Venice? Can I expect an enclosed shower; decent water pressure; a shower nozzle that’s above me? And, is there a good way to convey to the hotel what I’m looking for? Thanks.

Actually I think it's pretty clever. . .

But I don't know how you will get this across to the hotels, even in Italian. Our Florentine hotel in that price range did have an interesting shower---no way to keep the sink, toilet or anything else in the tiny bathroom from getting sprayed by the shower. The whole floor got wet too, because there was no lip to the shower stall, and the drain was several feet away from the showerhead. At least everything sloped in the right direction---not like a room I once had in Porto Fino where the shower was IN the room (not the bathroom) and the drain was so ineffective the entire rug got wet.

All other places I've stayed in Italy recently (Venice and the Dolomites) had very nice bathroms, recently updated.

Maybe you can read some reviews with particular attention to this detail?

Maire,
Molto divertimenti! I love your play on words.

In Rome,
try www.casadellapalma.com

we loved it.

Mi dispiace, I can't help with Venice and Florence...Have only stayed in larger places in Venice and Florence.

Buon viaggio!

We had a nice triple room with very roomy and decent shower (as I recall, not enclosed but good curtain, the room never got soaked!) at this Venice B&B last May: Ca' Turelli. It was 120 euros for a triple and our friends stayed there about a week earlier for 110 eruos/double.

We found it and booked it through www.veniceby.com. Look under B&Bs for Ca'Turelli -- I think there is a photo of the bathrooms.

In Rome (same trip, last late May) our triple was 140 euros at www.nicolasinn.com. Excellent bath with a tub shower combo. I think our friends' double there was 120?

Happy bathing!

Seems as if most websites for Italian hotels actually have photos of the bathrooms, so you can see what the shower set-up is.

I've had stall showers with doors more often than not. And usually pretty decent pressure!

Thank you, Enzian and Wanderlust for the compliments. <b>Enzian</b>, I’m reading reviews right now from books and online. Would you mind telling me the name of your Florence hotel…I might try to avoid that one if all the showers are that way.

<b>Wanderlust</b>, I looked at that link, and that looks like a great place. I’m still getting my bearings—is it near restaurants, shops, etc.? Which room did you have?

<b>Annabelle</b>—both of those hotels look great, too (I’m getting so excited to go, and it’s still 3+ months away). Did you like the Dorsoduro area?

<b>Lesli</b>—thanks, yes, I’m looking online whenever possible. That is good news that most have had doors.

ttt

It was Hotel Castri:
http://www.florenceby.com/hotelcastri/index.html
and I don't mean to fault it; just that the shower probably doesn't meet your requirements (and I can understand being picky about that!) It is not far from the train station, and has a very nice garden area out back; our room overlooked that rather than the street. So if you don't mind getting everything in the bathroom wet when you shower, it's fine.

If you read reviews on tripadvisor and venere people tend to report flooded bathrooms and curtainless enclosures.

As for decent water pressure, no, you can't expect it and you are likely to get a hand-held shower nozzles even in 4 star hotels.

If this is really important to you, you should stay in modern construction hotels. Some are in your price range, but most will put you outside the historic center of whatever places you are visiting.

I'm not really here to answer your question, but I've read this question before, so mine is...What is wrong about an open shower?

I've had some very nice bathrooms without a shower curtain, or even a shower stall. Particularly in Florence, my bathroom was very nice, but the shower was in the corner. It was large enough that it didn't get the entire bathroom wet, the floor drained well, and actually the shower pressure was very good. I have a zip-out with my suitcase that holds all my cosmetics and that has a hook and hangs. I hang it across the room.

Funny though, I recently booked a hotel in France that the ONLY criticism on Venere was that there was no shower curtain. I booked a room anyway. Apparently the hotel had read the reviews and put up shower doors.

I travel alone, does that make a difference because I'm not sharing the bathroom?

Thanks, Enzian and Nessundorma. I'll check out those sites before I book anything. I would sacrifice water pressure for location and charm, but I'm not crazy about flooded bathrooms.

I am curious. . . doesn't that make more clean-up and maintenance work for hotels when their rooms get wet?? And is that why some hotels have cords to pull if you need assistance in the bathroom--because someone fell on a slippery floor?

I stayed in hotels last year that both meet your criteria of under 130 euro per night (well under, in fact) and both had newly renovated bathrooms with small but great showers: excellent water pressure, glass (or similar closed doors.

In Venice, B&amp;B Al Saor (which you should like, as the name means &quot;Pickle Inn&quot and in Florence, Hotel Caravaggio. I'd stay again at either one without hesitation.

Maire: we had the very first room, on the first floor, as you enter on the right. It is listed as &quot;The Living Room Plus&quot;.

It is in a residential section of Rome, and we speak Italian but the owners speak English as well, and there is a bus stop literally on the corner and we just take public transport while in Rome. There were several nice restaurants within a few blocks of the place, and we would definitely stay there again. There is also a mercato across the street and we had a fridge in the room so made little pic nics and had cold drinks.

Yes, I liked Dorsoduro very much. Our neighborhood was quiet but we could easily walk to a nearby campo w/ restaurants. It was not far from the Accademia bridge and the Guggenheim museum. On previous trips I had stayed near San Marco and also in the Canareggio area and liked both of those choices as well.

Cchottel –
Sorry, I missed your post earlier. There may or may not be anything wrong with an open shower—to me it would depend on just how wet the bathroom got. I’ve heard from a couple of friends who said their entire bathroom got wet. That would just bug me. I would prefer a dry floor so I could walk around in bare feet or socks. And you make a very good point: being solo or not would make a difference to me. If someone else was using the sink while I was taking a shower, I would prefer to have some privacy.

Therese –
Thanks for those recommendations; I will definitely check them out. And thanks for all your packing hints; I’m trying to learn from you.

Wanderlust and Annabelle –
Thanks for the info!