My honeymoon...
 

I am spending summer 2003 in Italy on my honeymoon. I am steering towards the Marriott Flora in Rome, the Starwood Grand in Florence, the Westin Europa in Venice and The Four Seasons in Milan. Can anyone offer any advice on these properties that exceeds the information I have been able to get over the web? Price is no object for this trip, so if anyone has some alternative recommendations, I would be very grateful for their help. <BR><BR>Thanks :-)

Just one travelers opinion: I wouldn't go to Italy to stay in an American hotel. If you want a more authentic Italian experience, I suggest you choose an upper-end Italian hotel in each of the cities you listed, except I'd skip Milan altogether.<BR><BR>There will be lots of people on this board who can guide you to great 4-star Italian hotels.<BR><BR>Buon viaggio

I respectfully offer a differing opinion. A four or five star hotel in those cities is fine, be it international, American, or &quot;Italian.&quot; Comfort, quality, amenities and excellent service can be had at any of the above. Often quaint and local are euphemisms for run-down. Surely there are wonderful locally owned places too. But you should not dismiss the chains.

I am wondering where the Marriott in Rome is because I would suggest the Hotel de Russie, St. Regis Grand or Minerva Grand Hotel (all five stars, deluxe, and good locations--particularly the Minerva, behind Pantheon, and Russie, near Spanish Steps). The Russie is known as one of the best in Rome. My husband and I have stayed in both the Minerva (when a Crowne Plaza) and the newly renovated St. Regis over the past two years with good package rates, but, if price is no object, stay at the Russie. Location is very important if you want to get a good feel for cities rather than just staying in the hotel.<BR>Generally, we avoid a corporate hotel in search of something with charm and personality, but sometimes those fit the bill. I would suggest using the Fodor's hotel search, but pay attention to the rants and raves and these postings. Also, TimeOut is a good site. <BR>How long are you staying in each city?<BR>

Money no object? Honeymoon? Look at Gritti Palace or Il Palazzo at the Bauer in Venice, San Pietro in Positano, Villa La Massa just outside of Florence, Villa Fiordaliso at Lake Garda, and Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni at Lake Como, and Hotel de Russie in Rome. <BR><BR>Doing a first time trip to Italy including the &quot;big 3&quot; for your honeymoon, especially in the hot, crowded summer season, can be a challenge and will take some planning. Lots of experienced travellers will advise against it. I say go for it! Just make sure you and your partner are in agreement on how much activity vs. R&amp;R you expect. Hard to make any reasonable suggestions without knowing how many nights are you spending in Italy, what US airport are you departing from, can you choose any airline or are you using miles, etc.

Steve,<BR><BR>I, too, would skip Milan - unless you're staying the night before you move on...<BR><BR>If this were my honeymoon, I'd probably stay at the Eden or Hotel de Russie in Rome, the Helvetia e Bristol or Lungarno (with a terrace on the Arno) in Florence, and the Europa and Regina or Il Palazzo at the Bauer in Venice. I just stayed at the Gritti in October and was disappointed because the room (for $600/night was not on the Grand Canal and did not include breakfast!!!) In Venice, if you don't mind not staying in the center of things, I might try the Cipriani or the Excelsior on the Lido. I stayed at the Excelsior and it was gorgeous - you just have to be willing to take their water taxi to the mainland...<BR><BR>Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.

Just a suggestion but if my honeymoon was in the summer I would want to be on the beach not touring around in hot muggy rome<BR>or hot crowded venice.

A couple of suggestions:<BR><BR>1. I agree with all those who say drop Milan from the itinerary. It does not have the charm that the other three possess. However, since I have no idea how long your trip is, I cannot say as to whether you should just spend more time in the other cities or if you should add some days in the Riviera. I love Camogli, which is small, beautiful town in the Riviera. Fantastic! However, if this is only a trip of 12 days or less, I would stick with the three cities.<BR><BR>2. Don't go all the way to Italy to stay in Marriotts and Westins. There are plenty of amazing, five star hotels in these cities that will have the imenities of the hotels that you listed yet they will be more unique and memorable. If money truly is no object, look at places like the Cipriani in Venice.<BR><BR>3. Good luck, I just finished planning my honeymoon in France for next fall.

Jodi and I thank all of you for your suggestions. Your advice has certainly made our decision a bit more difficult. To add a bit more info and answer your questions:<BR><BR>1. We are getting married in Palm Beach (we're from NYC) so we'll be at the beach for the week leading up to our wedding which is why we chose to skip the &quot;traditional beach&quot; honeymoon sites. We love to travel and and our activity level expectations are pretty in sync.<BR><BR>2. Our itinerary:<BR>3 nights in Rome (we fly into Rome)<BR>4 nights in florence/tuscany (we got advice that we should make base camp in florence and rent a car to travel the countryside for 2 of the days we'll be there - any advice on this decision?)<BR>2 nights in Venice<BR>1 night in Milan (yes, we're flying out of Milan).<BR><BR>3. Other hotels we're considering:<BR>Rome - de Russie, Inn at the Spanish Steps, Hotel Raphael<BR>Florence - Villa Medici, Gallery Hotel Art, Villa Fiesole <BR><BR>thanks again.<BR>

Regarding to what Dawn said:<BR><BR>&quot;Don't go all the way to Italy to stay in Marriotts and Westins. There are plenty of amazing, five star hotels in these cities that will have the imenities of the hotels that you listed yet they will be more unique and memorable. If money truly is no object, look at places like the Cipriani in Venice.&quot;<BR><BR>I would say the Europa, although being a Westin, is a beautiful hotel, with a magnificent marbled lobby, and beautiful lounges, furnished with taste and opulence in Venetian style. Besides, its de luxe balconied bedrooms with canal view are wonderful, better than the Gritti's and Danieli's ( both Sheraton Luxury Collection). Besides, the Europa beds are superb!<BR><BR>Milan's Four Season is a wonderful, refined, fantastically well located hotel. However, Milan in Summer can be a disappointment- too hot, kind of ghost city in August.<BR><BR>

Steve,<BR>I think your plan looks good but I think a few changes would improve it. I would take a limo/car service from FCO to Rome and pick up a rental car on your way out of Rome and drop it in Venice. Driving in Italy is very easy except inside Rome and will give you much more flexability.<BR>I would say it is easier to stay outside of Florence and go into the city center by public transportation or private shuttle provided by hotel. That way you won't have to deal with getting in and out of the city to see Tuscany plus give you the opportunity to stay in a country villa since you will be staying city center in Venice and Rome. Also be aware of the massive deluge of foreign students in central Florence doing summer semester abroad. Check out Villa La Massa at RelaisChateaux.com or Villa San Michelle in Fiesole, among others. <BR>I would cut Florence by a night and add it to Venice or cut Milan and stay in Venice one more night and fly from VCE to Milan to catch you flight out of MXP. <BR>Just FYI, MXP is a good hour drive from Milan without traffic and their traffic rivals NYC and LA. If you plan to do Milan only for convenience sake due to departing flight you would be better off connecting to Malpensa from Venice. If you do desire to see Milan, you picked the perfect place to stay. Lots of folks think Milan is a waste because it lacks the amount of historical value that exists in many other places in Italy. You'll find the atmosphere similar to NYC, and as a native New Yorker, I really like it. On the other hand, especially since you live in NY, it probably isn't worth making a &quot;destination&quot; on a schedule as short as yours. Most of the same stores are in NY, Rome and Venice. If you do go to Milan from Venice it is probably easiset to take the train from Venice since there are no flights into Linate(the downtown airport) from Venice.<BR><BR>As far as the comments on Westins being &quot;American&quot; hotels, this was a silly remark. All of the high end Starwood properties in Italy belonged to an Italian chain called Ciga which was bought by Starwood. Most of the employees of these hotels have been there for many, many years and as anyone who has stayed at any of them know, they actually dislike the association with Starwood. These hotels are 100% Italian in every way. I have stayed in the Europa, the Daniele, the Gritti, the St. Regis, Villa Cipriani, Principe Savoia.

Steve,<BR><BR>I've stayed at the Raphael twice and liked it very much. It's in a wonderful location at the Piazza Navona. However, good friends returned and did not have a good experience at all. It was summer and the air conditioning was a REAL problem. You may want to consider that. As I mentioned before, the Eden would probably be my first choice, along with the De Russie.<BR><BR>I'm not sure that I would rent a car for 2 days while being in Florence. It's not easy driving or parking in Florence. You may want to stay outside of the city, e.g., San Michele in Fiesole, or Villa La Massa, and travel into Florence, or stay 2 nights in Florence and 2 nights in Tuscany, or stay in Florence and get a car and driver to take you into the country. If you stay at the Grand or Excelsior, it's pretty to get into and out of the city, if you do go ahead with a rental car.<BR><BR>Dona

I second the opinion on Camogli. We spent a week there this past August for our honeymoon and it was incredible. Stayed at the Cenobio dei Dogi and have only great things to say about the property. Camogli is everything you'd hope a small Italian town would be. Not overly crowded either - even at the peak of holiday in August.<BR><BR>Also, I am insanely jealous of you being able to spend &quot;summer&quot; in Italy and having price as no object!

I give a big vote for DeRussie. It is incredible and by far one of my favorite hotels in the world. If you decide to change your Florence hotel to one inside Tuscany, I highly recommend Casali di Bibbiano, a 5 star resort outside of Montalcino. from their you can take day trip to Florence, Siena and many hill towns. It also offers relaxation, so after a long day of sightseeing, you can come back and take a dip in the pool overlooking the hills, or play some tennis and then sip wine on the terrace. The price includes a 5 course dinner daily with Tuscan wines.

I agree with the general consensus that you must be mad if you stay in US chain hotels with no budget contraints unless they have taken over a grand building and done it up well. Check out Relaix &amp; Chateaux hotels as they are often independent and have some gorgeous properties. Check out Danieli in Venice, but also agree that some of these places in the middle of summer are overrun. Early summer fine