yponce

Hello I am going to Italy for my Honeymoon in November 17-Dec 1. I need a nice central (close to attractions) economical(not over $200 please) hotel in the following cities. I don't want a hole in the wall but I don't need 5 star hotel either. I don't trust my travel agent and hoped I could get some help here. I hear Italy in November is way more affortable then the regular peak season. Just to give you a sense of how we travel we are very adventorous and want to explore the history, culture of Italy. We plan to drive between all these cities.

Hotels?
Venice
Florence
Rome
Positano

Thanks!!

rex

Even if I knew the perfect places for you, the prices could be quite different from what I last knew. I recommend you check out these excellent resources:

www.venere.com
Fodors Rants'n'Raves (click on Hotels above)
www.tripadvisor.com

In general, I would recommend the Centro Storico in Rome - - location is not quite as crucial anywhere IN Florence (but not the "suburbs&quot - - and in Venice, there are good locations throughout the San Marco sestriere and in Dorsoduro (but doubtless other locations as well).

I do not know Positano.

If you really are adventurous, you might consider dropping one of these major destinations (Positano? - - so summer-oriented?) and spend some time in a few LITTLE towns.

www.venere.com will give you accurate prices, availability, and can show special promotional prices. Reliable for inquiries, booking AND canceling, if you should need to do that.

Whatever your decisions, congratulations on your new life in marriage... and...

Best wishes,

Rex

artlover

Congradulations on your upcoming marriage.

In Venice we liked Hotel Flora--make sure to get a large room--tell them you're on your honeymoon. It's a great location and it's charming and the owners are very helpful.

In Florence we liked Villa Belvedere, but it's a bit out of town, though we walked into town and it's only a short taxi ride back. The views are fantastic and the rooms are large and well kept and they have a lovely garden and swimming pool (and a sweet St. Bernard--Big Ben.) The owners here were also very helpful.

Both were under $200 when we were there, but that was a few years ago, so I'm not sure what they are now.

Have a great trip.

fluffy

In Florence check out www.touristhouseghiberti.com( behind the Dumo) I will be staying there next week for 4 nights, I am so excited I can't sleep.I will be posting a detailed Italy trip report in early Oct.
Claudio and Christille at T.G. have been wounderful making museum and restaurnt reservations no request has been to big or to small.
tripadvisor.com and eurocheapo.com both gave the upscale B&B excellent reviews.
I am paying 145 euro in high season so I am sure in Nov. you can get an even better rate.Look for my Italy trip report in Oct.
Many congrats
Fluffy

gard

Hi

My wife and I went to Milan and Venice in June...in Vanice we stayed at the Hotel Continental and we got a view to the Canal Grande which was nice I have posted a review of the hotel in my trip report posted on my homepage www.gardkarlsen.com. Maybe you can find some useful information there

Have a great trip

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

marmot

These are all wonderful hotels. Well located, beautiful, good service. All can be booked at about $200, Lungarno will be more. A great hotel in Italy can be heavenly; a mediocre or bad hotel can be hell. Splurge a bit, it's your honeymoon! Get a specific description of the room they are offering; there's always a range. A view is worth the extra bucks.
Venice The Flora
Florence The Lugarno
Rome The Forum
Positano Miramare

mclaurie

Since this appears to be your first post, yponce, let me mention there's a wealth of information here if you use the text search. By typing any city AND hotels (ie Venice AND hotels) in the etxt search box, you'll find hundreds of previous strings with recommendations & reviews. As Rex says, in the hotel sections, you'll also find Fodors reviews and user reviews for many but not all hotels.

The Locanda Orseolo (www.locandaorseolo.com) in Venice has recently been getting rave reviews here. Do try to get a room with a canal view in Venice (it doesn't have to be the Grand Canal). La Calcina (lacalcina.com) is also well liked in the Dorsudoro area right near the Zattere vaparetto stop. It's not as close to P San Marco as the others mentioned, but sits on the Guidiecca Canal in a quieter area.

Good luck and enjoy Italy!

mclaurie

PS It's good advice to tell all your hotels that you're on your honeymoon. You might get upgraded or get some special treatment.

hlphillips2

Congratulations! You will have an amazing trip. We spent our HM in Venice last year and stayed at La Calcina. Our room overlooked the Giudecca Canal on one side and a smaller canal on the other. Cost was around $150 if I remember correctly, but that was in the middle of summer so it should be less.

coffeeaddict

yponce, this site was invaluable in my Italy trip planning, but as for hotels, a picture says it all. Try italyby.com--which has links to all its subsidiary sites like romeby.com and florenceby.com--and you can see a lot of pictures of many hotels in your cities. The pictures on italyby.com are often better and/or more comprehensive than the ones at the hotels' own websites.

You're going in the off-season, so many hotels that would otherwise be out of your budget during the high season should be more affordable. Keep that in mind as you're searching through previous posts.

One other suggestion--since you only have a fortnight in Italy, you may want to consider dropping one of your destinations. Not only will this cut down on travel fatigue, but it may help your budget. If you end up staying in, say, Rome for 6 nights (which would not be too long), you may be able to bargain with the hotels directly to give you a reduced rate (or maybe free breakfasts thrown in) for the longer stay. Good luck and congratulations.

grandmere

We loved the Hotel Bellettini ANNEX (www.hotelbellettini.com) in Florence.
The hotel has a great location; the annex rooms are beautifully furnished, have large marble baths.

bookchick

Personally, yponce, I would drop Positano. You want to relax right? Since it's going to be cooler, many places in Positano will be closed anyway, as they're only seasonal operations.

For Rome, I'd recommend the Hotel San Carlo. Alberto or Rosanna will probably even give you a choice of rooms. The price is right, the location near via del Corso & the Spanish Steps cannot be beaten, and the hotel is clean, the help friendly. For Venice, Locanda Sturion. Both of these places will be "middle-stars".

Best Wishes on your impending marriage,
BC

ecat

Hi Yponce,

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding & honeymoon! Italy is my dream honeymoon. Wow that's a lot of driving to do, you two must really get along ; )

I can suggest a really lovely hotel in Venice where I have stayed before and going back in May too. Try www.hotel-olimpia.com very sweet/nice rooms and not too expensive.

As fluffy posted here too, in Florence there is a great B&B that I think you would like www.touristhouseghiberti.com

I don't know how many days you'll be in these cities but here's my pitch again for www.sleepinitaly.com YOu can find B&B's and apartments in all of those cities except for Positano.

Good luck & happy travels!

Eileen