We will be in Bologna and Parma mid October and I am having finding a decent hotel for a decent price. Everything I find is around $250

Any suggestions?

Alba

Hi,

Try www.venere.com. Lots of stuff for under $200.

I just made hotel reservations in Bologna a few days ago and NOTHING that I looked up was that high, even though I was considering only hotels in the center in a very good location. I took notes from some guide books at Barnes and Noble and bought the Cadogan guide to Emilia-Romagna. I looked only in the category listed as "moderate." One hotel that i tried to get becaseu it was very centrally located and 50 euro a night was Hotel Centrale, fax 051-235-162. (It was filled for the dates I wanted, but I was making reservations less than 4 weeks before the dates I wanted.) I found that listed under he "moderate" heading in the Cadogan guide. The names of the hotels listed in that book as "cheap" are: Rossini, Apollo, Panorama, Marconi, and Residence Falcone. According to the book, most of them are centrally located. If you're not finding anything under 250, you must be looking in the much higher priced categories. Also prices may be higher if you're trying to go there during one of the big trade fairs.

P.S. I didn't look for hotels in Parma, because if I go there it will be as a day trip from Bologna. However, I think Parma is an extremely wealthy city and it's possible that the hotels will be very expensive. You might consider staying in Ferrara. I think you can get something much cheaper and nice there, or at least that's what friends have told me.

How do you define a decent hotel and a decent price?

The hotels in Bologna are more expensive because it's a big business city and thus it's hotels are generally very full. Parma should be cheaper.

There's a trade show in Bologna from Oct. 15th thru 19th. Everything will be maximum prices then.
http://www.bolognafiere.it/eng/calendario_2003.asp
Perhaps you can rearrange your schedule, or consider looking for a room a little farther away, say, Ravenna. If you can be in Bologna when there is no trade show going on, try the Hotel Roma. Haven't checked their prices lately, but I can't imagine they're in the $250 range. Great hotel. As central as you can get.

Good suggestion from cmt. In Ferrara, try the Locanda Borgonuovo. Very nice and reasonably priced. Ferrara is only a short train ride from Bologna.

Thank you ALL......I am still looking in Parma but I found a business not very good looking Gotel in Bologna throught Hotelwiz.com. It will be about $100 a night.

In Parma I am looking at Hotel Torino.....we will see what their rates are!

THANKS
ALba

In Parma, we stayed at the Hotel Button, a nice, clean, very centrally located budget hotel with a friendly staff. I believe we paid under $100 per night two years ago. It really is an excellent location. You can find out more about it in most of the guidebooks.

Don't overlook Modena, located between
Parma and Bologna. Smaller than both, one of our favorites. The food is amazing, there is lots to see, we stayed at the Canal Grande and were very pleased with it. In Parma we stayed at the Hotel Button, the location is excellent.