Please help with Hotels for Honeymoon
 

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I'm trying to plan our honeymoon to Italy in February and I'm having a hard time finding the right areas to stay. We are looking at hotels in the $100-150 night range (off-season).
We like to be close to the beaten path & tourist attractions.

Cities are:
Rome
Florence
Venice
Milan

reply or email [email protected]

Thanks!

...re rome...try to find a place away from the railroad sta (though there may not be a lot in your price range..consider near the plaza navone or spanish steps..the travestevera..also fun..re venice..i dont like the hotels near the railroad station (and on the same side of the canal as the station)..also avoid the lido..too far out and the beach has no charm in feb..get on venere.com and then cross ref to tripadvisor

thanks. The hardest thing is trying to find the areas where we will be able to walk to everything. I wish there was a website that told me that info.

I just bookmarked this one in Rome today. A friend has stayed here before and will again next month. The location is great and depending on your travel time it should be in your price range

http://www.hotelsancarloroma.com/

Hi in Florence we are staying at www.relaiscavalcanti.com

and in Venice we are staying at www.hotelaidomori.com

They are both at $100.00 - $130.00 range

OK to update from everyhting I have been reading. Any input will be greatful.

Areas to stay close to, correct me if i'm wrong.

Venice - I don't know???
Florence - Near Duomo
Rome - Near Pantheon
Milan - Near Duomo

Does that sound like the central locations to everyone?

Venice-San Marco?

I'd suggest Venice Dorsoduro or the part of San Polo adjoining it. There's a B&B -- the rooms are smallish (most rooms in Venice are smallish...) but my double still had space for a desk and chair, a large wardrobe and night tables with good lights -- called Al Campaniel at the San Toma vaporetto stop, where there is also a traghetto (gondola; fare is 0.40 Euro) that plies back and forth all day between the Dorsoduro and the San Marco side of the Grand Canal. Many of the main points of interest in Venice are in the Dorsoduro/San Polo area, and the traghetto gets you quickly over to those in the San Marco area -- without your having to brave the crowds at the Rialto. There are many restaurants in the area, in all price ranges. Marco, who owns/runs Al Campaniel is very nice and speaks excellent English. The last time I looked the standard rooms (private bathroom but not ensuite) were between 50 and 75 Euros. In February -- unless you happen to be in Venice during Carnevale -- you can probably count on the lower rate. If it appeals to you, book directly with Marco, who may be prepared to offer you a small discount, depending on the number of nights you will be there. Here's the link to the Web site:

http://alcampaniel.tripod.com/

I just thought of a question: Is there a particular reason why you are including Milan? It's generally not on most people's itineraries, and it's a very expensive city. And it's probably also the most "un-Italian" city. I have been to Milan, but only on a day trip from Lake Como. With the exception of one church that I would have liked to visit, I saw everything that interested me. (I'm fairly heavily into art and architecture; high fashion interests me less...)

I have to also ask about staying in Milan. Is there a particular reason you wish to stay there?
We stayed there a couple of weeks ago and drove all over the city and I did not think it had any of the charm of the other places you picked.
Happy Honeymoon

We want to go to the DaVinci museumn and also the fashion side interests us.

One that I recall we were going to book in Rome that was reasonable was the Santa Maria in Trevestre. In venice we stayed at the Antica Locanda Venezia but it was more than your budget I think.

OK things have changed.
just 1 night in Milan. We are going to arrive in the morning and see everything we want then take off for Venice the next day.

I've spent the last MONTH searching for a late-February trip. We won't be in Milan or Venice, but maybe I can help you with Rome/Florence. I've narrowed it down, based on extensive comments here and at other sites, budget (similar to yours), and research on each hotel.

I've based some of my choices on the presumption that February is the lowest-of-the-low season. I've watched the hotels' summer promotions and assumed their February rates will be similar.

I'm going to start now contacting each hotel for rates. After carefully reviewing cancellation policies, I will go ahead and book. Then in December/January I'll keep an eye out for winter specials and have my travelling companion contact hotels to see if she gets a better quote.

Here's the preference list I have so far:
Rome:
Pantheon--Hotel Santa Chiara.
Trevi fountain--B&B Fellini or Hotel Julia.
Sp. Steps--San Carlo or Hotel Panda (really cheap!).

Florence:
Hotel Alessandra, Hotel Europa, or Tourist House Ghiberti.

Hope this helps. If you need, I can email you web addresses and reviews I've found on these hotels.

Hey Wow Jeanne THANKS!

That sounds like the best idea with the booking policy.

HI, IN VENICE I LOVED STAYING NEAR THE RIALTO BRIDGE,IT WAS LITERALLY IN THE HEART OF THE CITY AS FAR AS GETTING AROUND IN EVERY DIRECTION.THE HOTELS MIGHT BE LESS EXPANSIVE THAN NEAR ST. MARKS SQUARE.THE HOTEL WE STAYED AT WAS "LOCANDA STURION"([email protected]). TRY THAT AND OTHERS IN THAT LOCATION.
YOU MIGHT TRY LOGGING ON TO "KAREN BROWN INNS AND B&B"'S WEB SITE. SHE'S AN AUTHOR THAT HAS A GREAT WEB SITE FOR HOTELS AND ITENERIES.IN FLORENCE, WE STAYEDATTHE HOTEL "BELLETTINI".GREAT LOCATION,BIG ROOMS, SM BATHROOM, BREAKFAST AND INEXPENSIVE. YOU MIGHT WANT TO TRY "HOTEL PENDINI".I WILL BE GOING TO ROME SOON AND THERE WE'RE STAYING AT THE"HOTEL SANTA MARIA". AFTER WE BOOKED IT, IT WAS WRITTEN UP IN THE NY TIMES! WE'LL SEE!! IT DOES LOOK GREAT AND IN A PART OF TOWN THAT SOUNDS VERY DIFFERENT! GOOD LUCK!

For Venice, we absolutely adored Casa Rezzonico in Dorsoduro. It's fairly new so there aren't a lot (any?) reviews on tripadvisor or venere, but you'll find lots of positive reviews here if you do a search.

www.casarezzonico.it

It has seven large, comfortable rooms in a fantastic location near Campo Santa Margherita. Matteo at the front desk was extremely helpful and made us feel right at home.

Thank you again everyone.

JeanneB
Can you email me what you have found?
[email protected]