I am looking for hotel rooms in Rome and Venice to accommodate a family of four. I'd like to spend between $200 and $250 a night, and based on my investigations so far, it seems that a quad room may be more affordable that two doubles. However, it also seems that many hotels do not offer the quad room option.

In Rome I have found several that fit our criteria, but none are as centrally located as I would like. Options include: Astoria Garden Hotel, Grand Hotel Olympic, Quality Hotel Nova Domus, Hotel Gambrinus, Hotel Palladium Palace, and Hotel des Artistes. All look fine in the pictures, but only a couple show up in my guide books.

In Venice, the Hotel Saturnia International is well located and looks nice from the pictures on line, but I can't find it in any of the guide books. The other Venice option is the Hotel Florida - not as well located and also missing from the guide books.

Anyone have any expeience with any of these hotels, or know of others that offer quad rooms?

I haven't stayed at any of those you mention but did stay in quad rooms. In Rome, at Santa CHiara, it was a decent sized 2 room suite with 1 bathroom (small stall shower). The room decor was nothing special but the hotel public areas area lovely. It also included an excellent buffet breakfast. In Venice we had a quad at Hotel Flora, the most charming hotel we stayed in Italy. It was 1 large room (a double and 2 twin beds). It had 1 1/2 baths, which does come in handy. The hotel has a lovely garden where we enjoyed a dailly afternoon break. Both of these hotels were conveniently located and 3*. I would stay in either again.

Many hotels don't mention quad room on their website, and even less mention them on booking sites. If there are particular hotels that interest you, email them directly and ask about quad accommodations. It's not uncommon for a hotel to only have 1 quad room.

When we were in Venice last Dec., our friends stayed at the Saturnia. It's a 4* located quite near San Marco on a very busy street. It's a lovely hotel with a good restaurant called La Caravelle. Our friends were very unhappy with their room though. They found it small & very dark (a lot of dark wood) with no view because it's not on a canal & paid top dollar (I think around 350-400euros)but that was a double. Others here have liked the hotel though. I believe it's listed on Fodor's list & has "Rants & Raves" you might read.

We stayed at the Pensione Accademia in Dorsudoro-further away from San Marco in a quieter neighborhhod. Our friends thought our room was much nicer than theirs (but we had no restaurant in the hotel-only a breakfast room & a service bar). Also no elevator. I know the Accademia has a big family room on the 2nd floor (they call it the piano nobili I think)facing the front with a canal view. But we paid 225e for a double (with canal view). The family room may be above your budget but the Saturnia will certainly be above that.

PS venere.com allows you to search for quads. in both cities. The Accademia is listed under b & bs on that site. The other place that's gotten rave reviews on this board is the relatively new Locanda Orseolo which, according to venere, has a quad. But it's a small place with only 15 rooms.

Once you find a place that interests you on venere, you might want to contact the hotel directly for details on the room (ie # of beds, what kind etc.). People here have also reported getting connecting rooms which would give you 2 baths. Have you done a text search here? Try typing in the text search rooms for 4 AND venice.

Locanda Sturion in Venice has a quad room or two. Check out their web site.

Buon Viaggio,
BC

Hi there. I was just in Rome, and 4 of us stayed at the Hotel des Artistes. The room was basic, it had 4 beds, a TV and radio, and a fan. No aircon. There are a few communal toilets on each floor. They are really clean though, and we never waited once. The reception area is on the 6th or 8th floor, I forget. It is airconditioned, and has free internet access, and a bar. There are also tables on the roof and a restuarant. Not much of a view, but relaxing at the end of the day. The best thing about the Hotel is its position. It is a 10 minute walk from the Termini Station, the main tube and train station in Rome. Pretorio tube station is a 2 minute walk. The hotel does not have many facilities, and is more of a backpackers spot. It is very reasonable, around E120 a night for the room. If you are going to Rome to explore, and not to sit in your hotel, I would recommend it.

In Rome, we stayed at the Olympic on Via Prosperio which is closer to the vatican. The family room (two rooms - one king bed and the other has twin beds and one bath) The hotel was extremely clean, breakfast was included, and we couldn't have been happier. I believe the rates were quite reasonable.

Your responses may depend on when you are going. We really lucked out and stayed at the Excelsior with a quad for the price of a double - they were very acommodating to bring in two rollaway beds which were more than adequate for our children and the room was huge! We were there in August which is low season, I guess. I worked directly with their staff. Neighors of ours stayed at the Palladium with their children and were also satisfied.

Try www.hotelalpiave.com. It is a nice hotel between San Marco and Rialto. It is not on a canal, and there is no view, but they have quads and family suites. It is very, very clean, and they have a nice breakfast.

I just got a rate for a family of four for the Santa Chiara for January 2004-$280 Euros a night? Doesn't that seem extremely high for low season?

We just stayed for a week at Locanda Antica Venezia, a 3 Star very near Piazza San Marco. Quad room with four beds, they also brought in an infant crib at no charge, very friendly with English as much as needed and a nice breakfast. A small Hotel with a small rooftop terrace with a view and sitting/breakfast room to share as well. The bath and toilet were private, a little small but nice, AC/Heat were great. The rate was great at only 110 Euros a night. The only downside is the location with stairs on the 3rd floor (4th to us)

we stayed at the hotel des artistes last dec. it was great. near bus lines, the train station and in a quiet neighborhood. they have a great rooftop garden.