chuck

We will be traveling throughout Umbria late May thru early June this year. We are renting a car and plan on visiting small to mid-size cities such as Gubbio, Spoleto, Amelia, etc. Although we would prefer to keep our options open, I am concerned that if we don't make reservations ahead of time, many of the hotels we would like to stay at will be sold out (No Vacany).

Is availability limited this time of year, or will we have no problem finding lodging?

nytraveler

At that time of year you will be able to find something - if not in a specific town at least in one nearby. However, there is no guarantee on location, amenities, price - or anything else.

I would definitely reserve in advance - esp if budget is a concern.

adrienne

I agree about reserving in advance. I hate to spend my precious vacation time looking for a hotel. If you are focusing on a small area you could book an apartment for a week and use it as a home base for day trips.

Jean

When traveling by car, I want hotels that are fairly easy to reach by car and have either their own parking or street parking nearby in good supply. I want to know how to reach the hotel with either turn-by-turn directions or a good city map.

I wouldn't want to risk arriving in a town and finding the only available hotel in my price range is unreachable by car and is a long, uphill climb from where the car is parked. I would also hate spending time "shopping" for lodging.

I can highly recommend the Hotel San Luca in Spoleto. It's at the bottom of the town, just a couple of turns off the main road. It has its own parking (for a fee), but we had no trouble in October using street parking. There's a grocery store a block away. They have a sister hotel in Montefalco.

http://www.hotelsanluca.com/eindex.html

rosetravels

Hi chuck -
We were in Umbria in May to early June of 2001 with no reservations. Usually it was OK but there were some difficulties (we were in a horrible room in Orvieto as the town was full and it was late) and now I make reservations ahead of time. It saves time, costs less and I find better hotels.

That said we did really like our Spoleto hotel - Hotel Charleston. We were there 2 nights and wished later that we'd stayed for a week. There were several small chapels nearby and we stumbled on 2 impromptu concerts.

We'd like to return to Umbria but next time we'll rent an apartment and do day trips - which is my recommendation to you.

Dayle

chuck,

Highly recommend the Palazzo Bocci**** in Spello. I rearranged the order of my last trip so I could stay there (even booking 10 months in advance) and just loved it. Easy to find and park. Spello is a jewel with beautiful views, even of Assisi.

Buon viaggio!