We have FF flights to Rome in March. Unfortunately, the family hotels (Cesari and Santa Chiara)with quads that have been recommended on this site are already booked. I am looking for a nice hotel in a good location. I would prefer a quad or two affordable doubles. My kids are 14 and 8. I was hoping to stay under $400 per night. Since I am looking for the weekend after Easter, prices are up. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Also, my dream is to visit the Amalfi coast. I have visited Florence and Venice in the past. I would really like to take my family to the Amalfi coast for a few days. Where should we stay? Do we stay in Sorrento and boat to other towns? Any recommendations on locations and hotels are appreciated. Thank you very much.

Tilburg, driving on the Amalfi Coast isn't for the faint-hearted! It's a beautiful coast but we hired a local driver. That way we could all relax.

We went as a family - my husband and I, my 22-year-old son and daughters, 18 and 17 years.

I can recommend an affordable hotel in Sorrento. You can get 2 rooms at the Hotel Minerva in Sorrento for a total of about $300...actually our 2 rooms in June were at the discounted price of $150 per room with seaview and balcony. I corresponded with Antonietta by e-mail at [email protected] Web-site www.acampora.it

What we loved about Hotel Minerva is that there's a wonderful view from the outside terrace, and that's where you eat your breakfast! Wow! Also in June the free breakfast buffet was outstanding. Coffee and cappucino were very good. We didn't use the pool because we didn't have time so I can't report on the pool.

The only draw-back to staying here is that I wouldn't try to walk anywhere from the hotel...it is located on a very busy narrow street that curves round, with traffic whizzing by, and there's not really a pedestrian sidewalk that you could safely take a walk on. However, this wasn't a problem for us, as we used this hotel as a base for 2 day-tours, and the drivers picked us right up from the front of the hotel so we didn't want to walk anywhere. The one night when we needed to get dinner somewhere, because the restaurant at the hotel had closed, the hotel sent us a free shuttle from a nearby restaurant. The shuttle takes you to the restaurant and returns you to the hotel for free. The restaurant isn't cheap but it's good. They served seafood, pasta, and they might have had pizza on the menu, I can't remember.

Also if you stay here be sure to request rooms on the top floor with a seaview. That way you are above the street far enough so you can't hear the traffic. Also some of the hallways on the lower floor had a musty smell, as if there was a dampness problem. But you are fine on the top floor.

We were charmed by tiny Praiano which has a little beach and a nice seafood restaurant right on the beach, friendly and casual with good prices. I woudl find out if you can rent a cottage on the beach at Praiano. I think there are a couple of small hotels there. Praiano is near Sorrento and Positano.

The Amalfi coast is really not at its best in March. It will be cool to cold and a good chance of rain and even worse of fog which will obscure the beautiful coastline vistas. There will be very few if any spring flowers or flowering trees at that time, so the gardens will be disappointed. Capri will be bascially shut down, and ferry service out to Capri will be limited. Many of the better restaurants will be closed for the season. (If you are going Easter week you may find some of the better restaurants open, but it is hard to say for sure.) I would strongly urge you to save the coast for a time when it is at is best and more activities will be on offer, i.e. swimming in the Med which is not going to be possible in March.

Take a look at weatherbase.com and worlclimate.com for historical average temps and rainfall for March for the coa\st.

Hi til,

Good advice from Cicerone, however if you have your heart set on it, consider the Le Sirene in Praiano. Their rates are within your budget.

We stayed there for a week and were very pleased. See my trip report
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

We had a LARGE lovely room in Rome at Relais Banchi Vecchi, a few blocks from Campo de Fiori, for 120 euros. This is a small b&b with about 6 rooms for rent. It is run more like an apartment than a hotel because there is no front desk, which is probably why the cost is much lower. However, they do provide housekeeping daily AND breakfast is included too. Our room had a large foyer with a kitchenette, a big marble bath and a separate bedroom. Each floor seemed to have 2 rooms, so you could even get 2 rooms and keep it under $400. There is NO view since it is on a side street, but the rooms are quiet AND they had wonderful shutters which really blocked out all the light in the morning.

The location was very central -- we walked everywhere. But there is also a bus stop 1/2 block from the relais on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.

Relais Banchi Vecchi web site! http://www.banchivecchi115.com/inglese/

In Rome, try the Hotel San Carlo, which has both a quad and a lot of doubles. You may want to check them out in the Hotel section of Fodors' Rants & Raves.

www.hotelsancarloroma.com.

They're about a block off via del Corso, and also close to the Spagna Metro. I'd advise you to fax them for a rate quote, just to "shop" them. Can't hurt, and they'll fax back to you within a day to let you know what's available and what the rate is. I think under $400 is definitely do-able.

I agree with Cicerone's advise on the Amalfi coast. Things there won't begin to open up again til mid-April, and while hydrofoil service is suspended, a lot of hotels close until better weather sets in.

BC

A few years ago we stayed at the Santa CHiara, but during my research for quads, I also came up with la residenza, due torre & guilio cesare which were all a similar price. I think the Del Senato also has quads. When I had done the research, for a March '01 trip, these hotels were are recommended on this site.

The hotels I mentioned are for ROme.

If you want to do an overnight somewhere other than ROme and Amalfi, my kids enjoyed our overnight in Orvieto. It's a cure medieval hillside town, close to ROme. They have an interesting Orvieto Underground tour that's worthwhile. We stayed in a quad at the Palazzo PIccolimni which was a very nice hotel (and great value compared to quads in ROme and Venice).

I haven't stayed here yet, but have a reservation for next March, the Palazzo al Velabro in Rome. It's an apartment hotel. It has what it calls twin suites and double twin suites. The explanation I got of the difference from the hotel was: "The difference between a twin suite and a double twin suite is that the double and twin suite is lager than the other, because there is another room with a double sofa bed." The website is www.velabro.it/eng/index.html. The posted rate for the double and twin suite is 269 Euros.

The location is not as central as the Santa Chiara (where I stayed in 1998)but it seems that you could get around by bus or walking.

I was shocked to see so many quick responses. Everybody loves Italy. When I posted on Cooperstown, New York, it took weeks to get ten responses. Thank you very much for your suggestions.