Hi, I am looking for cheap accommodation in Rome and Venice. I have heard you can stay in nice pensioni's that don't cost much and are nice and clean. Does anyone know of any?

There have been a couple of postings recently regarding convent accommodation, which is very cheap & sounds nice. Try searching on "convent".

Who among us veteran travelers to Italy could ever imagine a day when "pensione" would mean "convent?"

The &quot;new&quot; pensione has gone the way of modernity and is now known as a B&amp;B. Since so many people continue to search for places that <i>&quot;don't cost much and are nice and clean,&quot;</i> good luck finding a nice, clean, and well-located B&amp;B with the price-point and authenticity that was once known as a <i>pensione</i>.

ps Have you heard, the three-course dinner with wine for $9 is gone, too.

Well I remember when you could stay in a 5 star hotel in Italy for $200 a night, before the euro was introduced. Italy used to be a bargain 7 years ago. And you could find nice pensione's for next to nothing.

Also know that the word &quot;Pensione&quot; is currently used for regular hotels (i.e., Pensione La Calcina a nice 3-star with rates ~150-200 euro per night).

I know there are hostels in both those cities, you might have better luck searching for them, which I believe are even cheaper than convent stays.

<i>&quot;Italy used to be a bargain 7 years ago. And you could find nice pensione's for next to nothing.&quot;</i>

And I fondly remember the days when you could stay with a wonderful family and truly immerse yourself into the culture, worth far more than any 4-star hotel experience I've ever had. But, sadly, those days are (almost) gone, especially in the bigger cities.

Now, the name of the game is rent your best rooms for the highest market-share value you can get and the closer to the city-center, the better, because you can charge even more as long as you charge less than a hotel with an equally charming room.

Everything really changed with the Euro's introduction on January 1, 2002 but that was only 3.5 years ago. Much has changed in that short period of time. Italy is now a mega destination dealing with a new currency and the new globalization. I don't expect tourism to ever be again what it was just 7 years ago.

NYCFS : are you claiming 7 years makes you a &quot;veteran&quot; traveller ?

Caroline, the &quot;7&quot; was an (obvious) reference to the OP's use of that number. (Not sure how one could miss that.) Anyone who reads my posts (with care) knows I've been traveling for well over 20 years. However, I have no problem with a 7-year-traveler claiming to be a veteran. Experience speaks for itself.

caroline- people are referring to &quot;prices of places to stay in Italy 7 years or more ago&quot;

NOT the number of years of traveling experience they have.

I'll have you all know that I am 26 years old, have been travelling for 20 of them, and was traveling around Italy for 6 months exactly 7 years ago. It was a dream, a bargain, and a leisure. I was there again in 2001 for a couple of months and although Florence was horribly touristed, it was cheap, fun, and completely fabulous. I returned again last year and was disappointed by the hike in prices as a result of the Euro. Not that I expected, as an American, to get great deals in Italy forever, it was disappointing not to have the option to indulge in my favorite eateries and shops. I love Italy from the bottom of my heart, and as sick of it as I am when I return, I start to crave it again only months later. I guess I'll have to set my frugal sights on South American and Asia while the dollar continues to plummet (as a result of a certain nameless retard who happens to run our country).

And I would have thought it was obvious that since the OP asked about cheap accommodation, I was mentioning convents as another cheap possibility - not because I thought pensione meant convent. There was absolutely no need to be nasty.

<i>&quot;There was absolutely no need to be nasty.&quot;</i>

Oh, caroline, you <b>completely</b> misread my post and somehow missed the terrific irony you provided. There never was any &quot;nasty&quot; intent in my reference to you mentioning convents and I'm sorry you took my words to mean something negative.

Interpreting vocal inflection is a very difficult thing to do on an internet forum. Maybe one day in the future we will be listening to people's posts rather than reading them.

So, I guess there are no bargains left in Italy. What a pity!

Try the Hotel Galli in Rome on via Milazzo. They have a website. Even though its right near the Termini, the street is safe. I've been there several times. The whole place was renovated in 1996.

Try www.eurocheapo.com for budget hotels/pensiones.

You might also find some on Logis D'Italia which is a listing/booking service for independent, usually family run, hotels.
http://www.logis.it/index.asp?Lingua=UK