kraav

We are a family of five (3 girls,10,12,14) going to Italy next June. As you know, it is difficult finding lodging for all of us to stay together. I've researched and researched many options for our stays in Rome, Sorrento, Florence and Venice, and have come up with combinations of using two rooms, hotels that have larger rooms across the street from the main desk, but using the hotel's ammenities, and now also looking into apartment rentals. My question is how valuable is it to have that wonderful personal service that people rave about that say made their whole vacation experience even greater (example, those talking about Locando Orseola)? Remember we have the kids, so any streamlining and inside info, making reservations ect. would be very useful, on the other hand, I'm a compulsive travel planner. What are your thoughts?

Statia

IMO, if you are a compulsive planner, like myself, then you would probably do fine in an apartment without outside assistance. I've also noted that some apartment rental agencies are more than happy to assist with reservations, questions, etc., just as a concierge would. Not all, but some.

As for apartments in Florence and Venice, I can highly recommend the following:

Florence - www.sleepinginflorence.com

Venice - www.venicerentals.com

As for Rome, I haven't stayed there yet, but am currently working with the below agency for a rental in March and have been very pleased with the service, thus far.

Rome - www.sleepinitaly.com

There are pros and cons to both hotels and apartments, but I find going on my own and the extra privacy and space in an apartment is really nice to have. Being able to keep food "at home" and do laundry there also helps cut costs.

Leely

Hi,

I assume you've checked out apartment reviews on slowtrav.com?

As Statia said, if you're a compulsive planner I wouldn't worry too much about reservations, etc. Italy is EASY (really) if you plan well and can roll with the punches.

We rented once from Mauro at Underground Viaggi in Rome. He's pretty helpful and might be good for a familyh if you can find an apartment with the right bedroom configuration/location. I've also used realrome.com.

If I were you, I might do a combo of hotel/apartments, just so you can give your inner-planner a break sometimes.

Have a wonderful holiday.

jgg

We did a similar trip last March with our two kids who were 12(daughter) and 9 (son) at the time. I had the same quandary: apt. vs. hotel. We went with hotels in all three cities, as I was worried about the language barrier and wanted the service etc.

To begin with you will be hard pressed to find Locanda Orseolo type service anywhere else. (By the way, don't bother with a restaurant guide for Venice - Matteo and family will take care of that). We did have our concierge/owner make dining reservations, call a cab, etc. in our other hotels, but never used them for restaurant recommendations.

For our first trip, I found it reassuring to have someone to help us. However, we will be in London and Paris this March and have decided to rent apartments. In Paris, I just plan on relearnng a bit of my highschool French so I can make a dinner reservation or call for a taxi. Part of the adventure!

Frankly in Italy, where we were in the cities, we found many people spoke a fair amount of english. The taxi drivers were an exception to that.

By the way, you may find my trip report helpful as we went to the same places you are going (except for Sorrento). Here is the link:http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34599242

Enjoy! You are planning a wonderful trip for your family.

lcthecat

I emphatically vote for an apartment. We've done it for our last 3 trips, and wouldn't have it any other way. If you need some advice, a tourist office or internet cafe is usually only minutes away. Check out my trip report, we just returned form Florence. We stayed in a great apartment: www.sleepinginflorence.com