Hello everybody,

Just wanted to thank you for the priceless information that I found on this board.
Just returned from a great two-week trip to Italy. We flew into Venice via Paris on Air France took a water taxi to our hotel. We stayed at Hotel Al Piave (http://www.hotelalpiave.com/) and I highly recommend it ? small, family-run, with a/c, good quality breakfast, center location and very friendly/English speaking staff.

Took a train to Florence and stayed there for 3 days at Hotel Pendini and I would NOT recommend it. The location is great but the rest is pretty poor ? the hotel is old, not very clean, breakfast is just coffee and bread and, in summary, the hotel didn?t leave a great impression. The days in Florence were great ? we had a city tour, went to Academia and to Uffizi Gallery (the tour agency we used was - Walking Tours of Florence and it was good).

Then we toook a train to Forte dei Marmi (close to Pisa (20 min) and close to Cinque Terre (35 min). Forte dei Marmi is a great resort town with only locals ? we could hardly find someone speaking English ? which made it an adventure. Lots of sand beaches and in general is very nice (somewhat like Cannes in France). We stayed at Hotel Areion and I would highly recommend it ? 50 meters to the beach, clean, great quality food, very professional staff. We did day trips to Pisa and Cinque Terre and liked it. I, personally, don?t think one should spend more than one day in each of the towns?

Lastly, we went to Rome and stayed 3 days in Hotel Oceania (Hotel OCEANIA, Via Firenze, 38 )? the hotel is very nice ? family-run with English-speaking staff, modern - renovated with everything you need and even free internet access (for the ones that need it during vacation . It?s a bit side located from the major attraction areas but still in a walking distance to everything. We visited Ancient Rome, Coliseum, Vatican Museum, St. Peter?s. We booked the tours with Rome Walks and were very happy ? the best guide?s name was Carla ? she is local, PhD in history with perfect English and great knowledge and a great speaker.

The two weeks went by so fast ? back to work today :-0
Once again, thank you all for your recommendations and feel free to ask any questions.

Natasha

Natasha,

I'm so glad you enjoyed Al Piave. We are leaving in 10 days and have a reservation there. Can you give me a few details? Any particular room to ask for? Were there hair dryers and toiletries in the room? Are there any "views' to speak of? How much was the water taxi to the hotel? Thanks in advance for the details. Your trip sounds great!

Deb

Welcome back Natasha!!I am glad that you had such lovely time in Sunny Italy.
Ciao,
kismet

Thanks so much for your post. My husband and I are leaving in a couple of weeks for three weeks going from London to Istanbul.

We have about two days in Venice, one overnighter in Florence on the way to Rome, and four nights in Rome. What was the best thing you saw in each city? Given the time restraints, what would you have skipped? Any other info you want to share would be much appreciated. Thanks, Julie in Denver

Glad to hear you had a good trip, nradovsky. Thanks for the report!

Deb (abqdeb):

Have a great time in Venice. Re: Al Piave - we paid $80 for the water taxi from Venice airport to the hotel. But you don?t really have to spend that much - there?s a vaparetto (water bus) that leaves from the airport and you should exit on Realtor Bridge stop. From there it?s about 7-10 minutes walk to the hotel. When we came to Venice it was very late at night and it was raining pretty hard, so we decided to take a taxi instead.

I don?t think you should ask for a specific room - they only have 4 rooms on each floor (if I remember correctly). We had everything in our room: hair dryers, soap, shampoo, towels, etc.

Have a great trip - Venice is a very unusual and marvelous city.

Thanks natasha! I can't wait to go. 8 days... but who's counting?

Deb