We are planning for 2 weeks in Italy in 2005.

Fly to Venice - 3 nights
Florence - 2 nights
Tuscany - 5 nights
Rome - 4 nights

In Rome, I'll probably use Marriott points.
In the other areas - how far out do you think is needed to reserve our rooms? I've read of so many folks not being able to reserve their choice.

I've listed many of the suggestions in this forum and gone to many web sites. In Venice and Florence we'd be looking at good location and rooms with a view - $250 range

In Tuscany - thinking Southern part - Pienza or San Quirico - but then the Chianti area sounds beautiful.

Oh, we are thinking of either end of May or beginning of September

Linda

Hi land,

For end of May, I would start calling now, although many hotels won't accept reservations until they set their prices for 2005 after Jan 1.

For Sept, I think you have until mid-March.

We are going at the end of May 2005 and already have booked our villa in Tuscany and hotel in Rome. Some hotels were already booked (at least that's what the website said).

Unless it was the hotel web site that said they were booked, I wouldn't pay attention to any booking site. The booking sites generally have only a fraction of the available inventory, and sometimes aren't granted inventory far in advance. For example, a booking site like Expedia might say there is no availability, but when you phone the hotel, they will make a reservation.

We did a similar trip in May 2004 and we booked most of our hotels in September/October 2003. We emailed the hotels directly and didn't have a problem. I recommend the Locanda Orseolo for Venice. It was 240 Euro per night for a canal view, but I would imagine you would need to book now. Do a search on it for further reviews as well as tripadvisor.com. Enyoy your planning!

I've already booked hotels in France and Spain for July-August 2005.

In one case, the hotel's own website would not allow a booking beyond December 2004 so what to do???

I e-mailed the hotel directly, told them the dates I wanted and asked "how soon" can I book? They responded "now" and I did the booking via e-mail.

I would always advise contacting the property directly, especially if it is a place you really want to stay. If they cannot book yet due to rate setting issues, they'll let you know and also when you CAN book.

Have a great trip and yes, the Marriott Grand Flora at the top of the Via Veneto in Rome IS

run by Italians
seems like you are in Italy
close enough that you can walk to the Spanish Steps...GO for it and have a great trip.

Hi - I've planned a trip to Italy for next October (2005) and I've already booked my hotels & villa. Based on comments and hints from this site, I figured I had better get an early start on the villa & Venice. Imagine my surprise in finding out that my first 2 hotel choices in Venice are already booked for next October (at least for the rooms I was requesting -- Double superior or Jr. Ste). Was very glad I started early!

My itinerary is:
Rome - 5 days - Hotel Barberini
Tuscany - 7 days - villa in Lastra a Signa
Venice - 5 days - Hotel Antico Doge

I'll start working on the air, rental car, and train stuff in late Spring 05.

Hard to believe 1 year from today I'll be in Rome.... It seems so far away!

Tweeter -- believe it or not, I tried booking the Locanda Orseolo for next October & they were already booked for the 4 nights I wanted.

I am scheduling for June of 2005 and there are no rooms available at the Marriott in Rome using points. Just called yesterday.

Bummer! But there are a lot of nice hotels in Rome...just ask here and you'll get all KINDS of recommendations.

islandbeachangel - are you sure the hotel realized you were talking about NEXT year? The same thing happened to me with Pensione Accademia, I emailed them back and found out they had just assumed I meant this Oct (even tho my inquiry showed 2005). They then told me they only book 10 months in advance.

We just booked a very similar trip and will be departing Oct. 20, 04.

We started planning Sept.25th 04. It was a spur of the moment getaway.

Really didnt have any problems getting into to any places. All my bookings went smooth.

Enjoy your trip!

Islandbeachangel - Doesn't surprise me given the hundreds of reviews on tripadvisor.com and they only have 15 rooms or so. Your trip sounds wonderful!

Thank you all for your quick replys. I am using Delta FF - so first thing I'll do is get Delta and Marriott set and schedule from there. I was disappointed to hear about Locanda Orseolo booked a year out. Looked just like we were looking for. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated

Linda

LAwomand - thanks for the heads up -- I didn't think they may have thought it was this October. I may try again. Of course, now I want to double check my reservations to make sure they are for next October and not 2004 (um, right now!).

Islandbeachangel - so was it a year out that you couldn't get reservations where you wanted to in Venice?

Linda

I'm not recommending this, but since you ask: I usually make my hotel reservations about a month before departure. However, in Feb. 2001, I got very cheap air tickets to Italy in a one-day sale on Orbitz only 12 or 13 days before my departure, so I made the hotel reservations much later.

Hi! LAwoman - I can't thank you enough for the head's up!!! Although the hotel in Rome did have us down for October 2005, the hotel in Venice had us arriving in 2 weeks. Sent them an email last night and I'm all set for NEXT October! I owe you a big glass of wine if you're ever in NYC!

Linda - I made the hotel reservations last month for October 2005, but as I found out yesterday they thought it was for this year and not next. That being said, the room I have booked is not a canal view. I have heard that canal view rooms in some of the more popular hotels are booked up to a year ahead. Plus - there are always cancellations (there's now an available jr ste at Hotel Antico Doge for 4 nights on Oct. 15 ). My suggestion is that if you can't get your first choice hotel, make a reservation at your 2nd and call your first choice periodically to see if there is a cancellation.

For me - a lesson learned: sometimes planning out ahead is not always the smart thing to do...

M&M

Word of advice if you are planning on using Marriott points in Rome. Start trying to make your reservation NOW. The Grand Flora is a medium sized hotel and doles out the point rooms sparingly. If you are turned down, don't despair, keep trying every week until January, then try every few days.

Great news, islandbeachangel! I do get to NYC occasionally and will take you up on that offer next time!