Italy Vacation - picking out hotels

Reference a good guidebook of your choice and validate lodging recommendations that interest you at www.tripadvisor.com. You can usually receive reliable recommendations on this Helpline. The guidebook should assist you with building an itinerary. A few suggestions: Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Let’s Go, and Timeout.

I agree with Michael's post. I use a guidebook to develop my itinerary as well as narrow down hotel options based on what interests me. Sometimes I want to stay in a particular area, sometimes I care more about the description/price of the hotel.

Since you've already narrowed down your destinations, I'd start by deciding what it is you want to experience in each place. Lucca is fairly small, and depending on how much time you have there, you can probably experience most/all of it. Rome, on the other hand, would be difficult to complete even if you devoted the entire trip to that one city.

I like to write down everything I'm interested in, then rank it 1, 2, 3. #1s are my can't-miss things: Colosseum, St. Peter's, Borghese. #2s are things I'd really like to see if possible, and #3s are if I have the time. Then I study maps and site info to figure out what goes well together. Doing Vatican Museum and St. Peter's at the same time makes sense. Doing Colosseum/Forum/Palentine Hill and then going to the Vatican makes a lot less sense. I also like to put an optional activity in my daily schedule so that if I'm tired or don't feel like it, I don't feel bad for skipping out.

Start by scanning this page to the top... he has guidebooks. I go to Tripadvisor to supplement or make choices when Rick's hotels within my class/budget choices don't have vacancies.

When we were in Rome 4 years ago we stayed at the Lancelot Hotel. It's about a 5-min. walk from the Col. and is a very nice, yet affordable, place.
The meals were great and the people very friendly and helpful.

Check out the guides and pages recommended. They really are the best.

One interesting fact (according to the NY Times) is that Expedia is the only major web site to require that people pay for, and complete a stay at the hotel before they can rate it.

They don't get a ton of reviews, compared to tripadvisor, etc - but you can be gauranteed the person stayed there - I like that. (I once on tripadvisor saw the hotel manager fill out a review 5star across the board. LOL)

There are also some great apartment stays in Italy, ask on the Italy forum here for references! =)

To build a list of potential places, start with a guidebook, or two, and check tourist information websites for the town.

Once you have a list of possibles, go to tripadvisor.com and read as many reviews as possible.

Different people like different things but you can get a general idea of the place from both positive and negative reviews.

I use Venere.com. Been on this site several times and if you read the most current reviews, they are pretty accurate.

With this site, you can choose your hotel by location, the sights that are most important to you..or perphaps, like me, you need a hotel close to the train station...this site lets you choose.

you pick by $$, location, star rating, etc.

To develop an itinerary, you first need to buy some guide books to figure out what you want to see, then compare the maps in the book to the website. It's not that hard, the towns/cities in Italy (aside from Rome) are not that big, and even in Rome all the major sights are within walking distance of each other. Last trip to Rome we stayed outside of the historical center and took the Metro in each day...it was easy.

Kim,

I'd suggest checking a few Guidebooks to get Hotel listings. Rick's books have great suggestions for Hotels in different price ranges and different parts of each city, so that would be a good place to start. To see reviews from travellers for any Hotels you're consdering, check TripAdvisor or other sites.

Rick's books have listings (along with website and E-mail information) for Rome, Lucca and Venice AFAIK, but you may have to search other sites for Vico Equense.

Rick's books also provide lots of information on the sights to see in each town, along with opening & closing times and other useful information. Once you've decided what interests you, it's fairly easy to develop an Itinerary.

Good luck and happy travels!

You've gotten some great advice!

One thing that we learned about Venere.com last fall when we traveled to Italy is that many hotel owners prefer that you book with them directly if possible. Sometimes they will give you a discount for doing so. Check the price on Venere and then e-mail the hotel to see if they will give you a better price for booking direct.

To expand on what Sharon mentions, one thing I found in Italy that I haven't seen elsewhere (yet), is that by emailing the hotel directly, I would ask them if they provided a cash discount. All of the hotels we stayed in (Rome, Venice, and Verona) gave us a bit of a discount for paying cash. Of course it means being able to pull out several hundred Euro from an ATM and carrying it with you (and storing in the hotel safe). But it was worth it.

Thanks to all of you for your great suggestions. It was great to hear from so many and it has really helped a lot!!!! Thank you Thank you.

Hi Kim All good advice. Have you thought about an alternative type of accommodation? I hadn't until a friend recommended I look at staying in a monastery or convent guest house. I thought they were kidding but I found a good website www.monasterystays.com. They have access to places all over Italy so I could book my accommodation for my Sicily trip in one go. Places seem reasonably prices and well located. Recommend giving it a look.

Hi Kim, what itinerary you develop depends very much on your interests. Is it art, history, shopping, food? etc. Also, make allowance for travel time between different sites within a city, or between cities, including time needed to travel from airport/station to your hotel. The Italy board on this helpline has many threads on hotels and places to stay too.

"Expedia is the only major web site to require that people pay for, and complete a stay at the hotel before they can rate it."

Venere are the same. Although not big on the US radar it is a major player in Europe. And Expedia bought it up a year or so ago!

Hotel choice depends a lot on your age and travel style. We (in our 70's) have to keep reminding ourselves that $100/night is not luxurious, but we do require clean and hope for some charm. To me, staying in pleasant lodgings adds immeasurably to the trip experience. After AWFUL experiences with places recommended in Rough Guide and Let's Go, I would never consult them again. I also tend to avoid Rick's places . . . bad experience, plus the good ones get overrun with Americans clutching his books. I usually consult Karen Brown's Italy B&B, and Alastair Sawday's Spcial Places to Stay (Italy). Both have a wide range of prices; and we have never been disappointed by any of their picks. They can be accessed on-line or purchased as books. I always cross check on Tripadvisor. Incidently, I've sometimes stumbled on great choices while consulting TA. If you are checking out a place, look at the ones with higher ratings, too. Sometimes, very reasonably priced lodgings are rated better than the expensive ones.

Rosalyn has a point. Choosing hotels depends a lot on what you need/ want from your room. Do you want comfort or are you ok with roughing it out for the sake of saving some $$? Does a small room bother you? Shower or bath - en suite or down the hall? Location? Noise level? It always pays to read reviews carefully.

All the way back up to Sharon's advice - because it bears repeating.

Whatever search means you use (Hotels dotcom, Travelocity, Tripadvisor, etc...) once you see a hotel that you think meets your needs, e-mail or call that hotel directly. Ask what they will charge you. If they quote a number that is not as good, tell them what Hotels dotcom had it for. Then see what they say. Then offer to pay cash, and see what they say. Cite the name of the hotel next door or accross the street, then see what they say. Maybe even tell them you have to think about it, then call back a day or two later and tell them what the number needs to be.

That said: I'll reiterate also TripAdvisor for good hotel reviews.

I build daily itineraries around either 1) proximity / travel time, or 2) topic (museums vs. music vs. outdoors), or a mix.

I start with guidebooks, then research the contenders on tripadvisor.com to create a list of hotels I would stay at. Then I call to book (but usually not until I'm there).

Ive always used Rick Steves lodging suggestions.Ive found that he is right on.If they are not friendly he will tell you,if small or outdated he will tell you.Ive never used one of his suggested places and been suprised or disappointed.