Budget hotels for a trip to Italy in May

Bob, I think you will get a better response posting your question in To The Boot. This new section appears to be for people to comment on places they have stayed.

I can recommend the Orange House in Varenna. It is definitely within your budget and we were very happy with it. We stayed at Il Bargellino in Florence and that is probably in your budget. I think your budget may be unrealistic for Venice,

Andrea,

I am looking for an average of 100 Euro per night, not a maximum. I fully expect to pay more than 100 Euro per night in Venice.

We stayed at Pensione Guerrato in Venice and I would recommend it.

In Orvieto, B&B Ripamedici will be Euro 65-75 per night. Very sweet.

We use VRBO.com and Booking.com a lot and stay under Euro 100 in most places in apartments in off season.

In Venice I recommend http://www.bbalessandra.com/index.php

Great breakfast, helpful hosts.

Thank you. B&B Sandra looks to be very nice and the rate, though above 100 Euro, fits well within my budget for Venice. B&B Sandra has definitely moved to the finals in my search.

Florence: I'd try for an apartment anyplace I had at least a 4-night stay. On our recent trip, we did apartments even for 2-night stays: VRBO.com and Homeaway.com, among others. Ravenna: Casa Masoli B&B. Sorrento: Casa Astarita. We also stayed at the Orange House in Varenna. Assissi: Hotel San Rufino. We are budget travelers and on our most recent 30-day trip averaged 77 euros per night for lodging (Casa Astarita in Sorrento was a splurge for us, but I would go back in a minute just for the gorgeous blue-and-white tiled bathroom!) Have fun!

Go to Booking.com and put in your city's name.

Filter your search by low-high price.

Then look for the rooms with the highest customer ratings and read the comments on the property.

I'll often check to see if the same property is listed on TripAdvisor.com and read what people have said there.

I've always got a room at a very fair price using these websites, and have never been disappointed.

Booking.com is the largest website for accommodations I've ever seen, and they have rooms in virtually every city in every country.

Another option is using AirBnB.com which offers even less expensive rooms.

Have you considered simplifying your itinerary? I try to stay in one centrally located area or city 4-5 days--doing day trips close by. Then I'll move to the next area. Some of your cities are in the same general vicinity.

I am well versed in using Booking.com and TripAdvisor. I was hoping for some personal recommendations for the hotels/B&Bs I had found using Rick Steves Italy 2014 book plus the two web sites. I have also found some hotels/B&Bs in some of the other forum discussions that slipped through the above net.

Since I will have a car from the time I leave Sorrento until I arrive in Venice, making multiple stops is no problem, in fact it is much preferred. For example, instead of making a day trip out of Orvieto, which ends near Assisi, and then driving 2 hours back to Orvieto, I just stay in Assisi. Ravenna is a stop on my drive from Siena to Venice. Note, the time between cities is not lost time like it would be on a train or bus. It is a day trip with multiple stops.

If I had not found that in many instances places I wanted to stay at were already booked in May, I would be making this trip without reservations as I have done on all my previous trips to Europe. And just maybe, as I get older I may be a bit less tolerant of getting to a city and having to try 3 or 4 places before finding an available room.

We were very happy with our stay at B&B Galla Placidia in Ravenna. We decided to pop for the most expensive room, 80 euro/night, which had a covered terrace, as well as a good size bedroom and modern bathroom. The price included a nice breakfast. The other rooms are a little cheaper. The owner is very friendly and helpful. The B&B is a couple of minutes walk from San Vitale.

Thank you.

Success!
I just finished making our last reservation and met my 100 euro per night target. It was actually a bit less than 98 euro per night. All were for a double room with ensuite bath; all, except one, included breakfast; all, except the last hotel near the airport, were in, or next to, the historic center; and all had good ratings on Booking.com and TripAdvisor. We had wanted to stay at a particular agriturismo but is was already booked for the days we wanted.

I presume too late but you would also find very reasonable prices on accommodations at www.airbnb.com.

Jodie

Here are some of my favorites: Paestum - Hotel Poseidonia Mare, near the beach, parking on premises or will pick you up at train station will loan you bikes, best breakfast I've had in Europe, good dinners, too, about 1 km from the ruins. very kind and helpful staff.
Orvieto - Hotel Duomo (around the corner from the Duomo), very nice staff.
Assisi - La Fortezza or Hotel Ristorante Pilotta (sister properties), center of Assisi, good breakfast, nice management.
Ravenna - Hotel Centrale Byron, centrally located, very good breakfast, helpful front desk staff.
Milano - Hotel Garda near the Stazione Centrale, breakfast extra, a block from Metro lines and train station.

All these hotels are under €100, are clean and comfortable and will help keep your average hotel budget intact.

Thanks Zoe, several of the hotels you suggested I did consider in my search. However, as per my previous post, I now have all my reservations.

Bob! This is the perfect place to share the names of those budget friendly hotels! I'm waiting, because the husband says I go to Italy too often to spend the kind of money I've been spending on lodging. Now, If I can cut it down to 100eu a night, I see another trip on my horizon, so share those names!

Okay Donna, here is the list of hotels and their cost for a double room this May. If applicable, Rick Steves discounts are included. Remember we have not stayed at any of these places. I made all bookings directly with the hotel/B&B.

Florence - Grand Tour Firenze, 4 nights at 78 euro/night
Rome -Inn Urbe Colosseo, 4 nights at 130 euro/night (we wanted the colosseum area)
Sorrento - Sorrento Flats B&B, 2 nights at 130 euro/night (a splurge, lower rates were available at good hotels)
Paestum - Hotel Villa Rita, 1 night at 81 euro
Tivoli - B&B Il Casale Dei Fiori, 1 night at 70 euro
Orvieto - B&B Ripa Medici, 2 nights at 75 euro/night
Assisi - Hotel Ideale, 2 nights at 85 euro/night
Siena - B&B Alle Due Porte, 2 nights at 85 euro/night
Ravenna - Casa Masoli B&B, 2 nights at 80 euro/night
Venice - Ai Tagliapietra B&B, 4 nights at 100 euro/night (may be biggest bargain, number 10 on TripAdvisor, near San Marco)
Varenna - Albergo Milano, 2 nights at 140 euro/night (our biggest splurge)
Milan, near the airport, Cardano Hotel, 1 night at 80 euro

I hope this gets you a trip to Italy.

Al Campaniel in Venice has rooms and a Holiday Apartment that are well located in the San Polo area of Venice. They are very clean and simple. We have stayed in the Holiday Apartment 3 times and have found it clean, spacious and well located. Marco even includes items for a free breakfast in the refrigerator. They are well under 100 euros except during high season.

Here is the website: http://www.alcampaniel.com/

We also stayed at Al Campaniel all three visits to Venice, in the standard double room - in mid-Sept, I think we paid about 70-80 euro. I have a review on this topic about the airbnb we used in Florence as well...just check a few posts down...don't be afraid to look into airbnb - I've been using it a lot and love it!

Edit - Oops - just noticed you are all booked up - have a blast!

I have not stayed there yet, but the review of the il fornaccio B&B in Vaglia, just a 20 minute bus ride from Florence is where we will be staying and the reviews on trip advisor were overwhelmingly fantastatic. We will be staying there in April. $100/night http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g1209159-d2090560-Reviews-Bed_and_Breakfast_Il_Fornaccio-Vaglia_Tuscany.html