Best place to stay in Rome, Florence and Venice Arbnb or Vrbo

Hi, another source for searching is Booking.com. I have used them for apartments occasionally - usually it’s hotels or B&B’s. I am mentioning them because there’s no hidden fees, and we have also really liked the places we stayed. Their reviews are real; you are unable to leave a review unless you have stayed there.

You'll probably get more suggestions if you give us a nightly budget for lodging (total for all five of you). We all have different definitions of "break the bank".

I am doubtful,that you can find an apartment for 5 in Venice for $250 in July.

I like to use a local agency for Venice apartments. How many nights are you staying in Venice? If only 2 nights, this 2-bdr, 2 bath apartment in San Marco is €329 per night. The price goes up on Thursday and Friday nights.

https://veniceredhouse.com/apartments-in-venice/ca-coriandolo-apartment/

If that doesn’t work, you can search the Venice Red House website for other options.

You need to spend some extra time on AirBnB’s website to find what you need and in your price range. In Rome, look in Monti.

For Rome and maybe Florence, consider Monastery Stays website, but book directly with the monastery/convent. Some of them do have a curfew. I think the one we stayed at, near the Colosseum, was il Rosario. Of course, you won't have a kitchen, if that's important to you. That will be a very busy time of year and many accommodations may already be reserved. Also, did you check to see if your cruise leaves from Venice or Ravenna?

To echo Cala’s response, last summer five of us stayed in a monastery in Venice. It was loads cheaper than hotels. We chose one away from the crowds. We walked a lot but also did the water buses. We chose this one because it had rooms for six available and reasonable $.
https://www.monasterystays.com/?d=Italy/Veneto/Venice//VEV118-accommodation

I considered it for Rome and Florence, but then it was only three of us and it was hotter than sin in August. We stayed in Air Bnb with laundry to wash our sweaty clothes 😂

Regarding monastery stays, would a non-Roman Catholic be comfortable staying in one of them? How religious are they? I keep seeing them listed here as suggestions.

I think you will have a very difficult time finding a 3 bedroom in that price range. We travel with two teens who can’t sleep on sofa beds. Finding 2 br is very difficult. As you research, you’ll find that a “bedroom” in Europe is any room with any “bed”, even a sofa bed. So if you want everyone to sleep in a real bed, you will need a 4 bedroom.

It may be easier to find two hotel rooms: one double, and one triple.

Suki -
No need to be religious. They did copy our passports, but I believe that is more of Italian practice/law. The one we stayed at was staffed by a wonderful elderly priest. There was a church attached. One could certainly attend mass, but we did not. I believe we did have quiet hours at 10 or 11, but we weren’t a rambunctious group anyway. We had a key and came and went just like any other lodging.

We had the same experience at the convent where we stayed. We are not Catholic. The only issue I see is if your daughters wanted to stay out late.

No problem being non Roman Catholic staying in the monastery/convents. My wife and I stayed in 4 on our trip to Italy and plan on doing it again next year.

How safe are the monastery places do you get a room key and a way to lock your room? I would be afraid to leave anything of value in the room and didn't know if this is something that I should be concerned about. Also, most require a two-night stay, which I cannot do at each location. Any other suggestions as booking was ZERO help. I am still looking at Airbnb and I am guessing that in some cities there will be hidden fees for occupancy extra. Any additional help would be greatly appreciated as this process has become so frustrating.

I think Montessori is supposed to be monastery?

I can only speak for the one we stayed at, but we had a key to get in the building and another one for the room.

I didn’t feel any less safe with our stuff there than any other lodging.

There were no hidden fees, no cleaning fees. I paid a deposit online with my card when I reserve the room. They wanted the rest in euros on arrival.

@jenny thank you for the spelling correction. I would hate to confuse anyone. I will update my last post.