3 Siena Hotels

Like you we are retired and not in a hurry when we travel. Unlike you we have been to Siena many times and stayed at the Duomo many times. That would be our choice, obviously. It is not close to the Train/Bus station but you will probably take a taxi for that. There is a local bus but we have never used it so I can't speak to that. The Duomo is close to the Duomo, the Piazza il Campos and has nice views over Siena. They have a good breakfast too. I doon't know whether they have a night person or not now, but check to see the night before you plan to leave. You can respond directly if you want to [email protected].

Our experience at Hotel Duomo was not good. Though the street where the hotel is located appeared small and quiet, it was very noisy. It was hot in late May and we were informed that the AC would not be turned on until July when it became unbearably hot. We had to sleep with windows closed to avoid the noise. The hotel neglected to mention which porto (Tufi) to enter and we entered the opposite side and the drive through the old town was nerve wracking-probably have ZTL zones now-this was in 2004. Ran into people who were staying in a convent and were paying half of what Duomo charged and they apparently had a nice quiet room overlooking the countryside. The Ravizza seems to get great reviews and may be the one to check out. Good luck and remember there are seven portos going within the walls so pick the proper entry-hotel will let you unload luggage and then you park car outside the walls-lots of car parks.

Palazzo Ravizza!!!!!!!.Beautiful hotel. Beautiful room. Beautiful view.

I can speak to using the city bus in Italy being a breeze. We used both from Porta Camollia (where we stayed) and from the bus station in the center of town to get to the train station. I would just ask the Tabacchi and they can tell you which bus to take, though with some practice you can figure out which bus/side of the street to stand on yourself with the posted schedule.

hi Jim, Siena's streets can be rather steep. Carrying luggage through the streets can be tough, depending on whether your lodging's up or down a hill! There are taxis at the train station and taxi stands in the city centre if your hotel isn't that close by. The buses stop you right in the middle of town at Piazza Gramsci, while the train station is located outside the center and you'll need to take a taxi or bus into town from there. Piazza Gramsci is also where you'll find the ticket office for the buses for the local towns. For native accommodation near Il Campo, someone on this board highly recommended a B&B, Antica Residenza Cicogna which I think is worth checking out. It has good reviews on Tripadvisor as well.

Another vote for Palazzo Ravizza. We stayed there in October, kind of up and out of the way on a quiet street, yet still close to everything, huge rooms, gorgeous views, nice breakfast, convenient little bar downstairs (and outside patio) for happy hour, very helpful front desk people. I would definitely stay there again.

Another vote for Ravizza. Get a room facing the hills and enjoy the sunsets with some wine and cheese in comfort. Amazing place. Oh and enjoy smelling the chocolate croissants baking in the morning. Its a (relatively) long hike to the bus station but mostly flat along the main street in town. Oh and the restaurant right near the Ravizza (forget name but its in RS) is really good. Oh and good for you spending 5 nights in Siena!

Did I write 'native accommodation' in my post?? I meant alternative, of course. The convent referred to above might be the Alma Domus.

We stayed at Alma Domus last March. It was quite nice. The breakfast is more of a fast food kind of fare. We like cappiciano, however, since we drink coffee and chickory (the dark stuff from New Orleans) so we found the coffee very weak. Otherwise it was a nice place and not far(from what I can remember) from the bus stop. Can't remember if the walk was steep or not. We are in our early 70's and did a lot of walking up and down many towns in Italy last year.

I think we'll spend much more time in central Siena itself, so we'll likely lodge there, rather than just outside the gate or near a bus "station." I think we're leaning toward Palazzo Ravizza, (although it's the only one to which we've written directly that offers no deals differing from its web site). Now here's what might be the most, or among the most trvial questions ever posted here: It's certainly not in any way a deal-breaker, but we traveled to Italy in 2000 for the first time (Milano, Florence, Verona and Venice) and this is our first return, and we're wondering-just a bit-if the Palazzo Ravizza provides anything like shower curtains in the en suite baths. No images of bathrooms seem to appear on the PR web site. None of our 2000 Italian hotels seemed to consider these features of their rooms. It's alternatively amusing, mildly irritating, and part of the European adventure we experienced nowhere else (Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Hungary, the Czech Republic, or, of course, the UK).

OUr room, number 11 had a huge bathroom, with tub (no shower curtain) and a standing shower (no curtain but had doors). You can check out my photos of the room on tripadvisor. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187902-d236014-r90227114-Palazzo_Ravizza-Siena_Tuscany.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT