Accomodations: Rome & Florence

Will check those sites out, Thanks!

Oops, it was the Marchella Royal Hotel in Rome.... I don't know why I put the luxury... I found it on TA though. Good site, thanks.

Have you read the reviews in tripadvisor.com?........or checked out the reviews on booking.com?

If you have more questions your can send a personal message to one of the reviwer's in TA, and get additional info. We do that all the time, with great results.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187895-d202971-Reviews-Executive_Hotel-Florence_Tuscany.html

Is the hotel in Rome called the Hotel Lux, or Hotel Luxor?

http://rome-hotels.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g187791-oa520-Rome_Lazio-Hotels.html

A word of advice, don't stay in Florence or Rome. Stay somewhere like Siena. Unless you're such an art junkie that 16 years in the Louve wouldn't get boring, you can do the highlights of Florence in a day and save 50-75% on the cost of lodging by staying in Siena.

Rob, Jarrod has a real good point. It is much better to stay in Sienna and take the bus into Florence. RS reccomends this, and our friends said the same. We loved staying in Sienna, and the bus was quick, clean, easy, and ran many times during the day.

I have to disagree. Everyone has different opinions, but we loved staying in Florence. It is not true that it is cheaper to stay in Siena. There are many less places to choose from and the good, reasonably priced ones book up very quickly. There is a huge array of hotels and b&b's in Florence for any budget. We have rooms booked in Florence for next month in a hotel that has gotten great reviews on trip-advisor for 80euros per night double rooms with bath plus breakfast and very centrally located. Don't get me wrong, if you have the time you should see Siena, it is a wonderful place, but we loved Florence at night.

I also would never choose Siena instead of Florence. I like Siena AND Florence AND Rome. Some people don't care for cities and for them they may prefer staying in a smaller town and making a day trip. Rome is big and can seem chaotic but I love it.

I have stayed at the Marcella Royale in Rome. The hotel itself is very nice. I stayed in a single room. This had a comfortable twin bed, a desk, and even a small balcony. The bathroom was clean and modern bathroom. It was on a quiet street. It also had something unusual for Italy ... a huge breakfast buffet with things like eggs, bacon, yogurt, cereal,etc served in a nice rooftop dining area.

The only thing that I did not like about it was the location. It was not quite as convenient for the bus as some other hotels that I have stayed in. In the past I had always stayed in the area near via Firenze (one of the locations that the Rick Steves book recommends).

Check out venere.com too. Good user reviews. You can search by area, stars, user reviews. I have been pleased with my choices on venere.com

Thanks again for the replies.

Laura, you said you stayed in the Marcella in Rome but didn't like the location. From what I can tell on the map it appears that you are right. How far was public transportation from the hotel and was it easy and safe to get to? Also, how far was it from the other side of Rome where the attractions are?

Hi Rob,
If I recall, there was a bus stop about 2 blocks away, but not many buses came through it in the evening. I was at Marcella Royale in May. Previously, I had stayed in the area along via Nazionale/via Firenze (3 times). I'd always felt fine coming back alone on the bus and walking back to the hotel after dark because there are always a lot of people in this area. There is a metro at Piazza Republica and tons of buses that leave from the termini and go down via Nazionale to the central part of Rome.

The Marcella Royale was probably about 8 blocks away from this area. It was in an area that did not have a lot of activity at night. Most of the shops and office buildings along the main road before you cut over to via Flavia were closed at night. I was alone, so I felt just a little uncomfortable walking back after dinner from the bus. But the hotel itself was nice. If you decide to stay in the termini area, take a look at the Rick Steves Rome book and tripadvisor.com