Help! Need good internet service & a/c while traveling to Italy & France

You need to contact your hotels about both questions.

I'd guess that 4 star hotels will have AC, but I've never stayed in one.

They should also have excellent WiFi, but it may not be free. I hate to have to say it, but we have found that the more expensive the hotel, the iffier the room WiFi. However, the more likely they are to have a business center.

Again, contact your hotels about these issues. We can only guess, unless you say exactly where you are staying and someone on the forum has actually stayed there and can report on their experiences.

AC in some European hotels has sometimes been set by the ownership to operate only during the summer. Even when you have AC, it probably won't refrigerate the room the way it will in an American hotel room, due to thermostat settings I guess.

I should add, whatever happens, you don't want to be without AC in Rome in July.
European hotels usually don't have window screens, which makes opening windows an night not an option.

I've had mixed luck with wifi in European hotels. Frequently they say they have it, but it is in and out.

perhaps you should bump that up to 5 stars, costly, but you will get what is needed. Its just money after all. Be comfortable.

We got Vodaphone SIM cards for our smartphones and an iPad while in 5 places in Italy. We stayed in about 3 star hotels. The only time we had trouble, between the data and WiFi availability, was in Rome. I had requested a quiet room, and we were deep within the walls of a old building. Sitting in the lobby with our devices worked fine. The SIM card may not work in France, but you could get a card for Italy for one device and one for France for another.

What Kent wrote may or may not be true depending on the level of hotels where you stay.
If you stay at a budget hotel, they might try to control the A/C and keep the costs down.
But 2 years ago I stayed at 2 business hotels (I think 3 or 4 stars) in the Veneto region (Verona and Mestre) in July and I could have built a snowman in both rooms. I had to increase the temp in the control because it was too cold for me (and especially my wife).

Wifi was more than adequate in most hotels, but that again varies from the level of hotels you stay. If you stay at a 2 star hotel that caters to tourists who hardly spend any time in the room, then they may not have the best.
In terms of speed, the standard for home DSL in Italy is 30 Mbps for downstream/3 Mbps for upstream. A business hotel will probably have even faster.

The biggest problem, in my experience having to work from Italy when I travel, is that sometime the hotel router is located far from the room, so you might want to ask for a room that has better reception. That is the case in some cheaper hotels where they might have a router that serves the whole floor.

Rome has plenty of choices of business hotels that will satisfy your husband's needs. Likewise Paris.
Venice might be an issue, because business hotels in Venice are really few and expensive. The ones I know are in the mainland, that maybe are not ideal for a tourist. However if you are willing to pay I'm sure Danieli has top wifi.

A Five Star hotel in any country is going to be the best of the best. If you can afford it. They don't get 5 stars for less than perfect service and amenities .

Thank you all for your suggestions. Sigh...guess I'll have to talk with my hubby. Upgrading from 4 star to 5 star hotels is a big difference, especially since we're traveling with our kids.

Before you switch, contact the hotels and ask specifically if they have a business center. Many hotels have computers in the lobby for guests to use. In a pinch, there may be an info point or a Western Union nearby (hours may vary).

I cannot imagine a 4-star hotel not having good wifi. We stay in 3-star places and have rarely had a problem, although sometimes one needs to change location to get good reception ( that was actuallyin Germany, not Italy). Italy is totally up to date with wifi, the only issue in our recent experience being that you may need to register with the hotel server. Check with your hotels, but I cannot believe you need to go to 5 star places to get what you need.

It may be too late for my suggestion - but the apartments I've rented in your three cities and many other places in Italy and Europe in general have had great wifi and air conditioning ( if they specified they had AC). Apartments allow you to spread out and are so much better than hotels IMO.

Remember that the number of stars is assigned differently in Italy than in the US. In the US we are talking about the experience, in Italy it is about ticking boxes on a list of amenities. In Italy it is not about the service, although the service will tag along.

I actually concur with the earlier statement about the fancier the hotel the less dependable the wifi and the higher the price. Expect to have to get a new code for each device - in my case phone, phone, phone, tab, and netbook - every day and at the "better" hotels expect that to be expensive. That's also the case at European branches of US hotel chains unless in higher card classes. Often there is a higher charge for wifi with a bigger pipe.

If hubby is happy to use the business centre computers (sometimes free sometimes not) he will likely get the most reliable fastest (wired) connection there.

These days, EVERYONE wants good Internet, whether it's for business or Facebook updates, so that desire isn't limited to people paying more for the room. My experience is that whether or not the connection is good isn't related to how much I paid for the room, or whether the WiFi is included or extra cost, but to where the router is located in relation to my room (as Roberto says). So, changing rooms can be helpful.

I also agree that a hotel with a business center is a good plan. That way, you have your backup plan onsite. Another idea is to get an Italian SIM card for your smartphone phone (if you can get it unlocked). That way you can get a data plan, and in a pinch do your necessary tasks on the phone.

Surely there is the option of renting a mobile hotspot, either in the States for foreign travel before you leave, or pre-arranged from Italy/France? (maybe it's called a dongle??) Surely this is a better option than upgrading every hotel room for two weeks ($$$$). The hotspot will cost something, but not as much as staying in five-star hotels for two weeks!!

I'm surprised someone hasn't popped up to suggest it. I don't know enough about how it works to be of any assistance, but surely someone out there can help . . . maybe if you post this question as well to the Technology Tips board??

I am in Harold's camp, I don't think anyone can say with absolute accuracy what the wifi will be. Stars in Europe have little to do with quality and service or level of wifi. It is simply how the system is set up. However, on average, I find the wifi to be much slower than what I have at home and it can really bog down if it is being heavily used.

Lola,, in France, we just came from a 4 star with very marginal wifi and are now in a 3 star with excellent wifi.

I agree with the comment about renting an apartment, especially when traveling with children. Every one we have rented had good Wi-Fi and air conditioning and you can shop at the local markets to save money by cooking in on some nights. All three cities you listed have lots of apartments. I've also stayed at Hilton properties in Rome, Florence and Venice (the Rome Cavalieri and the Venice Molino Stuckey are Waldorf hotels which are spectacular and plenty of English speaking employees to assist you). They are pricy, but right now Hilton is having a 30% off summer sale if you pay in advance, which makes these hotels affordable.

I've been in contact with all the hotels and we are good to go! Even the Venice apartment we're staying at has good connection and a/c. I'm looking at some of your suggestions as backup Plan B, just in case. Thanks for all your help!