Hi,
I am planning my trip to Europe this summer, and I am in need of suggestions for hotels in Rome and Florence.
We visited in 2011 and our budget average per night was $150.
So we are looking at the same hotels for this time but they are much more expensive. In Florence we stayed at Silla and in Rome we stayed at Hotel Opera.
Any recommendations, what are your favorites and why?
Thanks so much.
Try Cross-Pollinate for apartments and rooms, and their hotel The Beehive. We also use Booking.com a lot to narrow our search quickly to properties that meet our budget expectation.
I too use Booking.com, filtering for the lowest price first. Then, I look for the lower priced hotels with the highest customer ratings.
AirBnB.com is getting very large in less expensive rooms.
RonInRome.com also covers accommodations and just about any question about Rome.
Nicolas Inn in Rome and Il Villino in Florence are my places to stay. Both are small places in good locations with very helpful owners that give good tips including places to eat. I always contact hotels direct to find the best rates.
Thanks. I use book and all those sites. I am more interested on the names of the hotels you have used.
Thank you again.
We stayed at the Hotel Accademia in Florence. It is in a great, central location and was reasonably priced. The bed was a little stiff but the room and bath were nice enough. In Rome, we stayed at the Hotel Smeraldo near Campo de Fiore. Great location and nice hotel. I would consider staying at both of these properties again.
I am sitting right this minute in the Hotel Pendini in Firenze and we are very impressed. Off-season rate is €80 per night. Quiet, convenient, comfortble. What more do we need?
Laurel, you may enjoy your stay even more to know that mid-June, when I'll be in Florence, the hotel wants 170 euros for its basic room.
I'll second the Nicolas Inn in Rome. Great location and the owners are very helpful. Melissa is American, and both she and Francois were more than accommodating. Would highly recommend it.
In Florence, I stayed at the hotel Albergo Firenze and enjoyed my stay there. It is very centrally located, just off of Via del Corso. The Duomo only a few blocks away in one direction, and the Piazza della Signoria only a few blocks the other way. The rooms were modern, clean and well kept. The service was great and the price was reasonable.
In Rome, I stayed at Hotel Smeraldo and definitely enjoyed my stay there. It is very well located, a very short walk to Campo de Fiori. Piazza Navona as well as the Pantheon were only a few minutes walk away, with the Colosseum/Forum at a walkable distance. The room I had was a little on the small side, but it was modern, clean and well kept. The service was great and the price was reasonable. I would recommend both.
Would you consider renting an apartment instead of staying in a hotel? Lots of room to move about and you have the option of cooking some of your own meals (or at least eating breakfast and making sandwiches for lunch). We are trying apartments for the first time and hope it works out as well as it has for others.
In Florence, we are staying at the Domus apartment at Residenza Il Carmine, in the Oltarno. In Rome, we have booked an apartment on Via Giulia from the bed & Breakfast Association of Rome. Ours are around $170/night in high season, but there were smaller apartments available for less.
Happy travels!
