Hotels in Venice to Rome Tour

Star ratings are based on amenities like room service, spa facilities, elevators, ets. They do not reflect quality. We have stayed in 3-star hotels in Europe that were much nicer than 4-star chain hotels we found on th esame trip.

If you're asking about a Rick Steves tour, you should realize that Rick and his staff do not frequent this board. We are "members of the traveling public," just like yourself. To ask Rick's staff about his tours, see the information on this page under "Guided Tours": http://www.ricksteves.com/about/contact.htm. As a general matter, star ratings in Europe mean something different than they do in the US. In several countries (such as France and Italy), they are strictly based on amenities. So, a place with an elevator and room service, no matter how nasty, will get a higher star rating than a place with no elevator or in-house restaurant, no matter how nice, clean, etc. As a specific matter, others who post here and have taken Rick's tours have explained they do not always use the same hotel.

Perry, As Harold suggested, the best way to get information about the hotels used on the tours would be to contact the Tour department at ETBD. Shortly after you book the tour, you'll receive information on your first and last hotels, so you'll be able to have a look at them online. About a month before the start of the tour, you'll receive a complete list of the hotels, a Roster of tour members and the name of your Lead Guide. The "star ratings" don't tell the whole story, as those may be structured differently than for hotels in the U.S. The hotels chosen by RS tours will all be clean and comfortable smaller hotels located close to the city centres. In my experience over the last few years, the recent tours have been using more "upscale" hotels than in the past. You may still encounter the typical European 3' x 3' shower in a few cases, but those are becoming more rare. Happy travels!