How to pay deposit for Sienna hotel with no credit card?

Hi Pamela, I PM'd you with the solution that I came up with and how it worked for us.

You can use an International Bank draft from your bank sent directly to them. They are a bit expensive but you have few options.

Pamela - we did a wire transfer directly into the bank with the info provided by the B&B. So I think you need to contact them to ask them how they want you to pay the deposit.

Ask the B&B owners if they will accept a bank draft in euro. If so, here is what I would do. Open an account with www.xe.com/fx. I have used my account to pay cash deposits and to send gift money to relatives in Europe.

Money will be taken from your checking account by electronic transfer and a bank draft in euro will be sent by US mail directly to the B&B. The exchange rate is only slightly higher than the international rate on the day the transaction is initiated and there are no fees. XE also does wire transfers, but there is a fee for those.

For security reasons it takes a little time and effort to set up an account, but everything goes swiftly and smoothly after that.

Thank you for all the responses. Since the hotel is the Albergo Bernini and there had been so many favorable comments about it, I was surprised that they didn't give me a quick answer as to how to give them the money. I don't want to lose the reservation, but I'm surprised that after two quick friendly responses from them about availability and the exact room they have for us, they have not responded at all.

As a follow-up report, I wanted to post what happened with the reservation in Sienna: I don't know why the hotel did not respond to the last two emails, but I telephoned Italy this afternoon and talked to one of the sisters at Albergo Bernini. She told me to just send a personal check made out in the U.S. dollars equal to the one night stay in Euros. They would hold the check and exchange that for cash when we arrived. It was such a simple thing to do; I just couldn't get a reply from them! With the phone call, however, I was able to get a firm reservation, an email confirmation and all the information to send the check out tomorrow. I'm just passing on the info that, when no emails arrives, just phone. :) Thank you for all the comments and concerns.

Pamela,

I was going to suggest sending a personal cheque, as that's exactly the method I used when I last stayed at Albergo Bernini (I believe that's mentioned in the Guidebook?). They'll return the cheque to you when you pay your room balance with cash.

BTW, it's a wonderful B&B! Sitting on the terrace in the morning in the sunshine with a LARGE cup of their excellent coffee is one of my favourite memories!

Happy travels in Siena!

Ken....It probably is mentioned in the guidebook! I found the Albergo Bernini, not from the book, but from reading the comments here and elsewhere about Siena. I'm not sure, though, that I would have sent a check without hearing from them. We'll be staying with them for an entire week; so, they've mentioned that we have as many cups of their excellent coffee as we would like!

We are flying in to Rome in September (our second visit there) for five nights and plan to take day trips outside Rome on this visit. Then, we will be staying at The Hotel Desiree in Sorrento for four nights before going to Siena and the Albergo Bernini for one full week (seven nights). The last four nights of our stay in Italy will be at the Francamaria in Vernazza. We fly home from Pisa.

We have yet to book our Hotel in Rome. I'm considering several recommendations from all of you and appreciate your comments.

Pamela

I have found it quite a strange thing in dealing with "cash only" accommodations. They have all taken my credit card number as a deposit on the room, but I had to pay cash at checkout. I wonder how they would charge me if I didn't show up?

John---if you don't show up they do charge your credit card. The "cash only" is because it is simpler and less expensive for them. And for you.

Pamela,

I was interested to see that you'll be staying at Hotel Desiree in Sorrento. They owners are wonderful and they have an awesome terrace on the roof, which is perfect for enjoying a glass (or two) of Vino Rosso in the afternoon sun. There's a nice Wine Shop a short distance from the Hotel (on the right side as you're walking into town - I can find the name from my records if you're interested).

The restaurant next door at La Tonnarella is nice (but a bit on the pricey side). The view from the restaurant over the harbour is incredible at night!

If you're interested in a fantastic "splurge" dinner while in Sorrento, you might consider L'Antica Trattoria. Again, it's a bit pricey but incredible food and service.

Happy travels!

We normally go to France, but took our first trip to Italy two years ago and stayed eighteen days: Rome, Sorrento and Cinque Terre. We had an apartment, Borgo Pio, near the Vatican and saw everything in the city...fivenights or so, I think. We took the train to Sorrento and spent all our Sorrento time there, Pompeii and a day on the Almalfi Coast. Then, we took the trains (quick stop in Pisa) and had five nights in Cinque Terre, staying in Riomaggiore. We flew home from Florence, but only got an open-topped afternoon bus tour of the city before our flight home.

This year, staying in Rome, we are taking the advice of others on this board and doing day trips outside Rome, along with enjoying the city again. In Sorrento, we are again staying at Desiree (and, no, I did not know about the wine shop, thank you!) and will be able to see Capri and spend more time in each town on the Almalfi Coast. The Siena/Tuscany section of the trip is all new to us and we will use our seven night stay there to train to Florence and take a car to other places in the area. Finally Cinque Terre....the perfect relaxing ending...but, we are staying in Vernazza where our son (28) prefers, although my husband and I love Riomaggiore.

We use free air miles for travel and budget $50 per person for hotel per night & $50 per person for food per day on our trips. Other expenses are only train, car, bus & museum/site passes. It has always worked well for us. We are, definitely, good examples of Rick Steves' type travelers. You don't have to be wealthy to enjoy Europe. Thank you for all your comments and I will continue reading throughout the site.