Lucca lodging

Kathy-

When you say 2 bedrooms that indicates you are looking for an apartment or AirBnB type place- which IMO doesn't make a whole lot of sense for a 1 night stay. For many reasons- one if which is check in is usually late in day or whenever the landlord can get there to let you in which means you have nowhere to drop your luggage. Your own your own for bkft. Any hotel will hold your luggage when you arrive no matter if room is ready or not.

I am going to assume you are planing to drop a rental car in Lucca then train to Florence as discussed in your planning thread?
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/tuscany-vacation-planning

If that's the case here are a few suggestions- I have not stayed in any of these places yet but have researched best places near car drop off, etc and actually had one of these booked- then canceled when trip was postponed- another (Ilaria) I have booked now for our May 2022 trip.

San Luca Palace- is inside the walls near the Porta Sant'Anna- Hertz is just outside that gate- easy walk to hotel
https://www.sanlucapalace.it

Hotel Ilaria- is inside the walls near Porta Elisa- Europcar is just outside that gate- easy walk to hotel
https://www.hotelilaria.com

Both of those should have 2 bedded rooms

If you need a more budget friendly, basic hotel-- don't know your budget but 2 rooms there might work.
Hotel Rex right at the train station- outside the walls, 10 min walk to center
http://www.hotelrexlucca.com

Booking.com is great for searching for hotels- you can set your filters budget, beds, AC, etc and see what's available.
I do know both San Luca and Hotel Ilaria book up early. I suspect Hotel Rex does as well since it is at station.
Sometimes I book on booking.com, other times I book on actual website- just depends. Booking.com has a lot of "mobile only price" which can be a good bit less that the hotel website. Just have to compare.

Google maps is also good- type in Lucca- then just click around at the various hotels indicated. You can also see where the car rental drops offs are. (type in Hertz or Europcar Lucca)

If you haven't booked a car yet you might want to wait or "double book" with free cancellation til you see which rental agency you will use. Right now AutoEurope is only showing Europcar for Lucca. Suspect they just don't have Hertz 2022 rates online yet (they did offer Hertz in Lucca last year)

Hope that helps.

Christine,
You are a wealth of knowledge. Sounds like you have a lot of experience traveling in Italy. I hope you don’t mind me asking…what week in May are you going? Wondering when it starts to get busier and more expensive. Have you been in September? (I may have asked you that).
It makes perfect sense to go to a hotel instead of an Air bnb for one night, so thanks for that suggestion. Hotel Ilaria looks really nice. I’ll look more closely at the others.
I haven’t really started looking at car rentals yet.

We enjoyed our stay at Palazzo Hotel Alexander . It is inside the walls and has parking.

Suki,
The hotel looks very charming. I have tried several sites to see what the rates are, but to no avail. It says no availability for the next year which is kinda hard to believe. There is no email address to contact them. Any ideas?
Thank you for the recommendation.

Kathy-
Here is Palazzo Alexander's email, it's at bottom of their homepage
[email protected]
https://www.hotelpalazzoalexander.it/eng/welcome-at-hotel-palazzo-alexander-in-lucca/

It is possible that hotels are booked up for next year and it is also possible that they just haven't put out their calendar for 2022 although that's getting more doubtful by the day.
Also depends what dates you are looking for- early May- June- likely booked up, later in year like Sept- probably no calendar out yet.

Our trip is 4/26-5/19. We've been in both May and Sept. As far as when more crowded - both about equal- the earlier in May/later in September the better.

Oh, I missed seeing that email. I’ll check with them. Our trip is actually in 2023. Although distant, some of my research showed some accommodations seem to fill up 10 months ahead, which surprised me. So I’m glad to get a lot of the planning in order.
I’m back to thinking spring as opposed to September. I want to be home for my son’s grad program graduation on May 6 so we either go before that (seems like a 18 day trip at this point) or after graduation. Any thoughts?
Believe it or not, I’m almost out of questions for now!

We are staying at La Boheme B&B later this month. Will try to remember to provide review.

If it were me, I would go after your May 6th event at home.
I've been in Italy in May and sometimes it is a little chilly and rainy.
As you get further into May , it should be better weather. (In theory)
Please consider giving Lucca more than one night!
It's so pretty and there is so much to see, that one night and two half days are not nearly enough!

David, thanks for the info. It looks like a very nice place. I’d like to read your review if you are able to do one. Have a wonderful trip.

SJ, I agree. I think going after graduation will be the better choice for the reasons you mentioned and that I’d be more relaxed. We will definitely discuss whether it is possible to stay an extra night. I haven’t been to Lucca and am looking forward to it. Any suggestions for favorite things to do or spots to relax?

Hi kathyw:

I've had two holidays in Lucca, the ;last one in Sept. 2019.
We happened to be there for the parade of the Volto Santo.

https://lovefromtuscany.com/where-to-go/cities-in-tuscany/lucca/volto-santo-festival/

The whole town is prepared with candles and oil lamps, then at dusk , every light in the streets is turned off, the candles lit, and a huge parade starts all through the town.
Every religious and service organisation is represented, and the ancient Volto Santo (Holy Face) wood painting is carried aloft through the town.
It was quite something, and we were so glad to see it.

There is opera by Puccini every single night of the year, and it is well worth it too; it's held in a deconsecrated church, as well as some other venues, but I've only heard the ones at the old church...lasts for about an hour.
Also, biking around the ancient wall surrounding the town, or walking, is just a joy, and takes about 20 mins. by bike.
Plenty of churches and tiny museums to visit, towers to climb, lots of lovely shops, some very good food, a small botanic garden, street markets, and just a general lovely atmosphere in the town which is held within the big walls.
I love it there.
My first time, I was there for two weeks!

We were in Lucca in September for a couple of nights and needed a room with 2 separate beds. We stayed at L'Antica Bifore. Highly recommend this B&B and the location was great as well.

Kathy,
Thank you for the recommendation and I’ll definitely consider it. It’s always good to hear about a positive lodging experience.

Kathy, we're back from Lucca. Our stay at La Boheme was very nice. Not sure if they have rooms with two bedrooms, but the hosts were very friendly and very helpful. Breakfast was good also. We didn't take advantage but they offer eggs made to order along with usual hams, cheeses, pastries and more. Would recommend if it fits your needs. Also just a few doors up the street is Osteria da Pasqualino. Would highly recommend at least one dinner there. Definitely stop by the day before to reserve table. Enjoy.

David,
Thank you for taking the time to report back on your recommendations for Lucca. I’ll check into these. Was this your first time there? What did you think of the town?

I spent a half day there 20 years ago. We loved it. In my opinion there are no 5 star sites, but there's the wall, many churches, a few palazzos, a couple of towers. Great food and wine. And shopping. It's a great place to just enjoy the Italian lifestyle.

David-
It sounds like a good place to “just be”.

We spent 2 nights at B&B Arena Di Lucca. Right in the center of the Anfiteatro. Great location, views overlooking the center of it all. Highly recommend. I tried to add a link to their website but it doesn't seem to be working but here is a link to the Expedia site. https://www.expedia.com/Lucca-Hotels-BB-Arena-Di-Lucca.h23151048.Hotel-Information?semcid=US.UB.GOOGLE.PT-DSA-c-EN.HOTEL&semdtl=a112059735697.b1117116582398.r1.g1dsa-977671896228.i1211355891262.d1494380895201.e1c.j11014369.k1.f1.n1.l1g.h1.m1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5OuNBhCRARIsACgaiqWSAfUky2tnjsHc9HZY6MSXCnOV6nakCfo5oI99rSC8Ed_vZdX0fZgaAl54EALw_wcB