I am certainly not asking you guys to research this (I can do that), but if (off the top of your head) you have stayed in any of these places with a room that accommodates 4 adults, could you please let me know?
Cinque Terre, Venice, Rome, Sorrento
Thanks - Brian
I haven't stayed in these places, but I have booked rooms for a trip in September and October. For Venice and Rome, go to cross-pollinate.com. You can choose Venice or Rome. Then you put in how many people you have and what your budget is and available places that accommodate that many people come up. Just be careful you check what you are getting. We were two married couples who wanted our own private areas. Some places are one large room with 2 double beds. We got a one bedroom apartment with a fold out bed in the living area for 130 euros. For the Cinque Terre you could try acasa5terre.com. They have some apartments that are reasonable for the area. Wish I could tell you how we liked the apartments, but I won't know until the middle of October. Good luck.
Brian,
Could you clarify your question - are you referring to one room to fit four adults? If that's the case, maybe a Hostel would be the best choice? I can suggest a location in Rome that has four-bed Dorms.
Most rooms are configured for "double occupancy". You might check Rick's books, as there are lots of accomodation listings in each of the places you mentioned.
Good luck!
PICCOLE SUORE DELLA SACRA FAMIGLIA found at http://www.santasusanna.org/comingToRome/convents.html, but email directly. A room for 4 adults with ensuite bath was 85 euros July 2008. It is located right across the street from the Vatican Museum in Rome.
http://www.bebcorniglia.com/?p=Camere. We stayed in apt 1 and it was our favorite room on our trip. It is a 1 bdrm apt. 90 euros July 2008. It is right on the CT trail.
If a place offers a triple, as about a quad. I found places that way that didn't advertise a quad.
Not sure what sleeping arrangements you need, but we stayed in a nice quad room at the Hotel Grifo in Rome. Like most quad rooms I've seem, it was designed for a family of 4 so there was a big bed (queen size maybe)and two twin beds. Our room had a door to a small but nice terrace, and we thought the hotel location was great.
To clarify - we have me and my wife (2), and our two mothers. A double and 2 singles sounds perfect, but the mothers would share a bed if it was big enough. 2 Queens also sounds nice, but 2 doubles could work.
We are trying to be cost effective, so privacy is lower on the list. BUT, in a perfect world, a bedroom that sleeps 2, with two twins in another room would be perfect.
Venice:
I'm not sure what your budget is, but, in July, we paid 215 Euros for a suite at Ca' Angeli, in Venice. Compared to what we paid for our family of 5 elsewhere, this was a tremendous bargain, and expensive Venice was not where we expected to find a bargain.
The suite has 3 bedrooms (one with a king bed, one with 2 singles, and another with 1 single), plus 2 sitting areas. It is huge!
The only possible downside is that there is only 1 bathroom, and it does not have a shower, just a hand-held showerhead (in a bathrub), because the slanted ceiling is too low for a mounted showerhead. I don't know whether this would be a problem for anyone in your group.
We loved the suite, and we loved Ca' Angeli. It's a great location - right on the Grand Canal, breakfast is terrific, great staff, neighborhood, etc.
Sorrento:
In Sorrento, we stayed at La Tonnarella, in a suite that was a huge splurge (340 Euros for 5 - less (20 Euros) for only 4?). But, I mention it, because it was just so amazing, and it sounds like a perfect setup for your group of 4.
Like the suite I described in Venice, it has 3 separate bedrooms: 1 with a queen bed, 1 with a single, and another with 2 singles. This suite also has 2 bathrooms (one on a lower level with a hydromassage "mini-pool" and a shower with a porthole overlooking the Gulf of Naples).
The suite has 2 balconies, each with a small table and 2 chairs, with sweeping views of Sorrento, Naples, the entire Sorrentine Peninsula, the Gulf of Naples, and Mount Vesuvius. It has to be seen to be believed.
La Tonnarella has a private beach, a fabulous restaurant, with breakfast included.
Another choice, in Sorrento (actually, a ways out of town, high in the hills), is Il Nido, where you could get 2 separate rooms, each with a balcony, for 100 Euros each.
Cinque Terre (Vernazza):
In Vernazza, we also had the pleasure of staying in an amazing place, La Malà. And, of their 4 rooms, they might have one that is perfect for your group.
Room 26 has 2 separate sleeping areas. Upstairs, there are 2 single beds that can be locked together into a larger (queen sized?) bed. Downstairs, there is another room with a single bed. Back upstairs, there is an ottoman that can be opened to form another bed. I'm not sure whether it would be possible to move that downstairs, but I suspect not, both due to inconvenience and the downstairs room being quite small. If this worked for you, I believe that it would be 270 Euros (190 for the room for 2, plus 40 for each additional bed).
Getting to La Malà requires climbing quite a few stairs, through the charming alleys of Vernazza, but most places require a lot of steps. But, once you're up there, you won't be able to believe your eyes. It has a stone terrace that literally hangs from the cliff, overlooking the sea and with a spectacular view of Vernazza's watch tower.
Virtually unheard of in Cinque Terre, breakfast is included, at a bar on the town's square (Piazza Marconi). And, a nice touch is the free stocked mini-bar (beer, juice, and water).
Again, not knowing your budget, I hope that these suggestions have been helpful.
Thanks everyone. Leslie - those are awesome recommendations, I'm looking at the links now.
BT
We rented two bedroom apartments in both Venice and Cinque Terra. In Venice (October) we called Hotel d"Art the morning before we arrived and asked what they had. They gave us a very functional, if not fancy two bedroom apartment with a living room and kitchen.
In CT we showed up and asked a hotel (don't recall the name, last hotel on the left as your heading for the water) for a place. After some conversation we got a very nice two bedroom apartment with a livingroom/kitchen area only a block or so uphill from the water.
The prices for both weren't a lot more than five of us staying in a hostel. I would do the same again and travel the same time of year.
