Trip Report My Way Italy Fall 2023 vs. My Way Alpine Europe Spring 2017

I wonder if My Way Alpine Europe is the same quality as it was in 2017?

We are doing this tour in the fall . Eating lunch in bus stop gas stations, and sleeping in seedy hotels that smell like mold doesn’t really sound like something we want to experience. Now I’m second guessing our choice. This will be our first RS tour. It’s not a “low budget” trip- and I guess I’ll have to do more research before paying the rest of the monies owed.

Eileen, could you give us the names of the hotels you stayed at? It would help with research.

I’m sorry that the OP didn’t enjoy the My Way Italy experience. It’s always hard when you’ve looked forward to a trip and it doesn’t meet expectations. Just to provide an additional perspective, we took this tour in 2022 and didn’t have the same experience. I know RS tour hotels sometimes differ in location and time of year. We did our My Way Italy in May 2022. Our hotel in Venice was near San Marcos Square, our hotel in Varenna was in a spectacular location overlooking the lake, our hotel in Monterosso Al Mare was a walk from the train station, but not especially close, the Assisi hotel was right in the heart of the upper section of town, the hotel in Florence was between the Accademia and the Duomo and the hotel in Rome was close to the Vatican. Further examples of the tour can be found be searching the scrapbooks for past years.

The My Way Italy tour covers a lot of ground in Italy. The itinerary shows that there are 5 hours of bus time on day 3 (Venice to Lake Como), 5 hours on day 5 (Lake Como to the Italian Riviera), 3 hours on day 7 (Italian Riviera to Florence), 4 hours on day 9 (Florence to Assisi) and 3 hours on day 11 (Assisi to Rome). Thankfully, on a RS tour the bus stops every couple of hours for tour members to use the restroom and stretch their legs. I’ve not been on the My Way Italy tour but I’m assuming that the “bus stop gas stations” that the OP mentions are Italy’s Autogrills. There was an Autogrill stop on our Village Italy tour and no one objected . . . we all had a wonderful lunch in the cafeteria-style restaurant. There was a wide variety of fresh, delicious food (Italians are dedicated to good eating no matter where!) and we arrived in our next destination nourished and ready to hit the sights. Trust me, Italy’s Autogrills are really very, very nice . . . quite unlike rest stops along the freeways in the U.S. Search online and you’ll find articles that rave about these places for travelers to stop. They’re clean and spacious, with coffee bars, display cases of fresh baked goods, and grocery store sections where you can buy olive oil, wine, chocolate, etc. The rest rooms are immaculate. Would it be more fun if the My Way tour bus, while traveling between destinations, got off the highway and drove into a village where tour members could spread out and find a restaurant? Sure, no one would dispute that, but it would completely change the itinerary of the tour. They’re trying to maximize your free time at each destination by making the travel between destinations as quick and efficient as possible.

My Way Italy Fall 2023, I stayed at these hotels: I LOVED Hotel Royal Victoria in Varenna, Lake Como. I wholeheartedly recommend Hotel Umbria - the perfect location for Assisi. Hotel Punta Tesco in Monterrosa, Cinque Terre was just okay. For me, I wouldn't recommend Hotel Antigo Travatore in Venice; Or Hotel Accademia in Florence. Or Hotel Aberdeen in Rome. Maybe others have different views, or perhaps the hotels give solo travelers ramshackle rooms, but there are so many hotel choices and charming neighborhoods in these cities, that I wish RS would design a better experience. At these hotels, I felt uncomfortable and honestly longed to leave. I'll try to remember the hotels I stayed in on the Alpine tour - they were all stellar.

Part of the problem is that there's a difference of opinion of what makes a hotel good or bad. On Best of Italy, the hotel we stayed in Florence I really liked, but some others on the tour did not like it. The walk from the entrance to our room was like a maze: Up, arcross, down half a flight, around the corner, up more stairs, etc. But it didn't bother me and came across as part of the charm. It was a funky old building but was clean and in a good location and the breakfast was good. I don't mind quirky, but I don't want a hotel to feel dirty or unsafe. But that's me. Others might not like quirky.

As for the autogrilles in Italy, I really like them, but yes it's a rest area on the freeway. I think it's amazing you can get great food in such a place, and I don't mind that it's a cafeteria-like setting. But I also know that others don't like that kind of dining and would rather have a sit down meal in a restaurant. Personally, I'm a "grab a slice of pizza or a croissant and get going" person for lunch anyway.

But this post does make me wonder if quality is slipping or not. I hope not! I haven't been on a "My Way" tour yet, but I have not noticed a decline in overall hotel quality over the course of 4 tours. Each tour has had some really great hotels and some that were just "ok".

We've stayed at three of the hotels OP mentioned: Punta Mesco in Monterossa, the Accademia in Florence, and the Aberdeen in Rome.

The Punta Mesco we've actually stayed in twice on tours; the first time we loved our room, the second time it was not as great, but certainly adequate. The Accademia in Florence was probably the least favorite of the three tour hotels we've stayed at in Florence; I remember not liking it as much as we did the others, but it was fine. And the Aberdeen is our "go to" hotel in Rome; we love it, although I can certainly see why some people might not. The rooms are small, but the staff is great and the location suits us.

I guess I'm agreeing with Tony; so much of this is subjective. Of course, moldy and dirty rooms are totally unacceptable, and I do hope OP told the guide or tour leader about those conditions.

Thank you, Eileen, for sharing your perspective on these tours!

I have a thought that might explain some of the hotels you preferred over others. I see that the Alpine tour doesn’t stay in any large cities. The smaller towns or countryside lodging, especially with spectacular views, always seem to me to be wonderful places to stay. On the other hand, old neighborhoods in large cities can appear to feel more gritty. There’s no excuse for giving you a room with mold; please let the RS office know about it.

I looked briefly at some of the hotel photos on Booking.com. The hotel ratings are 8+, but personally I wouldn’t book the three you mentioned if I was seeing old bedspread-type bedding when there are a lot of other choices in those cities. (Bedspreads make me think of uncomfortable beds and possibly the top not cleaned as often.)

The AutoGrills are a mixed blessing. They do give you a handy break and opportunity for lunch & go, but they aren’t anything memorable or fun. I think we only stopped at those twice on a regular 17-day RS tour in Italy. Several of the lunch stops on a full RS tour are quaint places combined with a short museum stop or wine tour lunches that are both very fun. You might want to consider the full RS tours in the future.

I'm sorry that you had a disappointing experience. On a total of five RS tours, I have only twice had unacceptable rooms. The rooms were outliers at these hotels and the rest of the rooms in the hotels seemed to be fine. Once, there was an issue with mold. I told my guide, the guide told the hotel, and I was switched to an acceptable room within an hour. On another tour, there was a problem with insects. I told the guide, the guide told the hotel, and I was switched to an acceptable room.

Did you mention the mold issue to your guide?

I have to say that I don't see a big issue with lunches at the extremely nice restaurants/rest stops along the highways. This would provide a good variety of choices for the individuals on the tour and each person could choose something that they like. Fine Dining? Of course not. Efficient and accessible for the entire group? Yes.

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. This dialogue may be helpful for RS travelers to hear a variety of views. Jean, you are so insightful - I do prefer small towns and country settings! I hadn't thought of that! I wish I had done Village Italy. Based on the vibe of the cheaper city hotels, I assumed the mold was everywhere and didn't think to say anything. Good advice going forward! Thank you all for listening and caring.

Eileen, I think you would love the RS Village Italy tour! Several people rave about that one. One of the couples in my local area liked it so much, they have done it twice!

I’m going to Italy soon and most of the places I’ve selected will be small - so charming!