Monday, September 17, 2007

I Just Need A Bed

I've been ploughing through countless of Rome, Florence etc accommodation options on the various websites for the last few days.

Firstly, they are REALLY expensive. An average of S$300-400 per night, for 14 nights, now that's going to be a big hole in our pockets! *faintz* Next, because we are getting quite close to departure (yay!), the options are slowly diminishing. What I'm left with, they are either WAY too expensive, or really quite gaudy in the furnishings. Hmmmmmm..... hope I'm not in trouble.

We're basically not very fussy about our choice of accommodation. Key features would have to be that of a good location within reasonable reach, an en-suite bathroom, and a LIFT within the building. Nice breakfast, safe neighbourhood, friendly hosts.... so, wish me luck as I continue the search!

>_< (an attempt at drawing a cross-eyed face here)

13 comments:

~tif;fany* said...

had you tried the hostels??
http://www.hostelworld.com/index.php?affiliate=iMalta.com

and here too!
http://directrooms.com/

Little Miss Snooze said...

I know what you mean!When I was scouting for LA hotels, I had to choose between nice white bedsheets (aka hi class) vs gaudy floral bedspreads (aka within our budget). In the end, our budget won, cos reckon we really just need the bed and the bathroom.

You prob won't go wrong with BestWestern yah? trusty chain and most local tour agencies use them. 3*, clean and not many rooms(got lift, but v small).

Anonymous said...

Get Jememy to bring his army backpack in case you need to camp outdoor! it be fun too!!! :P
happy seaching!

Anonymous said...

ooops..jeremy* I mean @_@

Anonymous said...

I feel for you. It's quite the worst part of the planning, but wait maybe the driving directions is another tough bit too. If you will be out the entire day, maybe go for practicality. If it's a place you are gg to lounge ard for a few days to relax, then splurge.

Anonymous said...

rooms are really ex in italy.
and even if you fork out S$200-ish per room, you are still getting a really tiny place to lay your head at night.
check the reviews on tripadvisor, they're usually quite accurate.

Anonymous said...

Hi there, I stumbled upon your blog and saw that you're having some trouble with accomodation in Italy. Having stayed in Italy myself for some time, I agree that big cities can be expensive, and wanted to offer some help/options.

However, before that,I'm rather confused by some of the points in your post.

1) Would you actually be looking at hotels or B&Bs?
For SGD 300-400 could easily get you a comfortable hotel room in the city center, and is definitely more than enough for B&Bs, as you mentioned you wanted "friendly hosts" and a "nice neighbourhood" which would indicate a B&B.

2) How prepared are you to stay outside the suburbs where prices definitely drop drastically? (city living can actually be quite affordable!)

3) Someone else mentioned this as well I belive- How much time are you going to be wanting to spend in the hotel room as opposed to be wanting to be out and about?

4)Unfortunately, most small-ish/ boutique hotels in Europe have yet to grasp the wonders of the lift. :p

Perhaps all these factors would be able to help you narrow down your choice somemore. Hope this helps!

Anonymous said...

hi there

i chanced upon your blog some time back and have been peeping in abit here n there - hope u dont mind. just wanted to share with u the place i stayed in when i was in rome a few mths back - http://www.the-beehive.com/

its basically a shared apt concept and they have hostel rooms available too. really comfy and very near the Termini in Rome n not too exp either.

as for florence, we stayed in Leonardo House. abit of a weird smell but near the Duomo which is then near everything in Florence. booking via Hostel World :)

hope this helps!

cheers
weiling

Jemej said...

tiffany > thanks for the websites babe, will check them out! Have been searching through tripadvisor. I'm sure these sites you've given will help further too! :)

lilsnooze > haha, yes, budget constraints will prevail! bestwestern - yeah good idea! why haven't i come across that??! thanks!! *grins*

silver-crv > heh, yes, i'm already making him carry one backpack, plus pull another luggage along. ;)

dr > you're absolutely right! so i really can't quite complain then because my hubby single handedly planned our 2-week NZ honeymoon - with all that driving included... yikes!

vanessa > yah man, from those pictures of gaudy floral bedsheets i'm seeing!!

yes yes! I always recall you saying about reliable reviews from tripadvisor! Have been using this site "faithfully"!

vita e bella > Hello! Thanks for all the great tips, really much appreciated! I guess i want the best of both worlds, from that of hotels and B&Bs. =p

Ultimately, it'd be location that matters very much, being near the train stations that brings the added convenience.

I do know that we'd be spending most of our time out there walking around, so you're right about that bit of consideration, whether if we'd be spending much time in the room!

Thanks again, so much for your help! :)

Weiling > Hi! Thanks for dropping by, and for some nice advice here. Will check out the options!

By the way, do you have a blog too? :)

Anonymous said...

hihi

i do have a blog on lj but its locked up for friends only and i've had several posts on my Italy hols - i went to rome, florence n milan too :)

if u have an lj, do leave me a comment n i'll add u so u can browse thru those holiday-related posts if u wish! (tho nowadays its not so much holidays and more work. heh)

i spent heaps of time sussing out options and then double checking on trip advisor and am pleased with all my Italian accomod options. for Milano, we stayed in hotel arno / hotel eva (they're like sister hotels). abt 5-7mins walk to the train station but in Milan, the main shopping district is walkable esp if u're browsing the shops ;)

cheers
weiling
http://smartypantswl.livejournal.com/

Anonymous said...

oh one last thing - is your husband a football fan? We went to the San Siro in Milan - good break from all the shopping, keeps the boys entertained for abit too ;)

best thing - tics are so much cheaper than they were in england and we get them on the spot.

hope i'm not going on and on here. heh. happy desktop travelling - the planning makes the trip so much sweeter :)

- weiling

Jemej said...

Hi Weiling, thanks sooooo much for sharing! Really helpful tips! Will check out the hotel recommendations and uh, ask my hubby whether he's interested in the football thingy. heh.

Oh, have added you onto my lj, see you there! :)

mummybean said...

Good luck with the accoms - it is pretty ex. I see loads of folks have given you helpful suggestions though! Yay. sorry, can't help much cos when I went to those destinations in Rome ages ago (when everything was still in Lira!) and as a student, your expectations are, well, much lower... :)