Accommodations Worldwide

Europe

If you’re looking for a quiet hotel in Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS, that is within a 5- to 10-minute walk of the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum, then the very quiet Hotel Washington (Frans van Mierisstraat 10, 1071 RS Amsterdam, the Netherlands; phone +31 [0] 20 679 74 53, fax +31 [0] 20 673 44 35, e-mail info@hotelwashington.nl or visit www.hotelwashington.nl) might just be for you.

The hotel regards itself not as a tourist hotel but as a place at which visiting classical musicians stay who perform at the nearby concert hall. The concert hall is across from the museums, so it, too, is a very short walk from the hotel.

This family-run hotel is very friendly and accommodating. The only downside to this very quiet hotel is that, if you’re a light sleeper like me, you’ll hear the musicians returning to their rooms after their concerts. They’re not a rowdy bunch, but one can’t help but hear the creaking floorboards, the jiggling of keys and the opening and closing of doors.

I stayed there in November ’04 for four nights and paid €120 ($162) a night for a twin room with a shower and toilet en suite. Taxes and breakfast were included in the price. Breakfast was a cooked egg along with cold ham, cheese, toast and cold cereal.

Be sure to reserve well in advance because the hotel comes highly recommended at tripadvisor.com as well as in guidebooks.

— Kathleen Nichols, Chicago, IL

My wife and I would like to share some wonderful establishments we experienced while traveling in Europe in May and June ’03.

• In ITALY, there are many places to stay in Santa Maria degli Angeli, which is just below the town of Assisi. One which we found to be outstanding was Il Roseto (Via S. Pietro Campagna, 140/C-06081, Assisi, Italy; phone 075 8040319).

The proprietor, Massimo, had a restaurant for many years in New York. He is very hospitable and makes sure his guests’ needs are satisfied.

We paid €100 ($135) for one of the only rooms with a private balcony — from which the entire Basilica of Assisi unfolds. We have had mountain and ocean views in other hotels, but this was the most spectacular view we have ever had. The other rooms are somewhat cheaper. The price depends on the season and your bargaining ability.

Our room was beautifully appointed with a massage bath, heavenly air-conditioning and a bed with luxurious damask covers fit for a king. We had a great daily breakfast of bread, rolls, sweet pastries, yogurt and fruit.

The grounds’ rose gardens were immaculately kept. There was a small pool.

We don’t often splurge on lodging, but this hotel was more than worth it. We had planned to stay two nights but stayed five instead. Massimo gave us two bottles of wine on our departure. We have stayed at hundreds of hotels during our travels, but Il Roseto is unforgettable.

• While in the Assisi area, we dined almost nightly at Villa Cerubino (via Patrono d’Italia 39, Santa Maria degli Angeli-Assisi) — on the main road from Santa Maria degli Angeli to Assisi.

For the value, this restaurant had the best food of any restaurant in which we had ever eaten. It specializes in pizza made on a wood-burning stove. One night we had a great 4-cheese pizza, antipasto buffet and a liter of wine, all for (then) $15.

The buffet alone cost $6 and consisted of mozzarella cheese, fruit salad, prosciutto, melon, eggplant and some marinated dishes. Soup and salad were $2 and outstanding. The pasta dishes were equally delicious and a great value, and so was the wine. The staff was friendly and helpful.

It is one of those rare restaurants where we could eat every night and still want to go back for more.

• While traveling in northern Italy, we stopped in the town of Cles in the Val di Non. We had the good fortune to stay at the Hotel Residence Punto Verde (Via San Vito 20, 38023 Cles; phone 0039 463-421275, e-mail info@punto-verde.net or visit www. punto-verde.net).

We had a charming room in a beautiful location. Cute and with nice decorations, the room was a bargain at €70 ($95) including breakfast — a 5-star meal with brown bread, cheese, meats, yogurt and even chocolate cake!

We had a great meal at the hotel’s pizzeria. Our “white pizza” had cheese, sausage and great mushrooms from the nearby forest.

— KEVIN O’BRIEN, Tybee Island, GA

On a trip to LITHUANIA I stayed at Guest House Domus Maria (Ausros Vartu str. 12, Vilnius; phone +370 5 2644880) — right inside the Old City and next to the Gates of Dawn. A former Carmelite monastery, this lovely hotel just opened in summer 2004.

Rooms are small (this used to be a monastery, after all) but clean, each with a TV and shower/toilet en suite. Including breakfast, I paid 159 litas (about $52) per night, single, Nov. 27-29, ’04.

The staff was very nice, and they all spoke English. They can help you arrange city and area tours.

I booked on the Internet through www.visitlithuania.net. You can arrange hotel transfers through them, but for that they charge 55 litas while I paid only 13 litas using a metered taxi.

With a population of 500,000, Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, is a lovely city — bright and clean and very safe. Most Lithuanians are Catholic and so there are many churches to see there. Most Lithuanians speak some English.

I found prices to be quite reasonable. Amber and linen were incredible buys.

I was told that September is the best time to visit.

The world’s only statue to Frank Zappa is in Vilnius.

— ROSEANNE SHERMAN, Melbourne, FL