My friend Kathy, a computer whiz, went online and checked locations and ratings from the past guests for bed-and-breakfasts in ITALY. For our March ’07 trip we stayed in Rome, Naples and Venice, and all three B&Bs were great and affordable.
My husband and I stayed at the Duodo Palace Hotel (Calle Minelli San Marco, 1887/1888, 30124 Venezia, ITALY; phone +39 041 5203329, fax 041 2415940, www.duodopalacehotel. com), April 10 and April 18-19, 2007.
In a very convenient location between San Marco and Rialto, it’s a charming little hotel with a helpful, English-speaking staff.
I don’t remember the price, but it was around $250 a night, with breakfast, but that might have been a special deal.
ANNE HELMS
Salinas, CA
Here are four recommendations from a July ’06 trip to GERMANY.
In FRANCE, we chose the Churchill Hotel (14-16 rue Saint Jean, 14400 Bayeux, France; phone +33 2 31 21 31 80, fax 2 31 21 41 66 or visit www.hotel-churchill.fr. Reservations for the hotel can also be made through www.france.com) largely on a recommendation in answer to our “Person to Person” query in ITN. The praise given for the hotel was right on the mark.
Visitors to Amsterdam with a sense of humor might like the Lloyd Hotel Amsterdam (Oostelijke Handelskade 34, 1019 BN Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS; phone +31 [0] 20 561 3636, fax 3600 or visit www.lloydhotel.com).
If you plan to spend time in Inverness, we re commend Dunhallin House (164 Culduthel Rd., Inverness, SCOTLAND, IV4BH, U.K.; phone 44 1463 220824 or visit http://dunhallin.co.uk) — located on a quiet street about 1½ miles from the central district.
We stayed in Amritsar, INDIA, at Hotel CJ International (Opp. Langar Hall Building, Inside Golden Temple Car Parking, Amritsar-143001, India; phone 0091 183-2543478, 2535677 or 2535678, fax 2535677 or visit www.cjhotel.net), directly across from the glorious Golden Temple, Feb. 26-28, 2007.
Near the Black Sea, the Sadko Hotel (Astrakhan, 9, Anapa, RUSSIA; phone 86133 3-27-44 , fax 27-43, mobile phone 8-918-137 0004 or 8-918-410 00 09 or visit www.anapa-sadko.narod.ru [in Russian]) is well located in downtown Anapa two blocks from the beach. My stay was in December ’06-January ’07.
Very clean. And great value! 520 rubles ($20) a night for a room with two single beds and a shower and toilet en suite. New Year’s night for the same room, $35. A room with a single bed was 400 rubles ($16) per night. During the summer season, rooms run $60-$100 per night.
Hotel Italia (Via Venezia 18-00184, Rome, ITALY; phone 06-4828355, fax 4745550 or visit www.hotelitaliaroma.com) is in a safe location in Rome where one can return alone at night from the bus or subway easily. It’s 10 minutes from the train station (Stazione Termini) and a few steps off Via Nazionale, which has bus routes to the Vatican and all stops between. Across Via Nazionale is a grocery for lunch supplies.
During our 3-week stay in Italy in October ’06, the most unusual hotel we stayed in was Country House Montali (Via Montali 23, 06068 Tavernelle di Panicale, ITALY; phone +39 075 8350 680, fax 144 or visit www.montalionline.com). I think it might appeal to many ITN readers.
Its exquisite and varied cuisine is vegetarian. The Umbria region of Italy may be a meat eater’s paradise, but even meat eaters like me relish a change. For €80 ($106) per person per day, our half-board included breakfast and dinner — superb cuisine, lovingly served.