B&B or budget hotel recs - CT, Amalfi, Rome, Florence?

[Anne]

This might be a long shot, but no harm asking...

A friend is travelling to Italy the first 2 weeks of May and asked if I had any suggestions for them, particularly on where to stay. I don't see hotel recs here on SE (which makes sense) and the ones on ST are very outdated, so I'll ask the hivemind if any of you wise ones have has any budget b&b/hotel suggestions for any of these areas: Cinque Terre, Amalfi coast, Florence, Pompei and Rome.

I've never been to CT so can't help at all there, and only stayed on the Amalfi Coast once, over 10 yrs ago. And I've mostly done 1-2 week apartment stays in Florence and Rome so not sure what budget hotel options might be. I'll suggest they visit Pompeii as a day trip.

If anyone has any suggestions, I (on behalf of my friend) will be grateful - thanks!

 

[Sharon]

As for Rome, a place (along with the folks who own/run the business) that I have heard only good things about is

http://www.the-beehive.com

I believe there are others here on SE who have direct experience and are much more knowledgeable about it than I am.

 

[Pauline]

In the Cinque Terre we've stayed in Levanto, the first town north. A bigger town with more accommodation options. We stayed at Villa Margherita, a small family run hotel. I used to do their website for them! http://www.villamargherita.net/

I use Booking.com for hotels and read the reviews there.

I second the Beehive recommendation.

 

[Anne]

Thanks, Sharon and Pauline. I've heard of the Beehive, for some reason had thought it was only a hostel, as in dorm rooms! And Levanto sounds like a good option. I'll pass these links along.

 

[Pauline]

We have been to Levanto twice - once for a few nights, once for two weeks. It is a very good town and you can get the train to the Cinque Terre towns (only a few minutes away). There is a good walking trail from Levanto to Monterosso, the northern most Cinque Terre town, that is not as crowded as the famous Cinque Terre trail.

If they stay in Levanto, Taverna Garibaldi is a very good pizza restaurant.

 

[Valerie]

Another nice budget option in Rome is this place: http://greenapartments.it/ Of course, depends on what area of town they want to be in, but I rather like the neighborhood of Via Merulana over toward San Giovanni; some nice neighborhood restaurants and wine bars and such. Metro station at Colosseo.

 

[Anne]

Thanks Valerie, this sounds fantastic! My friends' trip got cancelled but I'm bookmarking this for a future trip of my own. The apartment we rented in Monti last time was adequate but nothing really to draw me back.

 

[Roz]

We stayed in an apartment on Via Merulana several years ago. The apartment was nothing special, but I agree with Valerie that it was a nice neighborhood -- a residential shady street. I especially remember the Panella bakery where we got fabulous coffee and pastries every morning. If you follow the link to the bakery above, you'll see on their website a map of the area.

 

[Ian Sutton]

A wealth of apartments in CT, which would definitely be my recommendation for the place. We stayed in Riomaggiore, which in hindsight I'm happy with, as it has the height to give wonderful views, plus enough in the village itself.

On Amalfi Coast, we didn't stay there, but people there at the same time spoke very highly of it for character and value was Il Saraceno (near Amalfi) . Hopefully they are still there and the same as before. We've tended to stay in apartments via the local agency l'altracostiera.

 

[Rome Addict]

In Rome Hotel Porta Maggiore. Book early enough and she might be able to score rooms in the $50 to $75 range. Clean tour group hotel. Great location. Nice bar, stay away from the very expensive breakfast included. Multiple tram and bus lines out the door. Metro station a few blocks away (can't remember if 3 or 4). We just usually grabbed a tram.

 

[Rome Addict]

By the way your friend is planning waaaaayyyy too much travel for a 2 week vacation. In American terms she is saying I am landing on New York and I want to spend time in the Hamptons, do the historic sites in Boston the museum's in DC and grab a couple days sun on Florida. She will literally spend more time on trains, planes, buses than actually seeing ANYTHING. She will arrive jet lagged and leave exhausted and hating Italy. Pick two locations maximum. Florence and Rome are Good. Day trip from Florence to the Cinque terre. If she insists on the Amalfi there are day bus tours from Rome.

Seriously cut waaayyyy back on the plans. Italy will still! Be there next year. I am imagining this is her "lifetime trip". Tell her it won't be. It is amazing how priorities change after a trip to Italy. Suddenly you decide to drive a 4, 5, 6 year old car. Starbucks becomes thermos from home. Craig's list and eBay become your shopping center. Couponing becomes your hobby. All to save for the "next trip".

 

[Ian Sutton]

That is a fair comment. More pleasing would be:

A combination of Florence & CT plus 1-3 day trips from each (e.g. CT: Genova, Camoglu, Portovenere, evening passeggiata in La Spezia; Florence - others can advise with 1st hand experience)

OR

A combination of Rome + Amalfi Coast plus 1-3 day trips from each (e.g. AC: Vietri sul Mare / Salerno, Pompeii / Vesuvius, Capri, Napoli, Herculaneum; Rome - others can advise with 1st hand experience)

In each pair, both locations give a lovely balance of fresh air / great scenery & walking vs. famous city with much to take in. Doubling up by doing both pairs will mean more stress, missed opportunities, more wasted time.

On the upside, I'm a big fan of May as a time to travel in Italy, typically warm but rarely baking, giving the chance to do both city and country/coast without one being compromised by heat or poor weather... and it avoids the worst of the crowds.