Hotels in Milan, Florence and Venice

[mjm1]

My wife and I will be travelling to Milan, Florence and Venice next late April and early May. Milan and Venice probably 3 days each and the rest in Florence. We would appreciate any tips regarding hotels or other places to stay as we haven't been to any of these areas. We plan to do some day trips to smaller cities in range of Florence too. Any tips regarding sites to see would be great too. Thank you.

[Carolinian]

I usually can find good deals in most European cities through www.booking.com or www.gtahotels.com , although I like the system of the first better.

[Talent312]

I've found www.venere.com to be very helpful in finding hotels that are close to the action, yet reasonably priced, particularly for Italy. It will sort the hotels by neighborbood, show them on an interactive map, with star-ratings and user-reviews. I use it to select 5 - 6 choices, check 'em out on www.tripadvisor.com, and compare rates with the hotel's website.

[lvhmbh]

The most wonderful hotel in Venice (without spending an arm and a leg) is Hotel Londra Palace. You can book a Jr. Suite for the price of a regular room at The Danieli and it will look out over the lagoon and Grand Canal with a balcony to sit on and watch the scene below. The suite is small (sitting area makes it a suite) but the balcony makes it all. We sat out there every afternoon after sightseeing and again at night after dinner. Absolutely wonderful!!!

[zazz]

I stayed in the Casa Pisani Canal in Venice. Paid about $90 a night. Its a little hard to find, but was quite a nice surprise. We booked after reading the trip advisor reviews. Large rooms, nice bathrooms, free internet terminal and breakfast. The staff was great.

The places I had in Milan and Florence were not great location-wise so I hesitate to recommend either.

[Laurie]

We liked Hotel Dali in Florence:
http://www.hoteldali.com/pages/view.htm

It's right in the historic district with a sideways view of the duomo, not fancy but comfortable, inexpensive relatively speaking, and even has a parking lot, if you have a car (we did - but wouldn't again). And their restaurant recommendations were right-on!

[Bill4728]

We just got back from Florence & Venice.

Stayed at the hilton in Florence and wouldn't stay there again. It wasn't bad just not in the city center. If we went back I'd stay in one of the 3 hotels in Santa Maria Novella square. It is a <5 minute walk from the train station and near all the main sites in town.

Stayed at the Westin Hotel Europa in Venice. Very nice but really pricey. Wouldn't go again except with points. Some people we meet love the Hilton in Venice. But in back of the westin is hotel Violino d'Oro. 3* and cheap for Venice <$150. The street/area next to it is the super high end shopping district. And 1/2 block from San Marco.

PS Just checked Venere.com great site!! In Florence, both the Hotel Roma & Hotel Paris are right there and both 3* and under $200/night.

[mjm1]

Thank you everyone for your insights. I will check out all of these ideas and am confident we will find a great place at a reasonable price.

[lvhmbh]

I forgot to mention that there is a water bus stop in front (to the side) of the hotel. There is also a gondola place there and we tried to get a gondola to take us to a certain restaurant - they wouldn't and the concierge told us to take the water bus to a certain stop and etc. It was fun to be on the water bus.