|
|
|
Fiesole Garden Tour |
Photo by J. Kane |
The next best thing to a recommendation from a friend whose taste you trust is a detailed description from someone who seems to enjoy the same amenities that you do. Several web sites have sections on recommendations from other travelers. These travelers are usually enthusiastic about a particular hotel or apartment and generous with the level of detail they provide. The following web sites contain such recommendations. Several of them also contain travel articles to various parts of Italy, many of which include hotel recommendations.
San Francisco Chronicler: Follow the Reader
From this site, you can select Italy and then browse the descriptions. Most of the recommendations are for hotels or apartments in cities, towns, and in the countryside. Some restaurant recommendations are included, too. The recommendations are not sorted geographically or by category, such as hotels or apartments or restaurants. However, the heading for each recommendation is descriptive so you can skim them quickly. So attractive are many of the recommendations that you may find yourself revising your travel plans.
New York Times, Travel Section
To reach reader recommendations, first select Travel. Then you can select Columns, then find What’s Doing (which features one city) and the Frugal Traveler. Typically, What’s Doing features Rome, Venice, and Florence at least once every two years. The recommendations are recent and trustworthy. In the Destinations section, you can select Europe and find several articles on Italy. The Travel section also hosts a Travel Forum where readers submit questions and other readers respond. These are interesting but not very fruitful, because currently they are sorted only chronologically, and the recommendations are worldwide.
Washington Post, Travel Section on Italy
This site contains travel articles about Italy for several parts of the country. Many of the articles include hotel recommendations.
Journeywoman’s Best Places to Stay
This site contains detailed recommendations from women travelers. There is a sprinkling of recommendations for Italy, including Rome, Florence, Siena, and Lucca. The hotels and B&Bs that are recommended are generally less than $100 per night for two; most are small establishments. Most have an email address, too.
London Telegraph Travel Section
This site offers excellent travel articles and city guides. Because many of them are recent, you can be assured of getting good information. Also, the British perspective can be refreshing.
This British Newspaper’s website contains travel excellent articles on Italy. You can search their archives. A search using "Rome" produced 142 articles. A search using "Florence" yielded 58 articles, including one with recommendations for hotels throughout Europe.
This site has some excellent travel articles, including three recents ones about the Marche and one on the new Agnelli art gallery in Turin.
This Italian magazine features an extensive Travel section with hotel or agritourism recommendations for every region in Italy. Recommended hotels are listed in their city guides and in other articles. Two other excellent features are its Itineraries and listings of best ski resorts, best spas, and other useful categories.
Conde Nast Traveller City/Region Guides
These guides describe a range of hotels, from deluxe to moderately priced. Based on the selections for Rome, Cinque Terre, and Venice, we find their selections excellent.
Florence and Abroad Hotel Recommendations
Florence and Abroad is a highly regarded apartment rental agency. They provide various resources on their website, including a list of recommended hotels in many price categories.
This website contains detailed descriptions of many destinations in Italy with day trips made to other sights. Each trip description recommends hotels, restaurants, and attractions. This website has been recommended by the Toronto Ontario Globe and Mail newspaper.
This website is the compilation of the travel recommendations and reports of the website's owner and of other travelers who share their experiences. The information is very well organized.
Copyright 2003-2008 by Suzy Kane & Associates. All Rights Reserved