Rome Hotel Review - Hotel Galatea

I did a lot of research online to find an economical, but still nice place to stay in Rome.  It was, after all, our honeymoon.  Here’s what I came up with.

 

Hotel Galatea.  It’s right off Via Nazionale, pretty close to the Roma Termini train station and just a short walk from the Coliseum.  It was just a few hundred feet away from a major bus line (line 64) and just a street over from a great park.  Even with the excellent location, it didn’t come with an outrageous price tag, just $134 per night.

Inside, it was extremely clean, but nothing fancy.

 

The bathroom had a bidet, which is always a plus.

 

And while some of the reviews I read on Trip Advisor complained of the breakfast, I was quite pleased with the array of pastries, delicious cappuccino, and little cheeses.

A pretty traditional Italian breakfast, I really like the idea of
cheese for the first meal of the day!  Also okay with it for
lunch and dinner.

 

However, there is something I must tell you about this hotel, and it originates here:

The site of the crime

 

First of all, the beds are not that comfortable.  But, that’s besides the point, the real issue is that there were horses being slaughtered right outside the window!

Or, at least that’s what it sounded like.  It was the most horrific noise ever, and it came about 5am every morning and lasted for hours.  I’m not sure if you know what horse slaughtering sounds like, I’m not even sure I know what it sounds like, but I’m pretty sure this was it.

When I looked out the window, I saw a garbage truck unloading trash behind the hotel.  Hmm, could have fooled me.

 

Total Cost: $134/night for a grand total of $589 for four nights

The NOT Best Deal: The city of Rome charges €4 per night for its city tax… we paid €16 total ($20) on top of the regular room rate.

Milan Hotel Review - Hotel Vecchia Milano

If you’ve been reading along with me, you know my distaste for Milan.  The hotel there that we stayed in wasn’t that bad though.  It also wasn’t that good.

We got this recommendation out of the Rick Steves Italy book.  I am a research-a-holic, mainly because I just like reading about travel.  Anyway, the review was good for a decent price.  This is my only complaint:

 

 

Those are twin beds.  And I was on my honeymoon.  That was not the hotel’s fault, however, that’s a combination of me (wanting to use the Rick Steves book) and my husband (wanting to not book things in advance).  When we rolled into Hotel Vecchia Milano at about 4pm, this was the last room available.  We should be lucky we got a room at all.  Plus, I would have taken a room anywhere just to stop trucking my suitcase all over Milan.  I was able to push the beds together.

 

There are three beds total, which would actually
work out really well for single travelers.

However, the room came in handy when the ENTIRE city shut down at 9pm.  We came back to the room and drank and watched the Euro Cup.

The bathroom, in true Italian fashion, was as small as a thimble.

 

When I spoke of an extremely small shower in Lucca, this one took the cake.

But, on the bright side, the price for this hotel wasn't too bad.  I can't remember exactly, but it was less than €100.

Just checked Trip Advisor, and people on there agree with me... the hotel is nothing great.  This is one time Rick Steves led me astray.

Cost: About €100, which would be $125

Best Deal: Continental breakfast with homemade cappuccino

Lucca Hotel Review - Alla Dimora Lucense

We were not sure we were even going to visit Lucca on our trip to Italy, let alone stay the night there.  When we rolled up to the walled city, we opened up our Rick Steves book and picked Alla Dimora Lucense to stay.

First, let it be known, this hotel is in the “back” of the walled city, so if you pull into town on a train and don’t want to get a cab, prepare to walk a lot over brick streets.  Even if you want a cab, you may not get one because there aren’t very many cars inside the walls of Lucca.

Outside of Alla Dimora Lucense, we are ready to "rock
on" now that we toted our bags miles across brick roads

Inside, the Alla Dimora Lucense is just lovely.  The rooms were named after parts of Lucca… we stayed in “Le Mura.”

In Italy during June, the weather is so perfect
you can keep the windows open.  Most often,
you don't have a choice as air conditioning is
not as common there.

I really like the windows open, except I don't so much love the garbage men love picking up trash at five in the morning during my vacation.  Also, we had an incident of horse slaughtering in Rome, which I'll talk about a few posts from now. 

A basic bed, but quite comfortable!

The bathroom had an extremely small shower, but that’s just how things go in Italy. This was strangely one of the larger showers we encountered in our Italian travels.

You may need to lose weight before showering!

Alla Dimora Lucense does have a garage for cars, but personally, I don't recommend bringing a car to Lucca, as you would probably just crash it in the tiny streets.

No room for cars inside the walls!

We paid €110 for our stay, including a discount for paying with cash and a filling breakfast.  Keep in mind, “filling breakfast” in Italy means some Nutella, cheese, and cappuccino.  The breakfast here was actually one of the best though.

Alla Dimora Lucense gets high marks from both my husband and me!

Total Cost: €110 for one night, about $135

Best Deal: A discount for paying with cash (which happens often in Italy, so carry Euros whenever you can!)