Probably you cannot make conclusions as regard to hotels as well as to people but still some peculiarities can be highlighted.
During our two trips around Italy we managed to stay at six hotels. So, we can make some conclusions based on our own experience.
We stayed at 4-star, 3-star and non star hotels on Lake Maggiore, Lake Garda, in Venice, Milan, Florence and Rome. It took us plenty of time to choose the hotels.
Peculiarities common to all the hotels:
Choice
There is a large number of hotels in Italy. But high demand makes the choosing procedure more complicated and moreover adds variants far from being perfect. You can often come across hotels housed in very old buildings that were never reconstructed or hotels that offer rooms with shared bathrooms etc. Pay attention to the description of the room and of course to other travellers’ reviews.
Reception
As a rule the Italians’ English is rather poor but they do their best to serve you. I do not regard this as a disadvantage. Though my English is far from being perfect too I always manage to communicate effectively with receptionists.
Breakfasts
All the hotels we stayed at offered the worst breakfasts we’ve ever eaten. Usually it was very poor continental breakfast. In comparison with them breakfast we had in Florence and which consisted of toast, fruits and a few kinds of croissants seemed something special.
I recommend complaining about it. For example at the hotels on Lake Garda and in Rome it had an effect when we gave them a hint about poor breakfast. The next morning’s breakfast was much better. At the hotel on Lake Garda they offered us eggs and in Rome they made toasts for us. You may laugh but just try and you will see.
Views
Many hotels in Italy offer spectacularly beautiful views on lakes, seas or historical buildings. It is highly recommended asking for a room with one of these views. And of course it is preferable to do it in advance when you are booking the hotel though you can ask for it at the reception desk.
Peculiarities
Very often the hotels offer rooms with some special interior design style. For example, Venice hotels offer rooms with Venetian fabric upholstery. Every region may have its own peculiarities and I highly recommend paying attention to them.
As for us we used the following web resource when choosing the hotel before our trip – http://www.booking.com/country/it.html
It offers the widest choice and rather low prices. Besides, it contains a lot of tourists’ reviews which I personally regard as a very important service.
