Sam & Hal's Dodgy Hotels

Dodgy Hotels a-Go-Go

Ok, so this is the section where I list all the hotels we've stayed in thus far, mostly chosen by yours truly, since my booking-hotels Italian is a touch better than Sam's...

Since we're out here for six months, our nightly budget is a touch lower than it would be for a stay of just two-three weeks, at around E70 per night. Which means that some of the places we've stayed have been a touch dodgy. Only a touch though, we're still at least a little bit precious, even when weighing a private bathroom against a really good bottle of wine...

This list should not necessarily be seen as a list of recommendations - every place listed here is ok, in terms of having a bed, a distinct lack of cockroaches or other undesirables, and being good enough for the time we spent there - anywhere that was particularly good I'll rave about, everywhere else I'll just mention with prices, and leave you to draw your own conclusions :-)

We've found our accom in a variety of sources - plenty of Lonely Planet selections, teamed with various from www.bbplanet.it, which is good, provided you really double-check the exact location of your intended stay. There were also a few finds courtesy of Google, or random wandering around the towns. I'll list who recommended what.

These links will jump you down the page to the start of each region, or you can just scroll away:

• Lombardia
• Veneto
• Emilia-Romagna
• Umbria
• Toscana
• Abruzzo
• Lazio
• Campania
• Puglia
• Basilicata
• Calabria
• Sicilia
• Not Italy

 

Lombardia (Lombardy)

Milano (Milan)

Sat 28th April - Wed 2nd May

This is the kind of hotel that is the perfect place for getting over jet lag, when you don't care how trendy your bit of town is...

The room was, frankly, tiny. We had enough room on either side to get out of the, of course, twin beds (pushed together, which apparently makes a double in most of Italy). Suitcases had to remain closed at all times, else we'd've ended up in them. The bathroom was interesting, in that the toilet was pretty much in the shower. And yet they still found room for a bidet. What is it with these people? They're happy with really not nice squat pits, yet are also obsessed with bidets. Anyway.

Plus points, reasonably priced, and not bad speed wireless internet, which actually reaches some of the rooms (not ours, boo), friendly staff, a lift up to the hotel, and located within quite a cool old building. Not too far out of town, although equidistant between subway points, typically. I think Sam might list the main front door of the building as a bad point.

Veleso, Lago di Como (Lake Como)

Wed 2nd - Sat 5th May

First point, this is not in the hills just above Bellagio, a mere five minutes walk down into Bellagio, as first assumed by us. If you don't have a car, it's actually a really awkward place to be, as there are three buses a day, and they're really fricking scary. That said, it's utterly stunning, being as it is 800m above sea level, with these amazing mountainside views up and down the left leg of Lake Como.

The day we arrived, it was rainy and miserable, and we had this horrible sinking feeling about the place, with it's dodgy '70's feel wood panelling in a lot of the common areas, and the overall 'this is the village meeting place, there is nothing else for miles' vibe. However, over dinner I discovered the gorgeous fagottini alla panna (link to food page rave), and there was the most amazing thunderstorm over Como, for which we had the best possible seats. Stunning, seriously (pic,,,)

Our room was nice enough, albeit a bit small, with a little balcony. I would recommend asking for a room on the top floor, despite the lack of lift, as the views are probably even better. We had a private bathroom, although with a shower rubbish enough that I ended up using the shared bathroom instead, which had possibly the best shower I've encountered in Italy (they're not keen on water pressure), and which wasn't actually shared because there was no-one else there.

If you had a car, were brave enough to drive like an Italian, and were fully cogniscent of the 'if you hear a long musical-ish beep-type noise, it's a bus, get the hell out of the way' trick, this would be a fabulous base for trips to Como and Bellagio, along with mountainside exploration of the nearby villages, and optional yomping to the top of the mountains, if you're a goaty type. The views are more than just 'Bella', they're stunning, the food is great, it's not overly expensive and the hosts are really friendly and keen to please.

Como

Sat 5th - Mon 7th May

We 'escaped' to Como, in an attempt to feel back in control of our transport options. We ended up in the Albergo Posta, with me feeling we should've bartered a bit more. The room was comfortable enough, with a small bar fridge (always useful for picnic provisions!), the bed (twin-double again) was okay, and the bathroom (with shower, no bath) was perfectly adequate. Totally uninspiring, but hey. Breakfast included a nice freshly baked sweet croissant/brioche/whatever you want to call it - they keep changing their minds here.

Bergamo

Mon 7th - Tue 8th May

We checked into a shared bathroom room here on the basis that it was just for one night, it didn't matter. Typically, we ended up on the top floor, no lift. Thankfully, it wasn't that far from the train station, so Sam still had plenty of energy for the suitcase hefting. Seriously, I don't think he quite appreciates just how much I appreciate his suitcase hefting abilities!...

The room was of course tackily decorated, but had it's own sink, and comfortable enough beds (again, the pushed together twin singles). The shared bathrooms, two of them for the floor, were perfectly fine when we checked in, but a touch vile by the following morning - luck of the draw as to who you share with I guess - these people were smelly and believed in dropping their dirty towels everywhere. Never mind, for E55 (???) a night, what do you expect? Apart from plenty of leftover cash for fantastic food of course...

 

Veneto

Verona

Tue 8th - Sat 12th May

This was the largest room we'd stayed in thus far, and is very conveniently located, smack in the middle of Verona, all of two minutes walk to the Arena, which is their selling-it-short name for their pink marble colloseum. They don't accept any kind of credit cards, cash only, and they also expect to keep your passports until you check out. Most hotels just want your passport for an hour or two, to fill out the paperwork they have to submit to the police. If you try to book in advance, they'll tell you they have a minimum three night stay - they're willing to be flexible if you want just the night you've turned up there though.

We went for a private bathroom, which was very nice and clean, shower, no bath. The beds were quite a let down, the ubiquitous twins, made up as two twin beds, and with thick woolly black and white blankets depicting horses hiding the unfortunate sagging. Having said which, they were comfortable enough, the room was pleasant, and the lack of lift seemed to be the only major downside. The owner speaks a decent amount of English too, although his wife and her mum definitely don't.

Padova (Padua)

Sat 12th - Sat 19th May

Our first apartment of the stay, we found this place courtesy of a website listed by Lonely Planet, www.bbkokonor.it

 

Emilia-Romagna

Bologna

Sat 19th - Mon 21st May

blah blah

Bologna (still)

Mon 21st - Mon 28th May

blah blah

 

Umbria

Perugia

Mon 28th May - Fri 1st Jun

blah blah

Perugia

Fri 1st - Sat 30th Jun

blah blah

Perugia

Sat 30th Jun - Tue 31st Jul

blah blah

Torgiano

Tue 31st Jul - Thu 2nd Aug

blah blah

Narni

Thu 2nd - Fri 3rd Aug

blah blah

 

Toscana (Tuscany)

Firenze (Florence)

Fri 3rd - Sun 5th Aug

blah blah

Lucca

Sun 5th - Thu 9th Aug

blah blah

Pisa

Thu 9th - Fri 10th Aug

blah blah

Pisa (still)

Fri 10th - Thu 16th Aug

blah blah

Arezzo

Thu 16th - Sun 19th Aug

It's a bit misleading to describe this as a shared bathroom hotel. It is in fact a couple of apartments on the fourth and fifth floors of a building at the downhill edge of Arezzo. And thankfully has a lift. We were only sharing our bathroom with one other room, and as far as I could tell, the people in there never used it...

The room was great - it was a touch small, but decorated in pale blues and whites (I do love white bed linen), and I found it all very relaxing. It also had a massive balcony, with views out across the rooftops of Arezzo that we could easily admire whilst sprawling on the very comfortable bed. In fact, when we first arrived, we were only planning on staying for two nights, and extended to three.

"Breakfast included" didn't quite live up to our expectations, it was a help-yourself affair in the kitchen of the fourth floor apartment, comprising of fruit juices, coffee (instant or how-does-this-work machine), bread and jams. And also freshly baked cake, courtesy of the landlady, which to be fair made up for the lack of volume with the rest of the food - she bakes really tasty cakes.

Siena

Sun 19th - Tue 21st Aug

This was a cheapy-cheap shared bathroom pick. I was in fact hoping for a private bathroom, as they have those too, but on these two nights, the only free room was the one we ended up in. The shared bathroom was very large, with a shower that was very good after I got fed up and had a go at the scale blocking the head with a pair of nail scissors. There was also a separate toilet, and another room with just a shower. I don't know how many other rooms we were sharing with, but all of those ablutions rooms were free when we wanted them, in addition to being clean.

Our room itself was pretty basic, but the beds were okay, there was a sink in the room, and there was plenty of space. I remain unconvinced about the key though.

 

Montepulciano

Tue 21st - Wed 22nd Aug

Since Montepulciano isn't really the kind of place to have loads of different fallback options if your first choice is full, we decided to book ahead, and, if that wasn't possible, to skip the town entirely. Fortunately, it was entirely possible. I spoke several times to the lady owner, including phoning her when we arrived to say we were there. We then waited, expecting a woman in her late thirties to show up. Instead, we were greeted by a red-haired twelve-ish year old boy. Which was a bit of a surprise, I must admit. He seemed a little nervous about checking us in, and we were just a bit weirded out, but it was all fine.

The room was large, comfortable, with a nicely sized bathroom and good shower. There was also a little fridge and a television. Oh, and superb views over the surrounding countryside of course, our appreciation of which was helped by the fact that it was the countryside we were expecting to see, unlike the first Bella Vista...

 

Abruzzo

L'Aquila

Wed 22nd - Fri 24th Aug

Anyone who's watched The League of Gentlemen would recognise the atmosphere at this place. It's a religious institution, I think a sort of school/orphanage type place, which makes a bit of extra money renting out rooms. The random teenaged boys lurking watching us arrive, and disappearing when shooed off by the slightly odd little man who checked us in, were a bit off-putting, but I resolved to stay near Sam at all times, and look tall.

Needless to say, the room was very basic, as you'd expect at this price. The bathroom was very clean, and not at all smelly, with a good shower. The beds were not at all the best, being those iron-framed singles that some university dorms have, although they weren't saggy at least. There were towels, and those little packaged soaps, and that was about it. The beds were of course made up as singles. However, we chose to stay here because we were on a bit of a pre-Rome economy drive (our economy drives fail miserably the minute we find restaurants), so it fitted our expectations. If you're watching the euros, you could do worse than this.

Pescara

Fri 24th - Sat 25th Aug

We arrived in Pescara with an LP budget pick all lined up to check out, which unfortunately has since turned itself into a four star non-budget hotel. I found us another two options, one well over budget with a leaky air con unit, and another within budget but outside of dodgy-tolerance levels. So, having gotten a booklet of accom options from the tourist office, who apparently cannot phone places for you, even though that's exactly what they seemed to be doing for the previous, Italian-speaking, people, we set about phoning around to find somewhere. Hotel Marisa, at €65 with breakfast, sounded good.

The room was very spacious, the bathroom was small but functional, and there was an air con unit, although apparently that only got switched on for a few hours at eight pm. Breakfast the next morning was distinctly average - freshly, properly made coffee at least, but accompanied by supermarket-bought individually wrapped croissants of the long lasting variety. We happily packed up to check out, and then got a nasty surprise when the hotel owner told me it was in fact €75, and claimed that I had misheard sessante (60) instead of settante (70). I attempted to argue, and remain utterly convinced that they said sixty, but ended up paying the seventy-five, and leaving feeling deliberately ripped off and very very upset.

Suffice to say, because of this altercation at the end of the stay, I would not recommend staying at this hotel, simply because I believe in decent customer service, being nice to your customers, and, if a misunderstanding happens, letting the customer have the benefit of the doubt. In the course of the argument about the price, he even told me "it's only ten euros", or words to that effect - if it's only ten euros, take the loss yourself, go for the repeat business you miserable old...

Sulmona

Sat 25th - Mon 27th Aug

Both Sam and I have wondered if this is the pick of the budget-priced hotels. I left Sam parked on a bench in the middle of the park at one end of Sulmona, and headed off up the main street, looking for a map (the LP doesn't have one), the hotel, and some slightly better luck than the last two towns. I came back grinning my little head off, and only partly because I was really loving the vibe in Sulmona.

This hotel is very quirky. The tone is set by the female mannequin in medieval costume in the hallway, and the building is just a little crazy. There are nooks and crannies, and randomly numbered rooms all over the place, with plenty of said nooks being kitted out with big comfy sofas for sprawling on if you so wish. Fortunately, our room was easy to find, being just off the staircase. It wasn't huge, but with a twin-double and an additional single bed, we had room to put the suitcases out of the way. The bathroom smelt a little, but most bathrooms in Italy seem to smell in August. There was also a little balcony off the bedroom, looking out onto the small street behind the hotel, with some views of the mountains over the top of the houses opposite.

Pricewise, it's about the best we've found so far, especially with the private bathroom. Quirkiness wise, it's definitely right up there, and comfort wise it's really not bad either.

 

Lazio

Roma (Rome)

Mon 27th Aug - Mon 3rd Sep

As I've mentioned further up the page, apartments are a great way to both save money and get a break from same-ole-same-ole hotel rooms, especially when you're travelling for a while like us, and have gotten to the point where having a kitchen, especially if it comes with a washing machine, is an exciting idea. So, since we needed to wash pretty much everything by this point, and Rome is well known for being extortionately expensive/not value for money hotel-wise, we figured an apartment would be the way to go.

Prior to heading down to Rome, I'd checked out the LP's suggested websites, and also had a bit of a Google to see what else I could find. Short Lets has a very disappointing, slightly dodgy looking website, but having phoned around several other places and gotten nowhere, I gave them a ring. One of their staff members was born and raised in Italy, but has Danish and English parents, resulting in perfect English, complete with slightly plummy accent. She was very efficient, phoning back quicker than promised, and coming up with a €100 discount off the normal rate of €800, since we wanted the apartment that day. We resigned ourselves to Rome prices, chose from the two apartments offered, and arranged to meet at their offices, just around the corner from the apartment.

The apartment was fantastic. All of two minutes walk from the Metro (Barberini), a mere hop and skip from the Spanish Steps, smack in the middle of everything. It had two big let downs - one was the lack of air conditioning other than one of those pathetic portable things that has a hose to put out of the window (Rome gets stinking hot in August), and the other was the shower/bath. In their infinite wisdom, they had decided to install a bath, but a ridiculously small one, with two levels, designed for sort of squidging yourself into in an uncomfortable sitting position. Which means that when you're showering, you're stood with one foot six inches higher than the other. Apart from those two little issues though...

The building had one of the coolest lifts I've ever seen, and plenty of good solid doors to make you feel safe. The apartment was nice and spacious, the bed, whilst being two single mattresses, was comfortable, the lounge had both a sofa and a large selection of books in English, including plenty of guidebooks to Rome, the kitchen had both the exciting washing machine and a six ringed gas hob, and the piece de resistance was the breakfast table out on the roof terrace.

 

Campania

Napoli

Mon 3rd - Fri 7th Sep

I was quite stressed about finding accommodation when we got to Naples. I think this was mostly because Napoli is one of the few places for which both Fred and the Lonely Planet specifically mention the risk of crime. So, I left the train station in a bit of a stress, and headed out into the chaos that is Napoli. Seriously, this is not a place you'd want to bring your children if you worry about the risk of being run over.

My route to the LP's budget picks took me past this hotel, so, on an optimistic whim I went in and asked for a room for four nights. Result was a three star hotel room that looked like every one I'd ever seen before in my life, with a strangely constructed shower cubicle whereby the broken door which didn't close properly shut you into only three quarters of the area of the base. It also had an air con unit which was automatically switched off between noon and two, the hottest part of the day. Anyhow, the room came with the typical Italian/continental breakfast, a reasonably priced minibar, and free wireless internet. The internet only worked if we put Sam's computer in just the right place, meaning moving the desk to the space behind the door to support the laptop. But it did work at least, and Sam learnt the meaning of the phrase "Neapolitan charm"...

 

Puglia (Apulia)

Bari

Fri 7th - Sat 8th Sep

This was a very average, basic hotel. Bari is not a tourist orientated town, it is apparently mostly geared to serving the needs of conference attendees on work-is-paying budgets, meaning very average, over-priced hotels. The layout of the building made us wonder whether it used to be affiliated with the nearby hospital in some way, maybe accom for students there or similar. The room was clean, quiet, had a heating/cooling unit, and a bathroom with a fairly decent shower. That's about all I can say really - whilst we did have a really lovely meal in Bari, and the old town is nice enough to wander around, I can't say it's somewhere I'll be putting on the list of places to visit next time we're in Italy, and if I ever do end up back here, it won't be in this hotel.

Lecce

Sat 8th - Tue 11th Sep

This was a fantastic find, with which I was very very happy. B+B Azzurretta is housed in a sixteenth century palazzo (i.e. nobles' house) in the middle of Lecce. B+B Centro Storico is housed within the same building, with the entire thing being owned by the same family, who have apparently owned the building for five generations now. The phone number the Lonely Planet gave for Centro Storico didn't work though, so Azzurretta it was.

Aside from the fact that the front door was, quite frankly, ridiculous, and there wasn't a lift to the second floor (the owner carried my suitcase for me though), everything was simply great. The room itself was very relaxing, with it's original 'star vaulted' ceiling, white walls, wooden floors, and simple furnishings, including a sofa. It also had both a ceiling fan and an air con unit. The owner gave us a whole load of recommendations for places to eat, drink, and generally be merry, and then took us on a quick tour of the other two important things he thought we should see - the fridge at the end of the corridor for everyone to use, and the massive roof terrace, complete with those really comfy wooden sun loungers and great views across the whole of Lecce. He also gave us some hand-scrawled vouchers for breakfast, to be taken in Caffe dell'Anfiteatro, overlooking the half-excavated Roman Amphitheatre, and informed us that wireless internet (high-speed, worked at every point in the room, Sam was very happy) was also included in the room rate.

All in all, regardless of the budget you're on, I'd highly recommend this place - I think high season rates may be in the region of €70-80, but it'd still be worth it, and Lecce is a beautiful little town - sort of reminded me of Lucca, but without the hordes of tourists.

Martina Franca

Tue 11th - Thu 13th Sep

This was a bit of an odd little find. We arrived in Martina Franca in that wonderful period of the day when most things, including the tourist office, are closed (anytime between about one and five pm), meaning that we couldn't get a map or any suggestions for accommodation. Having found a map and realised that our preferred option was nearby, I went to find it, and found a clearly unused for some time door. So, plan B it was.

Plan B was to wander aimlessly, which fortunately brought me to a sign for a B&B. Having found the owner, leaning out of a fourth floor window to see who I was before coming down to talk to me, I explained we were after a room for two nights. He showed me an open plan apartment, thankfully ground floor, and proceeded to regale me with a brief life history, including his plans to convert the apartment into a restaurant for his son the chef, once said son was fully qualified. Having heard this, the place did look more like a restaurant. But, it had a decent bathroom, a little kitchen, a washing machine that seemed to work after we tried pretty much every setting, and a comfortable enough bed and sofa (apparently a sofabed, so it's a four person place). It was also nicely situated in the middle of the historic centre, and a pleasant temperature, due to all the walls being natural stone. Bit bizarre, but definitely nice enough for a few days.

Taranto

Thu 13th - Sat 15th Sep

This was definitely a budgety-budget pick. I tried Lonely Planet's three suggestions in turn. The nearest to the train station, and the only one in the fairly run-down old town, is a very plush four star converted palazzo. Fortunately it was fully booked, because I have a feeling the price would've scared me. It also had one of the most helpful receptionists I've ever met, who happily consulted her list of other hotels to recommend somewhere with a vacancy, gave me directions, checked with another member of staff about this hotel and so on. After that, I tried her suggestion in the new town, and was shown a very rubbish room in a three star hotel for €80. Then I checked out this place, and was shown a slightly rubbish room for €50. So...

The room was a bit gloomy, with only a tiny window. It had a ceiling fan, a television, a passable bed, and a fairly spacious bathroom, complete with shower without curtain (although it didn't seem to splash much). For two nights, at this price, it was fine. Wouldn't go back though. Oh, and they didn't do any kind of cash discount, and I had to ask for a receipt - I figured if we weren't getting a discount, they were paying taxes on our money...

 

Basilicata

Maratea

Sat 15th - Mon 17th Sep

Maratea is on Basilicata's 20km stretch of the Tyrrhenian coast, just a little south of Amalfi et al. Since we'd decided to skip Amalfi (expensive, too many tourists, went last time), but still wanted to go for a bit of a splash and wallow in the sea, it sounded perfect.

I was a bit worried about finding a hotel with rooms free, so we chose a Lonely Planet suggestion, phoned ahead, asked if there was a cash discount down from the €80 she quoted over the phone, and booked. We were expecting to arrive in what LP describes as a sophisticated resort. We arrived at a train station with no idea of where to go.

Little bit 'BellaVista', but the sea was divine

 

Calabria

Cosenza

Mon 17th - Tue 18th Sep

Once upon a time, this hotel was a Grand Hotel, of the kind that cost a lot for people who could afford it. It's now a bit more in the faded grandeur league, with parts of the original building having been sold off for other uses, for example a shop taking up a third of the facade width now, but it's still a pretty good find. You can get a sense of how grand it used to be from the large doors, high ceilings etc, and I think it's improving - it was being renovated whilst we were there.

Our room was great - massive, light, with Sky TV (so news in English and 24hr weather channel), air conditioning, nice towels (always a plus) and a great bathroom. The bathroom wasn't the largest, but also certainly wasn't the smallest, and the shower cubicle was huge, easily big enough to fit a bath in, basically screening off the whole of one end of the room.

The internet was wi-fi in the breakfast room, which happily cracked along downloading things at up to 300KB/sec. Which will mean nothing to some of you, but probably excite others of you...

Tropea

Tue 18th - Thu 20th Sep

Massive breakfasts...

 

Sicilia (Sicily)

Messina

Thu 20th - Fri 21st Sep

Cheapy cheap

Lipari, Isole Eolie

Fri 21st - Tue 25th Sep

This was an absolutely fabulous find that the LP totally undersells. Diana Brown is a South African born, active grandmother age (she must be - her daughter had a baby whilst we were there) lady who clearly takes pride in the rooms she lets out rather than just making money from them. Her website lists high/low season prices, needless to say our cheap price is definitely a low season one. And a complete study in contrasts compared to the €50 we paid in Messina...

We had a choice of a normal first floor room with balcony, or a ground floor room with 'kitchenette'. Surprising Diana (apparently everyone goes for the first floor option, possibly on the LP's advice), we went for the ground floor option apartment no.4 - no stairs, and we get to cook, with the fantastic smelling curry powder Sam found in Messina.

The 'room' turned out to be a small apartment, with generously sized living/kitchen area, nice bedroom and spotlessly clean bathroom with a large bespoke shower cubicle. All of the furniture is chunky dark wood, clearly bought specifically rather than leftover from somewhere else, and pretty much all the decor is great too - a small floor mosaic in the bedroom, various prints on the walls - very tasteful. Apart from the clock in the bedroom that is, which is easily one of the most hideous Sam and I have ever seen - early nineties style giant brightly coloured 'watch'. Ick.

As well as the apartment itself being great, Diana is lovely (as is her non-English speaking hubbie), does washing at €5 a load, has piles of books and magazines in four different languages for guests to borrow, loads of guidebooks on Sicily, info on all the ferries etc, and a massive roof terrace kitted out with plenty of seating, tables, and a huge range of board games and playing cards. If you're going to spoil yourself with a trip to the Aeolians, this is a good place to do so.

Taormina

Tue 25th - Wed 26th Sep

Chucking it down

Catania

Wed 26th - Fri 28th Sep

Our plan for Catania was a Lonely Planet pick, which sadly was completely full - it looked fairly okay. They directed me to this hotel instead, just around the corner. The rooms are ridiculously large, the hotel being in a converted 16th century palazzo. Ours didn't actually have a window in the bedroom, but had plenty of lights so it was all good. The bathroom was a little odd, in that it had a false floor to fit the pipes under, but only half of the floor was raised, meaning a six inch step just six inches outside of the shower cubicle. We also had air con, television etc, and a bizarre little hallway with window between the bedroom and bathroom.

The fun really started on our last night though. At breakfast that day we'd met a French and Italian language student, Rhys, from Cardiff Uni who was staying in the hotel whilst looking for accommodation for his six months at Catania Uni. On the way back from dinner, we bumped into him: "thank god I found you guys - it's half twelve and I've been locked out of the hotel for the last hour". Ok we thought, we have no keys for the main external door nor the hotel door itself, but there's a night porter - sure we'll be fine. So we rang the doorbell and got no answer. Hmmm. Dividing our labour, Sam and I went to find another hotel that might have the phone number for ours, whilst Becca and student stayed trying the doorbell. We had no phone number luck, whereas Becca and Rhys managed to get in through the main door, which had latched itself closed by the time we got back. Ringing the bell resulted in the door opening though, so we assumed they were all the way into the hotel.

Um, no. They were still locked outside of the hotel door, with Becca steadily kicking it, trying to make as much noise as possible, and no sign as yet of the hotel porter. Sam and I had managed to find the number for Yellow Pages, so Rhys tried that, and we discovered that they're not a 24hr service. We continued making lots of noise on the door, as a result of which there were lots of aching knuckles the next day. I decided to check out the window behind reception, which was just up the stairs, at foot level. Gently pushing it revealed that the bottom latch was open, so I shouted through for a bit, before wondering if further 'gentle' pushing, with my foot, on the top half of the frame might result in the top latch opening too...

Not really. The glass suddenly shattered everywhere, inside and out. Oops. I must confess I had thought of kicking the window in, but I wasn't actually trying to, so it was a bit of a surprise. Sam promptly stuck his arm through and undid the top latch, leaving us considering the open window, complete with bars on the outside. Eyeing the larger gap on the right hand side, Becca decided she could get through, and promptly did so.

Siracusa

Fri 28th Sep - Mon 1st Oct

This was a cute little apartment, with a double bedroom, kitchen/dining area, and a bathroom. Absolutely perfect for two people wanting to be able to save some money by cooking a bit. Unfortunately, we were actually three people at this point, with a random American Sam knew from Ultimate sleeping on a camp style bed in the kitchen area. Still, it kept the apartment cost down, even if the food costs weren't as low as previously hoped.

It was a tiny bit noisy in the bedroom at night due to the pub downstairs, but let's face it, we'd been to the pub - we were going to sleep either way. Air con units in both rooms, a decent sized bathroom (for Italy), and a well equipped kitchen, even if the gas hob was powered by a bottle in a cupboard...

Overall not such a bad find, nicely located smack in the middle of Ortigia, definitely not badly priced, especially compared to the €100 a night very average triple room we'd seen previously. Clean, tidy, good furniture, just needed a washing machine, and it'd've been perfect.

Noto

Mon 1st - Tue 2nd Oct

Lonely Planet doesn't have too much info on Noto, being as Noto is quite a small place in the south of Sicily (LP is mostly Rome and Tuscany). It's one really great sounding pick was full, so, by a process of checking every other place I spotted, we ended up in this place.

The owner's son's girlfriend showed us around, insisted on driving to the bus station to pick up Sam and the luggage, insisted on driving us even further to the train station when we left, sorted out our breakfast (fresh brioche from a local cafe, and coffee she made with their little espresso machine), and was generally ridiculously lovely and helpful. Silvia I believe.

The place was absolutely fine - all the usual, clean, comfortable, rooms came with fridges, which was important at this point due to our having a terribly heavy bottle of gin with us, and decent showers. Our bathroom was well kitted out with disabled access, all the necessary handholds, emergency alarms etc. Which was interesting given the entrance to the place.

Agrigento

Tue 2nd - Thu 4th Oct

This place is located next to a full-up-tonight LP pick. Sam was very relieved to see that the entrance steps were the only ones, and we weren't carrying on up into the heights of the building. Giovanni was lovely, accepted 50 rather than 55 for a large, very clean and nice double room, actual double mattress on the bed, wooden floors, and a tiny bathroom with a toilet you're apparently not allowed to put toilet roll in - big instructional signs. He also drove around to the train station to pick up Sam and the luggage. It appears we have found the bit of Italy with really lovely helpful people living in it...

Selinunte

Thu 4th - Fri 5th Oct

This choice started with a very frustrating phone call, made from the middle of nowhere, aka Castelvetrano, the change-buses stop between the big bus from Agrigento, and the little local bus to get down to Selinunte. We'd decided that if we couldn't book accommodation in Selinunte before arriving, we'd just hop on a train from Castelvetrano, assuming we could find the station, and head onwards. So, I phoned the first LP pick. €90 a night. Did the usual protesting of troppo caro (too expensive), asked for a discount for cash, and was assured that it was on the seafront, and came with nice breakfast. Should hope so too. I hung up. Hotel Alceste was the second on the list. Conversation was along the lines of hi, d'you have a room for tonight? Yep. How much? Hang on. ... ... 70. Hmm, discount for cash? Hang on. ... ... Would you like to book? How much? Would you like the room? HOW MUCH IS IT? Oh, 60. With breakfast? Yep. 'k.

When we got there, wise to how Italian hotels worked, I asked to see the room. Which was a hard question apparently - they put a key on the desk and asked for passports (standard in Italian hotels, they have to do paperwork for the police). I asked again if I could see the rooms first, and hung onto the passports. First room was okay, but had a tiny bathroom and a bed with a very solid footboard on. This is not a good thing in Sam-world, as he needs the six inches just off the end of the double mattress, to put his feet in. I managed to explain this, and was given a key to a second room, which I accepted.

Lift up to the second floor, larger room, definitely larger bathroom, bed without thingo at the end, air con that didn't seem to work, and nice little balcony, where we enjoyed wine, chicken and chips for dinner, along with the sea view between the two widely spaced short apartment blocks on the seafront road - we were one street back it seems. All absolutely fine, completely average, normal hotel. Think I'm just getting really blaise about hotels - I've seen too many of the damned places in the last few months...

Trapani

Fri 5th - Sat 6th Oct

Cheapity cheapity cheap pick! Broken the lower record in style! We had a single room, turned into a double by virtue of an extra single bed, which only just fitted in. No air con, just a ceiling fan, but for one night, we were perfectly fine - sink in the room, little street-view balcony, and, big bonus, a fridge in the corner. G&T's-a-go-go baby!

In fact, although we'd been told we could change into a double room at some point during our initially-planned three night stay, we'd already decided that maybe we'd just stay in this room, on the basis that it's fine, and easier than moving. Unless we got offered room 10, which according to the fire plan map thingo is about three times the size of any other room, with two balconies. However, we ended up changing the three night plan due to the information point kindly informing us that we were dreaming if we thought we could do laundry on the weekend, pointing us towards an internet point who tried to claim it's illegal for us to use our own computer, and refusing to listen to, much less understand, our requests for suggestions of a bar in which to watch the England-Australia Rugby World Cup Quarter Final, telling us that there was no rugby happening in Trapani tomorrow, just a regatta. We eventually gave up and asked some mid-twenties types working in a mobile phone shop.

The shared bathrooms were fine, if a bit whiffy, the beds were comfortable enough (although an averaging of the slightly-too-hard and slightly-too-soft sides would've been great), and the room, whilst small, had enough space for the two of us for the night, and was a lot cheaper than similar sized rooms in other places we've stayed. Or, alternatively, our standards are getting lower because it's been so long since we've lived in an actual home.

 

Not Italy