Priceline Hotel: Florence - 12/25-12/27 - Advice Please

[phani]

Hi,

I need a hotel in Florence. I would like to stay close to city center as this is our first trip there. We will then be travelling from Florence to Rome to Amsterdam back to the states.

City: Florence

Dates: 12/25 to 12/27

occupancy: Double

Minimum Star rating: 3

Maximum bid $ 125

Zones: Close to City center

Can any of you please help and give suggestions on how to bid and get a good deal.

Thanks and Go Blue

Phani

[thereuare]

If you search HOTWIRE you'll find 3* and higher rated hotels for $99-$125/nite for these dates.

Do any of these work for your needs, or at leasat 'work enough' that you can/should lower your maximum bid above? I'm not sure if you're looking for the least expenisve 3* or better hotel or if you're willing to pay more for a higher rated hotel (in Europe, where star ratings are often more 'generous' than here in the States, i would tend to try for the highest star rating in your budget).

Also, many find that the zone boundaries in Italy are very large, take a closer look and make sure you'll be comfortable with a hotel anywhere within the shaded boundary. I'd also check LastMinuteTravel and GTA Hotels where there are 3* and higher rated hotels within your budget, and you can know the exact location of the hotel you'll be receiving.

Let us know your thoughts on the above and how you'd like to proceed (or if you found something thru the non-opaque channels suggested)

[phani]

Sorry for not making my request clear in the first post. I am looking for the least expensive 3* hotel or for a 4* hotel in the $ 100 to $ 125 range. My main objective is to have lodging for my entire Europe trip to be around 1K. I will be spending 9 nights, 2 each in Rome, Florence and Venice and 3 in Amsterdam.

I would prefer 4* hotels but, I also know I have a budget limitation so my minimum start rating is 3. Location is important as all these cities are our first time visits and we would prefer to not spend a lot of time searching for places to visit, which is unfortunately what I do more often than not. I am also searching through non-opaque channels and my travel agent receommended the following for Florence, which I thought were pretty expensive.

Monna Lisa- 3* $175 per night

Grand Adriatico- 3* - $175 per night

Montreal- 4* - $87 per night

Rex- 3* - $91 per night

Alamanni- 2.5* - $109 per night

Any suggestions how to proceed would be appreciated. I will also keep you informed of my finds.

Thanks,

Phani

[thereuare]

I would prefer 4* hotels but, I also know I have a budget limitation so my minimum start rating is 3

If, as suggested, you search HOTWIRE you'll see that there is a 4* hotel (as per HOTWIRE's rating) for $124/nite... so there is availability within your budget for a 4* hotel. As well, if budget is more of a concern than star quality, you could lower to a 3*/3.5* rating and consider one of the other hotels offered closer to the $100 range.

Location is important...

...and the zone(s) are often large, are you comfortable with a hotel anywhere within the shaded region which defines the zone? As well, there are non-opaque options within your budget thru LastMinuteTravel and GTA Hotels... have you looked at the location of the hotel(s) within your budget thru those services?

Bottomline is that if any of the options are acceptable, your $125 maximum bid seems too high since there are options which meet your criteria which are available for less than that.

[phani]

4* hotel in Central Florence:

12/25/2007 - 12/27/2007, 1 room, 2 nights, 2 adults for $ 119/ night

Ameneties include:

Complimentary Breakfast

Finess Center

Restaurant(s)

Tennis Nearby

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and have a good day.

[thereuare]

Please keep all posts for the same stay in the same thread.

Have you confirmed any reservation for Venice or Rome yet?