Book ahead, book ahead, book ahead. Never show up in Assisi, especially from Easter to fall, without a reservation. If you do, you'll spend half your morning at the tourist office calling hotels, only to find yourself stuck overnight in one of the hideous large constructions 4km (2 1/2 miles) away in Santa Maria degli Angeli. If you plan to visit at Easter or the first weekend in May, book at least 6 months in advance. Behind only Rome and Bethlehem (tellingly, Assisi's sister city) as a Christian pilgrimage site, Assisi fills up for any religious holiday. On the bright side, it has more guest beds per square meter than any other town in Umbria. The official central booking office is Consorzio Alberghi ed Operatori Turistiche, Via A. Cristofani 22a (tel. 075-816-566; fax 075-812-315).
Besides the larger, more standard hotels, dozens of smaller board-rated one- and two-star outfits offer 6 to 10 rooms each. Additionally, families often have a few rooms to rent (affitacamere; ask at the tourist office), and many of the religious orders in town will let you play at being a nun or a monk for a few nights at a very low price (usually with many rules about curfew, noise, and bunkmates).
Of the simpler hotels, the Hotel Il Duomo, Vicolo San Lorenzo 2 (tel. 075-812-742; fax 075-812-803), above the cathedral, offers the basics without amenities. The large accommodations with cast-iron bed frames and small modern bathrooms go for 40€ to 42€ ($52-$55) double; breakfast is 4€ ($5.20) per person. The hotel is usually closed the last half of February. They have another, ever-so-slightly ritzier hotel called the San Ruffino just around the corner on the main street at Via Porta Perlici 7 (tel. 075-812-803), where doubles go for 47€ to 50€ ($61-$65), plus 4.50€ ($5.85) per person for breakfast.
The same family runs Hotel La Rocca, Via Porta Perlici 27 (tel./fax 075-812-284; www.hotelarocca.it), in the dizzying heights of town on the road to the castle. It has functional modern furniture and few amenities in 27 well-maintained tile-floored rooms (16 with bathroom), some of which have balconies and views over town. Doubles run around 43€ ($56). The hotel shuts down for the last 2 weeks of January.
For a stay with a religious order, try St. Anthony's Guesthouse, Via G. Alessi 10 (tel. 075-812-542; fax 075-813-723; atoneassisi@tiscalinet.it), run by the Franciscan Sisters of Atonement, an American order of nuns. They offer 20 comfortable hotel-like rooms with bathroom (some have views) from 50€ ($65) double with breakfast. They're open for business March through October, have a minimum stay of 2 nights, and usually require a deposit by mail.
At Fontemaggio, hidden in the woods about 1.6km (1 mile) east of town at Via Eremo delle Carceri 8 (tel. 075-813-636; fax 075-813-749), are a campground, a hostel, bungalows, and a hotel complex with one of the best countryside restaurants in Umbria (La Stalla). The campground has 950 sites and costs 5€ ($6.50) per person, plus 4.20€ ($5.45) per tent and 2.50€ ($3.25) per car. The hostel has around 100 bunks, some in rooms of just four, costing 19€ ($25) per person. The eight bungalows sleeping four cost 50€ to 70€ ($65-$91); those sleeping six to seven run 140€ ($182). There are 17 rooms in the hotel portion, with bathroom, phone, and views of the valley, costing 52€ ($68) per double with breakfast.
