Tips on Accommodations

Alas, Italy is no longer the country of dirt-cheap pensione, with shared bathrooms and swaybacked beds. Most hotels have private bathrooms in the rooms now (if not, my reviews state this), regulations and standardization have become much stricter, and prices have soared.

Italy's old pensione system no longer exists, and hotels are now rated by regional boards on a system of one to five stars. Prices aren't directly tied to the star system, but for the most part, the more stars a hotel has, the more expensive it'll be -- but a four-star in a small town may be cheaper than a two-star in Florence. The number of stars awarded a hotel is based strictly on the amenities offered and not how clean, comfortable, or friendly a place is or whether it's a good value for the money overall.

A few of the four- and five-star hotels have their own private garages, but most city inns have an agreement with a local garage. In many small towns, a garage is unnecessary because public parking, both free and pay, is widely available and never too far from your hotel. Parking costs and procedures are indicated under each hotel, and the rates quoted are per day (overnight).

The high season throughout most of Tuscany and Umbria runs from Easter to early September or October -- peaking June through August -- and from December 24 to January 6. You can almost always bargain for a cheaper rate if you're traveling in the shoulder season (early spring and late fall) or winter off season (not including Christmas). You can also often get a discount for stays of more than 3 days. Always ask.

Supposedly, Italian hotels must quote the price for breakfast separately from the room and can't force it on you if you don't want it. However, most hotels include breakfast automatically in the room rate hoping you won't notice, and many also argue that breakfast is required at their hotel. I've tried to include the separate per-person breakfast price for each hotel. With very few exceptions, Italian hotel breakfasts tend to consist of a roll or cornetto (croissant) and coffee, occasionally with juice and fresh fruit as well. It's rarely worth the 3€ to 15€ ($3.90-$20) charged for it, since you can get the same breakfast -- and freshly made instead of packaged -- for around 2€ ($2.60) at the bar down the block. Ask for your room quote with a prezzo senza colazione (pretz-zoh sen-zah coal-lat-zee-oh-nay), or price without breakfast.

Villa Rentals

Each summer, thousands of visitors become temporary Tuscans by renting an old farmhouse or "villa," a marketing term used to inspire romantic images of manicured gardens, a Renaissance mansion, and chianti martinis, but in reality guaranteeing no more than four walls and most of a roof.

Actually, finding your countryside Eden isn't that simple, and if you want to ensure a romantic and memorable experience, brace yourself for a lot of research and legwork. Occasionally you can go through the property owners themselves, but the vast majority of villas are rented out via agencies .

Shop around for a trustworthy agent or representative. Often several outfits will list the same property but charge radically different prices. At some, you sign away any right to refunds if the place doesn't live up to your expectations. Make sure the agency is willing to work with you to find the right property. Try to work with someone who has personally visited the properties you're considering, and always ask to see lots of photos: Get the exterior from several angles to make sure the railroad doesn't pass by the back door, as well as pictures of the bedrooms, kitchen, and bathrooms, and photos of the views out each side of the house.

If you're traveling with other couples, ask to see a floor plan to make sure access to the bathroom isn't through one couple's bedroom. Find out if this is the only villa on the property -- some people who rent the villa for the isolation find themselves living in a small enclave of foreigners all sharing the same small pool. Ask whether the villa is purely a rental unit or if, say, the owning family lives there during winter but lets it out during summer. Renting a lived-in place offers pretty good insurance that the lights, plumbing, heat, and so on will all be working.

One of the best agencies to call is Rentvillas.com (formerly Rentals in Italy), 700 E. Main St., Ventura, CA 93001 (tel. 800/726-6702 or 805/641-1650; fax 805/641-1630; www.rentvillas.com). Its agents are very helpful in tracking down the perfect place to suit your needs. A United Kingdom agency -- and one of the best all-around agents in Britain -- is International Chapters, a division of Abercrombie & Kent, Sloane Square House, Holbein Place, London SW1W 8NS (tel. 08450/700-618). Marjorie Shaw's Insider's Italy, 41 Schermerhorn St., Brooklyn, NY 11201 (tel. 718/855-3878; fax 718/855-3687; www.insidersitaly.com), is a small, upscale outfit run by a very personable agent who's thoroughly familiar with all of her properties and with Italy in general.

Also in the United States is Parker Company Ltd., Seaport Landing, 152 Lynnway, Lynn, MA 01902 (tel. 800/280-2811 or 781/596-8282; fax 781/596-3125; www.theparkercompany.com), which handles overseas villa rentals.

For some of the top properties, call the local representative of the Cottages to Castles group. In the United Kingdom, contact Cottages to Castles, Tuscany House, 10 Tonbridge Rd., Maidstone, Kent ME16 8RP (tel. 1622/775-217; fax 1622/775-278). In Australia and New Zealand, call Italian Villa Holidays, P.O. Box 2293, Wellington, 6015, New Zealand (tel. 800/125-555 in Australia, 800/4-TUSCANY in New Zealand; fax 644/479-0021). At press time, the organization was searching for a representative in the United States.

One of the most reasonably priced agencies is Villas and Apartments Abroad, Ltd., 370 Lexington Ave., Suite 1401, New York, NY 10017 (tel. 212/897-5045; fax 212/897-5039; www.vaanyc.com). Homeabroad.com, formerly Vacanze in Italia, 22 Railroad St., Great Barrington, MA 02130 (tel. 413/528-6610; www.homeabroad.com), handles hundreds of rather upscale properties. A popular but very pricey agency is Villas International, 4340 Redwood Hwy., Suite D309, San Rafael, CA 94903 (tel. 800/221-2260 or 415/499-9490; fax 415/499-9491; www.villasintl.com).

Agriturismo (Staying on a Farm)

Tuscany and Umbria are at the forefront of the agriturismo movement in Italy, whereby a working farm or agricultural estate makes available accommodations for visitors who want to stay out in the countryside. The supply of such places has exploded perhaps even more quickly than demand. The rural atmosphere is ensured by the fact that an operation can call itself "agriturismo" only if (a) it offers fewer than 30 beds total and (b) the agricultural component of the property brings in a larger economic share of profits than the hospitality part -- in other words, the property has to remain a farm and not become a glorified hotel. That's why you'll almost always be offered homemade sausages, home-pressed olive oil, and so on, either because they've been doing it that way for years, or these country barons essentially have been required to become farmers by law.

Agriturismi are generally a crapshoot. They're only loosely regulated, and the price, quality, and types of accommodations can vary dramatically. Most, though, are mini-apartments, usually rented out with a minimum stay of 3 days or a week. Sometimes you're invited to eat big country dinners at the table with the family; other times you cook for yourself. Rates can vary from 40€ ($52) for two per day all the way up to 250€ ($325) -- as much as a board-rated four-star hotel in town. I've reviewed a few choice ones throughout this guide, but there are hundreds more.

Probably the best most fantastic resource -- because it is both user-friendly and has an English version -- is www.agriturismo.regione.toscana.it, with databases of hundreds of farmstays, searchable both by text or by clickable map down to the locality level, with info about each property, a photo or two, and a direct link to each agriturismo's own website.

Otherwise, if you feel handy enough with Italian, you can avail yourself of the three independent national organizations that together represent all agriturismi (or, at least, all the reputable ones).

Go to the website of Terranostra (www.terranostra.it) and click on "La tua vacanza," then "ricerche." This will pop you up a map of Italy. Mouse over Toscana or Umbria, click, and you'll get 524 choices in Tuscany and 127 in Umbria, arranged, unfortunately, alphabetically by name of the actual property (not by, say, town, which would make selecting one so much easier), with price categories of basso (low), medio (medium), and alto (high). Click on the property name and you get a review with pictures and symbols (in Italian, but understandable enough) plus contact info and a link to the place's own website, if available. In Tuscany, you can contact Terranostra Toscana, Via Magazzini 2, 50122 Firenze (tel. 055-280-539 or 055-20-022; fax 055-292-161); in Umbria, contact Terranostra Umbria, Via Campo di Marte 10, 06124 Perugia (tel. 075-500-9559; fax 075-509-2032).

At the site of Turismo Verde (www.turismoverde.it), click on "La guida agrituristica on-line." In Tuscany, contact the organization directly at Turismo Verde Toscana, Via Verdi 5, 50122, Firenze (tel. 055-200-2216; fax 055-234-5039); in Umbria, contact Turismo Verde Umbria, Via Mario Angeloni 1, 06124 Perugia (tel. 075-500-2953; fax 075-500-2956).

The easiest to navigate -- since you click on a region (Tuscany or Umbria) on the map or text list, and the next page gives you the option of continuing in English -- is Agriturist (www.agriturist.it), but the site fails after that. You can indeed find hundreds upon hundreds of individual properties via a search engine. Stupidly, though, they do not then provide each farm's own website (possibly because they want you to book via their own site), so tracking the agriturismi down is that much more difficult; plus the info provided about each is far skimpier than with the other resources. In Tuscany, you can contact them at Agriturist Toscana, Piazza San Firenze 3, 50122, Firenze (tel. 055-287-838); in Umbria, contact Agriturist Umbria c/o Federumbria Agricoltori, Via Savonarola 38, 06121 Perugia (tel./fax 075-32-028).

In the States, a few agencies are popping up to help you track down a perfect agriturismo in Italy, including Ralph Levey's Italy Farm Holidays, 547 Martling Ave., Tarrytown, NY 10591 (tel. 914/631-7880; fax 914/631-8831; www.italyfarmholidays.com), which represents many of the more upscale agriturismo properties in Tuscany and Umbria.

For apartment, farmhouse, or cottage stays of 2 weeks or more, Idyll Untours (888-868-6871; www.untours.com) provides exceptional vacation rentals for a reasonable price -- which includes air/ground transportation, cooking facilities, and on-call support from a local resident. Best of all: Untours -- named the "Most Generous Company in America" by Newman's Own -- donates most profits to provide low-interest loans to underprivileged entrepreneurs around the world.

House-Swapping

House-swapping is becoming a more popular and viable means of travel; you stay in their place, they stay in yours, and you both get a more authentic and personal view of a destination, the opposite of the escapist retreat many hotels offer. Try HomeLink International (http://homelink.org), the largest and oldest home-swapping organization, founded in 1952, with more than 11,000 listings worldwide ($75 yearly membership). HomeExchange.org ($49.95 for 6,000 listings) and InterVac.com ($68.88 for over 10,000 listings) are also reliable. Craigslist.org also has an extensive list of housing swap options in Italy, as many Italians are eager to find a cheap vacation alternative in American cities.