April 21, 2004 -- Although prices are going up for travel to Europe (we're heading into summer, after all), there are still bargains to be had, if only you look and look and look. That's where we come in with a couple of truly budget-priced stays in Italy.
We wrote last year about the splendid little Hotel Aphrodite in Rome, right next door to the main rail station (Termini), and its dormitory-like accommodations, but with air conditioning, satellite TV and more in each room. This year, a single goes for just €60 (about $72) per night in the month of August (marked down from the high season of €80, or $96). Double rooms that month go for €90 ($108), down from the regular high season rate of €120 ($144). Yes, it's hot in August in Rome, but in addition to air-conditioning, you have a minibar for cold drinks, the phone, a modem jack, hair dryer and electronic safe to make you feel comfortable, as well as use of the rooftop terrace. Baths and showers are en suite, and continental buffet breakfast is included in the price. You couldn't ask for a better location if you'll relying on public transportion, including getting to and from Fiumicino Airport by train. Contact them at www.accommodationinrome.com. Their address: Via Marsala 90, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Bearing three stars like its competitor the Aphrodite, the Hotel La Pergola is offering, on the internet only, special rates for its rooms this summer, though availability is limited, they say. For the rest of April, the price for a double is €120, $144 (except for the last weekend of the month), then it goes down to €90 ($108) for May (except for May 31), and for June and July the price is only €85 ($102), except for July 31. If you have a rental car, the garage price is €10 ($12) per day; if not, they'll pick you up from the airport for €42 ($50). All rates include buffet breakfast, taxes and service. Each of the 95 rooms has air-conditioning, phone, satellite TV and private bath. Contact them at www.hotellapergola.com.
Up north in Tuscany, you can live like a lord or lady in your own villa for as little as $280 per person per week (that's $40 a night) in the high season, with Country Manors by Cuendet. The lodging in question is the Villa Grazia, midway between Florence and Siena, just ten miles from San Gimignano. Built originally as a 12th-century tower, it has been restored and converted into a 1,400 square-foot residence in a 5,000 sq. ft. garden in the Chianti hills. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms, living room with fireplace, fully equipped kitchen. It can sleep six (hence the $40 figure, as the weekly rental is $1665), but is perfect for four persons or fewer. In spring and early summer and in late summer and early fall the price drops to $1,458, which works out to as little as $35 a night if six persons participate. Contact Cuendet, a subsidiary of the giant Cendant Corporation, for details on any of their more than 2,000 country manors, villas, farmhouses, manors, castles and apartments. Visit www.countrymanors.com or phone 212/678-7758.