Even though my other half collects points with a major hotel chain, sometimes I long for more personal service when I travel. That’s when I turn to a good Bed & Breakfast. There’s something about the coziness that makes me feel more “at home” than a typical hotel. Additionally, in the major cities of Italy, I’ve noticed that the hotels attached to our major hotel chains in the U.S. are usually much different than what we are used to in the States. In some cases better, but in some cases, definitely not up to par for what you’ll end up paying.
Luckily for us, the B&B market has exploded in Italy and I have stayed in several throughout the country including ones in Florence, Rome, Naples, and Sicily. When we are planning our trip, we always go to a booking site and look at the map view. From there, we choose an optimal location near the things we want to see (we tend to prefer places near mass transit since it’s easier to get around). Then we look for the best ratings and narrow down our decision from there.
At that point, we look at pictures, take note of the amenities, and read the actual reviews (both the good and bad). What I’ve found is that sometimes people give bad reviews for things out of the control of the establishment. For example, I read one review where the patron gave one star because they lost water for an evening. In reading other reviews, it seemed to be a water main break and the hosts of the B & B went out and bought bottled water for everyone in abundance. I’ve also found that some places “pump up” their ratings with fake reviews, but those places usually have very few reviews and it’s obvious as long as you look.
Using this method, we haven’t had a bad experience to date. In fact, we’ve had some great ones which leads me to our stay in Sicily. We’ve been coming here for the last four years to visit my other half’s family and we luckily stumbled upon La Casa del Poeta dell’Etna (The House of the Poet of Etna). As a lover of literature, I must say that this B&B is delightfully decorated in a modern style which includes poetry throughout. During our many stays, we ended up in several of the rooms and found them all to be extremely clean and comfortable. This time, because we had the teens, we stayed in a “family room” which could have easily accommodated another child or two if necessary.
Upon check in, you get a key for the outside door and your room and the owners will give you maps, food recommendations, and they even go over the major sites in the area along with a general idea of cost. If there is some sort of coupon available, they provide them as well. Each room has a fridge, but they also leave little snacks in the breakfast room just in case. Speaking of breakfast…
Some places give you a set time to get your breakfast, some places have you order at night and then bring it at an appointed time to your room, and other places like this B&B ask you what time your prefer. When we made our way down each morning, one of the owners was there ready to make my coffee. I just love coffee and at this B&B, my love affair was totally catered to…
If you are looking for some anonymity when you travel, then the bigger hotel chains will be a better bet for you, however, if you’re looking for more personal service catered to your needs, then with a little research I know you’ll find the perfect B&B for you. Although we didn’t use these services, La Casa del Poeta dell’Etna offers storage for biking and skiing equipment for patrons that are coming to Etna for sports.
When we found this B&B, we were looking for a place that was a short walking distance to the piazza of Nicolosi, but not so close that we would be disturbed by the noise late at night. Our walk in the evening took about 5 minutes. In the piazza, we found all the food and drink could have ever wanted and it was easy to meet our family and friends without having to worry about driving in the dark.
So whatever your passion, I’m sure you’ll find a B&B that caters to it. Do you know someone that loves coffee or B&Bs? Share this post with them!
