Booked Honeymoon!!!! Now includes hotel info for those who asked.

I'm just so excited. We're going to Italy for 2 weeks. Rome, Florence, Venice & Milan!

I researched and booked the hotel rooms and FH just booked flights. Can you believe we're going free b/c he had enough Delta miles????? I'm soooooo excited!!!

I should have said that the flights are free, we have to pay for hotels, food, etc. I was just so excited, and I realized I didn't say it right.

His relationship before ours was long distance, so he got a lot of miles going to visit her. At least something good came out of him dating a selfish brat right?

We're going to Amalfi, Rome, Tuscany, and Florence in July too! Would you mind sharing where you are staying and what kind of prices you got? Some places I tried to book told me they weren't taking reservations yet, and/or our travel agent told us it was too soon.... I'm starting to get worried now...

(feel free to email me if you don't want to post prices on the message boards. thanks so much for your help!)

I don't have the hotel info with me, I'll post it when I get home tonight.

I used Great Sleeps Italy and the Rick Steves guide to find small places that appealed to me. Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine had an article last month about great finds in Rome, which was also helpful. I'd pick out 3 or 4 in each city, contact them for rates, and then FH and I would decide which we wanted to stay at.

I wouldn't worry. I'm sure that a travel agent will be able to help you get places only a few months before, if you decide to wait that long. We decided to research and plan the trip ourselves, rather than pay a travel agent. But I have to admit it was rather time consuming. If I had a job that required long hours, I don't think I would have been able to do it myself.

Thanks, Cathy! We're trying to do some stuff on our own, but it's been exhausting. My job keeps me really busy, plus I'm a part-time MBA student at night. I barely have time to sleep, let alone research properties in Italy.

Still, we may only use the travel agent for certain parts, like booking the flight (we originally wanted to use frequent flyer miles, too, but we don't have enough and we can't combine them. ). So, any information you can send would be extremely helpful! Feel free to email me directly at [email protected] , if you prefer, or I will check back on the boards tomorrow.

Thanks again!
Alison

PS-I am getting married just two days after you! Not sure of your honeymoon itinerary, but wouldn't it be funny if we ended up in the same place at the same time.

Congrats you will have an amazing honeymoon! I have been to all the places you are going except Milan. If you have any questions about any of the places I have been to each a couple of times, especially Florence (I spent 6 weeks there studying a few summers ago) let me know!
You will have such an amazing time!

Before I post the hotel info, I just want to say that I have not stayed at any of these hotels, nor do I know anyone who has stayed here. I made my decisions based on the reviews in the books listed as well as by looking at their websites.

We booked rooms with private bath and air conditioning at all hotels. Rooms without private bath are cheaper.

In Rome, we are staying at the Hotel Smeraldo. We are checking in on 7/6/03 and checking out on 7/11/03. I found them in both the Rick Steves' Guide for Italy as well as Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel (10/2002) We are paying 120 Euros per night.
Hotel Smeraldo, Rome

In Florence we are staying at the Hotel Bellettini. We are checking in on 7/11/03 and checking out on 7/13/03. I found them in both the Rick Steves' Guide for Italy as well as Great Sleeps Italy. We are paying 130 Euros per night.
Hotel Bellettini, Florence

In Venice, we are staying at the Hotel Gallini. We are checking in on 7/13/03 and checking out on 7/16/03. I found them Great Sleeps Italy. We are paying 110 Euros per night. They don't have a website, but you can contact them via e-mail: Hotel Gallini E-Mail

In Milan, we are staying at the Hilton. We got a discount for redeeming my Hilton points. We are checking in on 7/16/03 and checking out on 7/19/03.

If you are looking to redeem Delta Skymiles but don't have enough, you can purchase them from Delta. I know there is a limit to the number you can buy per year, but if it's calendar year, you might be able to get some this year and some next year.

Also, if you are looking for more Hilton points, I was able to convert my Delta Skymiles for Hilton points. You get 10,000 Hilton points for every 5,000 Skymiles. Or you can purchase up to 20% of what you need from Hilton directly.

Edited to add: I've read a few places that you should mention anything you think will get you a discount. I made sure to mention in all my e-mails that we were Americans coming on our honeymoon. As well as where we found them listed, since all of these places offer a discount to readers of the books.

Alison: Let me know if we'll be in the same place at the same time. Maybe we can have a LIW get together in Italy.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks a ton! I will look into some of these...while we certainly don't mind saving the $$, we're definitely not into booking anything without A/C or a private bath...ESPECIALLY not on our honeymoon!

The funny thing about our schedules is that it looks like we'll be following you guys...sort of, at least.

Our wedding's July 6, so we plan to leave from either NY, Philly, or DC the night of 7/7, arriving in either Rome or Naples the morning of the 8th. We're going south first, to Amalfi, and spending 3-4 days there. That puts us in Rome probably right around the 11th...just as you're leaving! We'll probably stay in Rome through the 15th and then head to Tuscany and Florence. We're actually not going to Venice or Milan. My guess is we'll fly back out of Rome on the 19th.

We actually do have one hotel booked, with Hilton points, in fact! For now, anyway, we booked ourselves into the Hilton Rome Airport for the night of the 18th, after we travel back from Florence, so we can have a restful last night instead of running around the morning of the 19th to catch a plane back.

Who knows...maybe we'll run into you in JFK when we get back into NY on the 19th! (Assuming we fly into NY, that is...) So maybe our get-together will have to be a 'Welcome Home' party in the airport.

Oh, and as for airfare, the only airline where we have even close to enough miles, even if we did buy some, is US Air and, frankly, it scares me a little to book my honeymoon 8 months away on an airlines that's cutting routes faster than my bridesmaids are getting pregnant...