Best of Europe 2012 Book
Best and worst accommodations:
Best: Alessandro Hotel, Florence, Italy
Why: We loved Monty! He was a great greeter and gave terrific recommendations for restaurants.
Marilyn in Metuchen, NJ USA 11/13/2011
Best: Hotel Keizershof
Why: Hotel Keizershof is a wonderful place to stay. It is centrally located on one of the beautiful canals. Our room overlooked a lovely garden in bloom. The room was large, comfortable, spotlessly clean, had a lovely delft tile fireplace, private bath and toilet room, and fresh flowers. Housekeeping was provided daily. The family hosts were absolutely lovely, warm and welcoming to the guests. Mary provided fabulous heroic breakfasts at a long linen covered table beautifully appointed for individual guests. Hannaka and Ernest were available for consultation and lively conversation. It might be good to visit Amsterdam just to stay at this great place!
Worst: Hotel Cluny Sorbonne
Why: No useable outlets in our room for computor access. Unresponsive staff, sometimes bordering on surly. Extremely small elevator, peeling paint in clean but tiny cramped room, several attempts night and day by other guests to force our lock with their key.
Jeanette Hemmen in Seattle, WA USA 09/09/2011
Best: Pension Suzanne in Vienna or Hotel Medliku in Prague
Why: Both had good sized rooms, were close to the action and had a good breakfast.
Worst: Hotel Riva
Why: We were right on the canal and heard them yelling out "hoy" till 2:00 am. Then the motor boats would rev up the engines coming through t he canal a 6:00 am. We got little sleep. This was not the hotels fault, but had more to do with their location. The breakfast consisted of a piece of white bread, juice and a cup of coffee. We Americans are not use to this but it would probably keep us lighter if we accepted it. Otherwise the locations was good and the people were friednly..
Tom in Elm Grove, Wi USA 07/10/2011
Best: Die Hirschgasse Hotel
Why: The hotel is beautiful and full of history. The owners and staff call you by name and make you feel at home. The rooms are beautiful and spacious. The breakfast is delicious. They have a vitamin juice which most hotels offer in Germany, but not like theirs. They make their own from their vineyard. I can't get anything close to this in the States. I have stayed in other hotels in Germany and this is by far the best hotel. My husband and I found this hotel in 2006 and have stayed twice. The first time was for four days. The second we stayed for seven days and were off to Baden Baden and Rothenberg o.d.t. When we left to Baden Baden and reached the Atlantic Park Hotel, we were so unhappy with their accommodations and service that we called Die Hirschgasse to ask if we could come back. They were so wonderful to have us back and give us our favorite room. We cancelled the rest of our trip and stayed at Die Hirschgasse. The next time we go to Germany, we will only stay at this hotel and in the city of Heidelberg. I can't say enough good things about this hotel. They even have onsite parking if you rent a car and it is free! We have not eaten at their beautiful restaurant since we go into the old city for the day and stay late, but we always notice all the people that do and they are very busy in the evenings with diner's. Next time we go, we will not miss their evening restaurant.
Patricia Barry in Dallas, TX USA 04/12/2011
Best: Residenzia Il Villino in Firenze
Why: Hands down, not even a contest with the other three hotels we stayed in in Europe, this place ROCKED!!! A most excellent wifi connection in the room, towel warmer, window in bathroom, nice view of the Duomo from room, wonderful plentiful breakfast, and best of all, the most friendly hosts two american girls could ask for. Also, the price was extremely fair and they gave a cash discount. Yahoooooo!
Worst: Hotel Suisse in Nice
Why: It wasn't bad, just overpriced breakfast which we didn't eat, wifi did not work in the room. The view was stunning, but you couldn't enjoy the balcony because the road noise was deafening. The front desk staff was the least helpful of all our hotels.
Dawnya Brown in Saint George, Ut USA 04/02/2011
Best: Pension Gimmelwald
Why: Location, location, location! Sabine and Heidi were great fun to chat with in the evenings.
Worst: Hotel Saini Meuble in Stresa, IT or Hotel Continental, Bern Switz
Why: Hotel Saini -- noisy - disco and bars nearby didn't settle down until after 1AM, some appliances didn't work and mgr acted like we shouldn't expect them to; horrible breakfast; Hotel Continental's location near a Migro's grocery store had semi trucks rolling up and unloading under our window starting at 5AM - noise was awful.
Kathy Hoffman in Alpharetta, GA USA 08/15/2010
Best: Frederic's houseboat at Amsterdam
Why: Frederic and his wife were fantastic hosts and we loved the houseboat. In hindsight, we all agreed that we should have stayed there longer and skipped Brussels.
Joe Hansen in Cape Coral, FL USA 07/05/2010
Best: Globtroter in Krakow
Why: This guest house had everything we wanted and at a very good price. Our room was large and very clean with lots of hot water and good water pressure in the shower. While the rooms are not fancy, they are pleasant, as wooden ceiling beams and decor give the rooms some character. The hosts are very accommodating and provide anything you need (eg. extra complimentary coffee, common refrigerator, ice, extra sheets, internet access, etc.). Their restaurant recommendations were right on. Someone on duty at reception 24 hours a day. Excellent location, quiet but very central. My husband and I are over 60, but this place is suitable for guests of all ages.
F. Pearl in St. Catharines, USA 09/11/2009
Best: Gulliver's B&B (II), Rome
Why: This is an excellent location close to both the Termini and a 10 minute walk to Rome's Colosseum. Even better than that, it feels homey and safe, has an excellent breakfast, and Sara our hostess knows Rome. She was kind, friendly, and very knowledgeable. They had a great DVD selection, free Wifi, and access to a desktop computer and printer.
Worst: Hotel Kranenturm
Why: Our experience here was fine for the price, but compared to other recommended places we stayed, it was probably the worst.
Kristen in Gail, TX USA 08/22/2009
Best: Hotel de la Tour Eiffel
Why: Charming hotel in the Rue Cler neighborhood. Lots of great bakeries and restaurants nearby.
Cary Jung in Sacramento, CA USA 05/18/2009
Best: Edi's Rooms in Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre
Why: Great service, super room, very reasonable prices.
Worst: Hotel du Parc in Avignon
Why: Spartan, Spartan, Spartan!!! The room was ice cold and was very slow to heat and had the smallest bathroom imaginable!! Prices weren't that much better than hotels offering more amenities better situated.
Bart Brady Ciampa in Vancouver, WA USA 05/11/2009
Best: Hotel Adornes, Brugge
Why: Our first room had the smell of smoke, but the owner quickly relocated us to another room. The rooms were very nice, and the bathrooms excellent. The owner and staff were anxious to please, and catered to our every request. Breakfast was great as well.
Bob Kuning in Albuquerque, NM USA 04/08/2009
Best: Hotel Pension Corvinus
Why: Very friendly. The room was incredible -- far exceeded our expectations.
Michele Smith in Burlington, MA USA 04/06/2009
Best: Amsterdam- Frederic's Bike Rentals for a houseboat
Why: The owners were very kind and helpful. And staying on a houseboat was a very unique and wonderful experience. Worth every penny. We stayed on houseboat 9, which was close to the Anne Frank house. It was really clean, roomy, cozy, and even had a washing machine! We loved the neighborhood and nearby restaurants. It was also close to public transportation. If you're going to Amsterdam, definitely consider Frederic's houseboats.
Roselle Okubo in Miami, FL USA 03/31/2009
Worst: London Winchester Hotel
Why: I suppose you get what you pay for. Yes, it was affordable by London standards, but the room was barely big enough to turn around in. Since we were on the very top floor, the water pressure for the toilet and shower were unpredictable. The heat was centrally controlled and there was no way to adjust the temperature in individual rooms. This meant sleeping with the window open and using earplugs to block out noise from the street. The room and the rest of the hotel were clean and the staff were friendly and helpful.
CW in The Hague, Netherlands 02/02/2009