Customer Reviews

Bed and Blessings Italy: A Guide to Convents and Monasteries Available for Overnight Lodging

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was sent this book some weeks ago and I enjoyed reading at it. I was gladly impressed about the author's humor, just beacuse all of their comments are true. I am Italian and I live in Rome since I was born and it happens to me to work with these places when I eventually welcome people from Italy and all over the world. I also was well impressed about the honesty of the writers in describing places in and out as well as their location. Besides limited curfew times, which can turn your visit into a problem if you wish to stay out forward, these are the places to go especially if you plan to spend most of your time visiting the city. They are cheap, clean and most of all, centrally located! So, why spending a fortune into hotel rooms when you can easily get what you need for much less? I hope to find an update edition soon! Keep up a good work guys!

I just returned from Italy where I stayed in three of the listed guest houses. The prices ranged from $18 to $30 per night per person. The prices were close to those listed in the book, but be sure to confirm. The three houses I visited were all professionally operated and I was pleasantly surprised with the experience.

Many of the guest houses' rates are per person, and this is a big plus for those traveling alone. Men were welcome in many of the convents, but some convents only allow women.

Most of the guest houses take reservations by fax only and the book includes a sample request for information and a reservation form in Italian.

Bed and Blessings lists charming and out-of-the-way places to stay in Italy. Besides the popular places to visit, such as Rome, Florence and Venice, the authors cover less-traversed regions. There are few better ways to get a feel for and to explore the country. The disadvantages about many of the places listed, is that they do not accept credit cards, and that little or no mention is made about restrooms and whether one can get a private restroom.

Bed and Blessings is a unique guide to comfortable, affordable accommodations in Italian convents and monasteries. Although the book may be especially useful for Catholic pilgrims visiting Rome in the millennium, its information is also helpful for travelers regardless of religious belief, for the convents and monasteries welcome everyone. The book itself is divided into convenient sections based on region, and each entry provides not only contact information for the convent or monastery but also prices, description of facilities and locale, dates open, curfew information (if any), and directions. Also included are handy maps and forms in both English and Italian for requesting reservations.

I have just returned (March 2001) from Italy where my husband I stayed in several places listed in this book. We would definitely use this book again. Prices are somewhat higher than listed, naturally, but otherwise we found the descriptions fairly accurate. When you fax the institution a request for a reservation, give them your email address so that they can reply to you on email. Most of them seem to have email now, and it's probably cheaper for them to email you back than to fax you.

Also, if you have a problem with stairs, be aware that many of these places do not have elevators and your room will likely be on one of the higher floors. The maps/directions in the book could be a little better. Also, some of the bus numbers were off. You might verify location/bus line with the institution before you leave home.

I traveled to Italy in October of 2002 and spent one month there, relying on Bed and Blessings for accurate information on where to stay inexpensively. I was truly dissapointed. I ended up finding fellow travellers to be a more reliable source of information than "Bed and Blessings."

This book has not been updated since 1999 and over half the places I called did not have correct phone numbers in the book. Others were out of business or converted to hotels. Also, Italy now uses the Euro which is not listed in the book. One place listed in the book where I stayed, had fleas and they sufficiently dined on me. I fled the place the next morning to a local hotel.

Julia needs to get busy updating the information in the book if she wants to continue to sell it as a useful reference. I would not buy it again unless it is updated.

We have used this book as a starting point to plan seven trips to Italy over the past four years. For the most part, we have found the contact information reasonable accurate. We've found it still to be a very credible source, even though the information IS a couple of years old.

A bit of advice based on our experiences.

1. It may be helpful to send faxes during Italian business hours. Some of the convents seem to turn their faxes off during their night-time hours.
2. When corresponding with the convents should include your e-mail address. Recently, we've noticed that many of the convents that we fax respond to us by e-mail. This simplifies things.
3. Not all convents and monasteries answer faxes promptly. First, an overseas fax may be a significant expense for a non-profit religious organization. Second, if they have no vacancies, they may not respond. We've learned that if we don't get a response to a confirmed fax receipt, we may try once again or follow up by mail. If we still don't get a response, then we move on. Third, keep in mind that if they have a technical problem, their fax may be out of service for several days (or longer).

I found the book to be well written and entertaining - delighted to find such a unique book. My wife and I are planning a trip to Italy next year. This book quickly focused us in on the places to visit, style of accommodations which we can afford, and some background information upon which to do some more study/research. Highly recommend the book.

At last, a clear and concise guidebook that offers travellers some alternatives to traditional lodging. The authors' descriptions are enticing as they reveal the charm of each location, capturing the heart and soul of Italy. It is a well-organized book, with all the necessary contact information, and I found the maps to be especially helpful when planning site-seeing.

My husband and I lived in Italy for three years from 2001 to 2004. We traveled so much we could not afford to stay at a "regular" hotel every time we traveled. "Bed and Blessings" was always the first source we turned to when we started planning a trip. We found it very reliable, though by the end of our tour of duty, it was already going out of date. Glad to see that it will be updated soon. We will definitely buy the new edition before we set off on our next trip to Italy.

Each item generally contained everything we needed to know to decide if we wanted to stay there. We especially appreciated the maps and information on parking, as we often traveled by car.

Staying in convents is not something a typical spoiled and demanding American tourist should attempt. The rooms will be sparsely furnished, the beds will be lumpy, the heating will be sporadic, and the staff will rarely speak English.

But for open-minded, budget-constrained, flexible and experienced travelers, it is the only way to go. The rooms will be spotlessly clean, the location will often be exceptional, and the price will always be a fraction of what the hotel down the street is charging.

Things may have changed in the past five years, but when we were using this book, few convents accepted credit cards and most answered the phone only around mealtimes (Italian mealtimes). Some were just starting to make and confirm reservations by e-mail, but only in Italian or very broken English. Every convent had a fax machine.

Guests who stay at convents should remember where they are and adapt accordingly. Doors are often locked at 10 or 11 p.m. The staff is not available during prayer times. And if you are traveling as a couple, you might be asked if you are married.

Now that we're back home in the USA, some of our best memories (and stories) were born in the convents featured in this book.
Like the 500-year-old palazzo five blocks from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the one with the grand staircase and marble tiles that popped loose every time we walked on them. Or the modern hotel across the street from dock of the ferry that ran up and down the Cinque Terre coast. Or the beautiful palazzo around the corner from one of Rome's busist intersections, two blocks from one of the city's major bus hubs, where we fell asleep to sound of the motorinos (scooters) buzzing by on the street below.