Customer Reviews

Cheap Sleeps in Italy '99 Ed

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to confess to being a huge fan of Sandra Gustafson's entire line of Cheap Sleeps/Cheap Eats guides. I first started using them when I was a budget consious traveller in college and law school. The I stayed in only the cheapest of her "Cheap Sleeps" confident that she only recommended clean and safe hotels of distinction. Now that I am a more discerning (and less budget conscious) traveller, I find that I still rely on Ms. Gustafson's recommendations. That is because her watchword is really not CHEAP but VALUE. She has ferreted out the hotels where for $80 a night you live better than most places that serve up $150 a night rooms. I also find that by mentioning that I am relying on Sandra Gustafson's recommendation when booking or checking in, that these sm all hotel owners welcome me warmly. She must truly leave a good impression when she stays in these exceptional-value hotels and B&Bs. So let Sandra Gustafson pave the way for you. I have NEVER been disappointed.

I have used Cheap Sleeps/Cheap Eats LONDON, PARIS, ROME-FLORENCE-VENICE and HAWAII.

I purchased this Cheap Sleeps for an as yet unbooked trip to Italy. I have used the Cheap Sleeps/Eats in London, so expected to get valuable information from this book. I was not disappointed. My biggest problem will be deciding on which of the dozens of places Gustafson recommends to stay when I go. I know from past experience that I won't be disappointed in any of them, because she gives any cautions required right up front. I would definitely buy any Cheap Sleeps/Eats book for a city I was visiting.

The value of a really good book in other spheres of literature can mean hours spent in another time and place in a trance of pleasure, or perhaps the true satisfaction of gaining a comprehensive understanding of a concept or event that had formally intrigued or baffled you.

These are considerable and valuable pleasures of course, but when a book like this gets things absolutely right, it can mean a trip being enhanced to an immeasurable degree, resulting in memories that will stay with you until the day you die.

This was my experience with this book, and when I awoke on our first morning in our hotel, the sun was streaming in over a terrace bedecked with lemon trees and classical sculptures, I could hear the mass being sung by the nuns in the nearby convent, and I could look directly above my bed to see a deep relief sculpture of prancing angels, it was difficult not to be convinced, for a split second that I had not survived the flight over, slipped by the pearly gates due to some administrative error on the part of St Peter & Co, and awoken in paradise.

That I had this experience was entirely due to the quality of the research undertaken for this book, and the discretion of the author. The writing is of a quality that you will wish to revisit the book, and your destination.

A 5 star rating is probably overused on ... but it would be ungrateful and crass of me to give less here.

Priceless information, precious memories, a palpable hit.

We used Sandra's books for both Italy and London and have had great success with them. In Italy we stayed in two of the most charming and wonderful hotels ever and have gone back to them a second time because we enjoyed them so much. Her information is accurate, her comments on cleanliness, location and amenities have been invaluable to us. We were desperately seeking a B&B in London and went to one she highly recommended. Believe me, it was more than adequate. In London hotels are very expensive and actually are pretty bare-boned but Sanda's information helped us to stay inexpensively, in a very convenient location, without breaking our bank account. I truly can't thank her enough for the recommendations in Italy. We love both of the hotels (Rome and Florence). We've also used cheap eats in Italy and London and found them helpful and accurate. Bravo Sandra! [:-)

I've just returned from two Sandra Gustafson weeks in Italy. We used both the Cheap Sleeps and Cheap Eats Guides. We didn't have a bad meal, and didn't have a bad bed. Her reviews are accurate in descriptions, price, and amenities.

This book is not about smelly penciones, but about value for your money. We had lovely rooms, simple and clean - we could spend our money on more important things (shoes).

Pay attention to the shopping guides as well - there are lots of poorly made, tourist trap shops in Italy. Gustafson is experienced enough to know quality.

"Cheap Sleeps" is somewhat of a misleading name. Right up front the author states it is not about the cheapest, but about the
best values in accommodations. I am rating this 5 stars in
comparison to other books of its kind. What impressed me most
was that not only are there descriptions of the various hotels
that let you know what makes each special, but for some hotels
there are specific descriptions of various rooms, allowing you
to request one that especially appeals to you. I can't remember
having seen that in any other guide. Included are some descriptions of the cheapest places, like campgrounds and hostels, but they are not featured. At the beginning are travel tips when planning your trip to Italy (and some apply to any trip you might be planning). Though there are many listings for Florence, Venice and Rome, other cities/towns in Italy are not covered; for the listed cities I think this book is very worthwhile. Note: Even if the exact prices change a little, the relative prices stay the same, so you can still pick a place to stay based on this book, even in the years after publication. Addresses, phone numbers, and in many cases email addresses are given so you can contact the hotel for the most
up-to-date information.

This book was extremely helpful to my husband and I when we visited Italy in '99 and again in '00. (We also have used her guide to Paris). If you read enough of the profiles of the hotels, you get a better understanding of the author's tastes, preferences, and values, and you can better compare her comments to your own interests.
With her as our guide, we have identified several hotels that seem interesting or inviting, and then looked for websites to give us a more complete portrait. Not quite a walk-through prior to check-in, but a pretty good substitute.
Should also note that the author of the recently published "Piazzas and Pizzas" seems to be a HUGE fan of Sandra Gustafson's choices.
If you can afford the Cipriani or the Hassler, this is NOT the book for you. But for the rest of us, it is a terrific guide.

This book was extremely helpful to my husband and I when we visited Italy in '99 and again in '00. (We also have used her guide to Paris). If you read enough of the profiles of the hotels, you get a better understanding of the author's tastes, preferences, and values, and you can better compare her comments to your own interests.
With her as our guide, we have identified several hotels that seem interesting or inviting, and then looked for websites to give us a more complete portrait. Not quite a walk-through prior to check-in, but a pretty good substitute.
Should also note that the author of the recently published "Piazzas and Pizzas" seems to be a HUGE fan of Sandra Gustafson's choices.
If you can afford the Cipriani or the Hassler, this is NOT the book for you. But for the rest of us, it is a terrific guide.

We used this book and her Cheap Eats book recently in Italy. Cheap Eats was great - fabulous advice every time! But this book left us underwhelmed. A lot of the information was out of date or incorrect. Our hotel in Rome was nowhere near where we thought it would be. From now on, we're using Let's Go for hotel recommendations

This is dated by the "lire" references (hard to know what things now cost in Euros) but the reviews are in keeping with what I have experienced in many of the places she rates. Needs to be updated.