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Back to Milan Zurigo
Hello,
We had a nice stay at Hotel Zurigo in Milan. The rooms were large, clean and well furnished. Breakfast was good. The welcoming was a bit "cold" at first but improved during our stay. The hotel was well located. We found a very nice restaurant, IRIS ristorante pizzeria, Via A. Mauri, almost on the corner of Corso Italia. Excellent service, friendly, the food was good and the atmosphere was relax. I recommend it ! We went there twice for diner.
Best regards !
Yolè Z.
Hi Jessica and Kristin,
We had a fabulous time in Italy and using your agency was one of the best things we did. I will start with the order of our itinerary. Since you don't make reservations in France (the second leg of a 3 week trip), we had to use a separate agency there. While I was a little nervous about doing everything via email or the internet, the results were better than expected.
Milan - We stayed at the Hotel Zurigo. This hotel was very nice for a 3-star hotel and within a 10-minute walking distance of the Duomo and Galleria - some of the highlights of Milan. The breakfast was very good with many selections of beverages and bakery items. The staff was very helpful, especially when I needed a taxi in a hurry (due to a missing voucher) or we would miss the 'Last Supper' exhibit. The concierge got us a taxi within 5 minutes and we made the event in time. They were also extremely accommodating with our rooms since our arrangements were a bit complicated. We were grateful that our two rooms were just across the hall from each other on a private floor (the top). We would recommend this hotel to our friends.
Lake Como - Our favorite accommodations of the entire trip! I was a little apprehensive because the price was the most economical of our vacation. Wow, we weren't prepared for the amazing view of the Lake and Bellagio from our private balcony. Our only regret was that we weren't there longer. Even though this hotel appears to be at least a hundred years old, it was kept up very nicely with a beautiful lobby and a modern tiled bathroom. The view from the restaurant (we only ate our complimentary breakfast there) on the 5th floor and verandas was breathtaking. The breakfast was also excellent with a great variety. Who knew what a gem Hotel Cadenabbia would turn out to be?
Florence B & B - this was a nice hotel on a quiet street near the main piazza of the city and the Uffizzi. We loved being this close to the action while not having the noise of the city. For a budget hotel, we were impressed with their efficiency and nice accommodations. We stayed in their recently upgraded rooms and were pleased with the nice bathroom and room.
Our splurges - we decided to book private tours through you. My husband was apprehensive at first due to the cost, but these proved to be the highlights of the trip. I would recommend this to anyone - if you are trying to do Italy on a budget, do it with less expensive rooms and even food if necessary but don't cut on the tours. I was traveling with my husband and 21 yr. old twin boys. They had never shown much interest in art and were apprehensive of an entire morning viewing just that in Florence. My husband later exclaimed that Florence was 10x better than expected and I will say that is directly related to the fact we booked private tours through you. Valentina was very impressive and guided us through the art, hitting only the highlights (this helped to avoid art overkill) and explaining each piece's significance in detail. In both the Uffizi and the Accademia, we left feeling like we knew more than the average visitor. Valentina made the visit meaningful and not mind boggling, as museum overload can be. Our friends visited there a day earlier and didn't enjoy the Uffizi as they just wandered aimlessly. Valentina and her knowledge of the pieces and their historical significance made the difference. We would highly recommend her to any visitors on your site.
Rome - Trevi Apartment, it was great to be in the heart of the city - near the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon - yet it is quite and safe since you have an armed guard at the head of the street because the apartment is located next door to the Quirinale - Presidential Palace. We liked being in the center of things without the noise. The metro was close by and the best gelato - Crispins, was just down the street (tell others about them on your site). Marco was very helpful when we called for directions to drive into the city and where to park (yes we had a rental car and it worked out very well). Marco reviewed a city map for us with areas of interest and was very accommodating, even coming back to help us when the satellite tv wasn't working right. The separate air conditioning in each room was really nice - but the unit in the twin room had to be shut off because it dripped. My only concern was the 3 flights of stairs to get to bed at night. If you don't mind stairs - this is great, if you do - don't stay here.
Tour - we did the full-day Coliseum, Catacombs and Vatican tour. Kiran (sp) was our guide. We were a little worried since he was nearly 25 minutes late, but he was apologetic (traffic?) and made up for it during the day. Whenever their were time delays during the day due to traffic jams, etc., he made up the time when we did get to our desitnation and probably spent more time with us than scheduled. Since he is working on his PHD in Art History, his wealth of knowledge was incredible - I can't imagine a better guide. He was fascinating and stated the stories without slant or opinions which allowed us to think on our own. His knowledge and insights, with extra details I'm sure most guides don't have, were well worth the time. We also appreciated the fact that English was his first language - it was easier for us to understand him. It was wonderful to walk past the long lines at the Coliseum.
Having Kiran as a guide for the Coliseum and Vatican was well worth the cost. Before we went inside the Sistine Chapel, he spent at least 30 minutes reviewing the panels using a story board in the courtyard. Once we did get inside, it was much easier to take it all in with the insights he had provided. I appreciated his knowledge of the real gems vs just artifacts so we didn't waste time wandering.
We will definitely use In Italy again and I will recommend you to my friends traveling to Italy. Now, when are you opening up infrance.com? This is a service I really could've used!
Thanks,
Meridee C.
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