Italy Pilgrimage

Hotel Alimandi is a stone's throw from the walls of Vatican City. It is just a block from the main entrance of the Vatican Museums, which includes the Sistine Chapel.

This was the most spacious of all the hotels I stayed in Italy and included the most amenities. Starting at the literal top, the roof served as an outdoor restaurant, where a full breakfast buffet was served. This floor was mostly empty at night and served as a great hangout and poker tournament site for our group. The rooms were nice, with normal shower accommodations (a relief!--see reviews of Columbus Hotel in Florence and Hotel dei Priori in Assisi). The lobby was expansive, with a room filled with information on Rome's attractions, a large bar, a television room, and a parlor room with a piano. There is also a fine-dining restaurant in the hotel, but I did not eat there. On the basement level there is an exercise room, and coin-operated Internet access (the cheapest access I saw in Italy).

To save money, my friends and I bought sandwich supplies for lunch at Todis, a grocery store just down the street from Alimandi. There is also great gelato stand across the street from the Alimandi (don't bother buying expensive gelato--it's all very excellent).

This hotel is not quite in the center of Rome, but it is fairly close to a Metro stop, which can take you to most attractions.

The Columbus Hotel is on the outskirts of Florence, so you'll have to arrange transportation to see the sites.

The hotel's decor is very retro, but not in a particularly good way. The furniture in the lobby reminded me of my grandmother's house, but why spend time in the lobby if you're in Florence?

As an American in Italy for the first time, I was shocked that there were no shower curtains in the showers. Try to appreciate it as a cultural difference as you attempt to not soak the bathroom floor.

Hotel dei Priori is a gorgeous hotel in the center of Assisi. Assisi is such a small town, you can walk to all the sites. Since the streets of Assisi are narrow, our charter bus was not allowed to drive to the hotel. Our group carried our bags up several flights of stairs and a few blocks to the hotel.

The hotel has a lovely marble interior, Internet access, and a small bar but a tiny elevator. If you arrive with a group of people, plan on carrying your bags up more stairs.

The rooms are fairly ordinary; some people in my group had fantastic views. The bathrooms varied in size. Some people had normal full bathrooms, while I had a half bathroom with a showerhead and a drain in the floor. A plastic screen folded out so you didn't spray the entire bathroom.

For the most part, it was a nice hotel, but more importantly, it was in the center of Assisi.

Saint Paul Outside the Walls is one of the four major basilicas of Rome. The front facade of the basilica is covered in a bright gold mosaic of key church figures and doctrines.

Inside you'll find a portrait of every pope lining the ceiling. Tradition has it that when all the spaces for the popes are filled, the Final Judgement will come.

If you make your way to the right of the alter, you'll find a lush courtyard and mini-museum of relics and catacomb tombstones.