Motels in Italy

A cheap place to stay by the side of the road in Italy

A Holiday Inn outside Trieste, Italy.Yes, there are roadside motels in Italy. In fact, a few years ago the autostrade (highways) started sprouting little signs letting you know how many kilometers to the next exit with a Holiday Inn.

I would still encourage you to head all the way into a town to enjoy an accommodation with a bit more character in the historic center (whether a hotel, B&B, apartment, or whatever)—or, if you want to stay in the outskirts, an agriturismo (farm stay). However, sometimes a quick and easy (and cheap) roadside motel fits the bill perfectly.

Book Early and Save up to 20% Off Your Next Stay!

InterContinental Hotels (www.ichotelsgroup.com ) - Another mighty chain of familiar names—with a surprising number of properties in Italy. Italy has many Holiday Inn Hotelsand Holiday Inn Express, as well as several InterContinental Hotels and Resortsand Crowne Plaza Hotels. (So far, none from the company's other brands, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites).

Accor Hotels (www.accorhotels.com) - Accor's Ibis Hotel chain (www.ibishotel.com) is the Motel 6 of Europe, with Italian branches across Northern Italy (Milan, Verona, Como, Padova, Cremona, Milan-Malpensa) and now northern Florence and suburban Rome. Ibis is owned by Accor (the French company that long ran Motel 6 and Red Roof Inns in the States), which also fields several increasingly upscale brands from the Holiday Inn–style Mercure (www.mercure.com) to the business-oriented Novotel (www.novotel.com) to the high-end Sofitel (www.sofitel.com).

Tips & links

Motel links & resources

Free options

Overnight trains:
Raileurope.com
Trenitalia.com

Work for your lodging:
Barattobb.it
Wwoof.org
Helpx.net

Crewing a boat
Floatplan.com
Findacrew.net

In airports:
Sleepinginairports.net

Useful Italian

Useful Italian phrases and terms for lodging

English *(Inglese)*	Italian (Italiano)	Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun
Good day	Buon giorno	bwohn JOUR-noh
Good evening	Buona sera	BWOH-nah SAIR-rah
Good night	Buona notte	BWOH-nah NOTE-tay
Goodbye	Arrivederci	ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee
Excuse me (to get attention)	Scusi	SKOO-zee
thank you	grazie	GRAT-tzee-yay
please	per favore	pair fa-VOHR-ray
yes	si	see
no	no	no
Do you speak English?	Parla Inglese?	PAR-la een-GLAY-zay
I don't understand	Non capisco	non ka-PEESK-koh
I'm sorry	Mi dispiace	mee dees-pee-YAT-chay

Where is?	Dov'é	doh-VAY
...a hotel	un albergo	oon al-BEAR-go
...a B&B	un bed-and-breakfast	oon bet hand BREK-fust
...a rental room	un'affittacamera	oon ah-feet-ah-CAH-mair-ra
...an apartment for rent	un appartamento	oon ah-part-tah-MENT-toh
...a farm stay	un agriturismo	oon ah-gree-tour-EES-moh
...a hostel	un ostello	oon oh-STEHL-loh

How much is...?	Quanto costa?	KWAN-toh COST-ah
a single room	una singola	OO-nah SEEN-go-la
double room for single use [will often be offered if singles are unavailable]	doppia uso singola	DOPE-pee-ya OO-so SEEN-go-la
a double room with two beds	una doppia con due letti	OO-nah DOPE-pee-ya cone DOO-way LET-tee
a double room with one big bed	una matrimoniale	OO-nah mat-tree-moan-nee-YAAL-lay
triple room	una tripla	OO-nah TREE-plah
with private bathroom	con bagno	cone BAHN-yoh
without private bathroom	senza bagno [they might say con bagno in comune—"with a communal bath"]	SEN-zah BAHN-yoh
for one night	per una notte	pair OO-nah NOH-tay
for two nights	per due notti	pair DOO-way NOH-tee
for three nights	per tre notti	pair tray NOH-tee
Is breakfast included?	É incluso la prima colazione?	ay in-CLOO-soh lah PREE-mah coal-laht-zee-YOAN-nay
Is there WiFi?	C'é WiFi?	chay WHY-fy?
May I see the room?	Posso vedere la camera?	POH-soh veh-DAIR-eh lah CAH-mair-rah
That's too much	É troppo	ay TROH-po
Is there a cheaper one?	C'é una più economica?	chay OO-nah pew eh-ko-NO-mee-kah