Residence hotels in Italy

Setting up housekeeping—without the housekeeping

Residences hotels--like this one in Italy--offer a cross between a rental apartment and a hotel

Residences hotels--like this one in Siracusa, Sicily--offer a cross between a rental apartment and a hotel.

For more info:
www.venere.com
www.booking.com
www.barclayweb.com

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A "residence"—sometimes called an "ApartHotel" or "serviced apartment"—is a cross between an apartment building and a traditional hotel.

It's a serviced apartment available for short-term rentals—kind of like the all-suites hotels beloved by business travelers in America.

Usually, residence hotels are an option mainly for longer stays (often a week minimum, though plenty have three-night or even nightly rates), and they work a bit like having your own efficiency apartment in a doorman building.

Accommodations are at least studios with kitchenette, if not full-blown mini-apartments, and might sleep anywhere for one to six people. They are usually rented by the week or month, and they are usually cleaned weekly (sometimes more frequently)

Essentially, it's a bit like getting a time share just for the week or month—only without the whole annoying sales pitch. They are often used by folks in town on business for an extended period (in fact, when I studied abroad in Rome, Italy, a "residence" near the school served as student housing for the program), but that doesn't mean travelers can't shack up in them as well. You just have to plan to stick around town for a bit longer than the average tourist.

Booking residences in Italy
Residences in Rome (Booking | Venere)
Residences in Florence (Booking | Venere)
Residences in Venice (Booking | Venere)
Residences in Milan (Booking | Venere)
Residences in Sorrento (Booking | Venere)
Residences in Amalfi (Booking | Venere)
Residences in Positano (Booking | Venere)
Residences in Pisa (Booking | Venere)
Residences in Siena (Booking | Venere)
Residences in Bologna (Venere)
Residences in Naples (Booking | Venere)The reason this page is separate from that on how to rent an apartment is because I consider apartment rentals to be where you are getting a private apartment in a building surrounded by flats inhabited by actual local residents, whereas in one of these "residence" hotels, everyone is a visitor from out of town.

Not that this is a bad thing. For about four months back in 1993, I lived in a residence in Rome—the Residence Medaglie d'Oro, a serviceable, if otherwise unforgettable, place in the un-touristy, middle-class Prati neighborhood north of the Vatican. First day there, I was leaning over the railing of my balcony and happened to look up. Two floors above me, a young woman was also leaning on her balcony rail, so I called up, "Buongiorno!" She looked down and replied, "I don't speak Italian." Turns out she was from, of all places, Tampa, Florida.

Nealry 20 years later, we're still together. I can't wait to bring our sons to Rome one day and show him the residence where Mommy and Daddy met.

How to find residence hotels

Venere.com (www.venere.com) - This European booking engine is one of the few to list residences, with often dozens of options in major cities. Even if this weren't our partner site, I'd suggest it as the best one-stop shopping for residence hotels.

Booking.com (www.booking.com) - Another rare booking engine which actually lists Residences (alongside hotels, apartments, and other options) in cities and towns across Italy.

Barclay International (www.barclayweb.com) - One of the world's premier rental agencies since 1963. (And yes, "premier" does mean "a bit pricey"). Excellent properties and service, though, throughout Western Europe, and though they're billed as rental apartments, these aren't just some bloke's flat; most of them are actually residence hotels or buildings of entirely short-term rentals or condos.

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This material was last updated October 2010. All information was accurate at the time.

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Residence hotels in Italy

Setting up housekeeping—without the housekeeping

How to find residence hotels

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