Siena Lodging Made Easy

Siena Lodging at a good price

We have two primary sources for finding lodging, in this case, Siena lodging:  AirBNB and Booking.com.  This was especially true for finding Siena lodging, because Siena is full of apartments that people rent out during the famous Il Palio race, and that is AirBNB’s speciality.  Booking.com is going to cover all the hotels, and anything that AirBNB does not have.

[hmtad name=”Ad 1″ align=”floatleft”]Both AirBNB and Booking.com have very good websites.  AirBNB requires you to register and prove who you are and demonstrate your credit worthiness.  And they track you as you make your bookings and stay in places, so you build up a reliable reputation.

I have found Booking.com to be the most reliable in terms of large sites, though we also have used Hotels.com.

As you will read below, we decided early on to go to il Palio, the famous horse race in Siena.  Our connection for the il Palio race, Jacopo Mauro, also gave us some tips for Siena lodging.

These hotel recommendations from Jacopo (be sure to check at the bottom for a great tip on parking!):

The first of Jacopo’s Siena lodging recommendations is Borgo Grondaie.  Try to talk to Amina or Gaia and say that Jacopo recommended their hotel through a friend.

Borgo Grondaie is currently 110-120 € a night for a room, which is a good price.  Though it is a little far away, what some might consider a long walk, you can always take a taxi ride to the center of town.

The next Siena lodging recommendations are Palazzo Ravizza, then the Santa Caterina or the Athena. Ask for a room at the back at the Santa Caterina, and for the two top floors at the Athena.

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Palazzo Ravizza is a little more expensive at 139-140 €, but it is closer to the center of town, maybe 800 meters, one-third of the distance from the train station.  You can probably park at there.

The Athena is even a little closer, and a little more expensive, at 200 €.

As you can see, you are starting to get up there in price, and of course it all depends on how much you are willing to pay for Siena lodging.

So we come to the subject of our own Siena lodging.  How do you get a room for 4 days during the most popular event in Siena, with only 6 weeks notice?

Our budget is a little tighter, and even more important, we would prefer a kitchen and fridge so we are not at the mercy of local restaurants for a simple snack or breakfast.  Hotel rooms never have a kitchenette, and often not a refrigerator.

We decided to check Booking.com for something less expensive in Siena lodging, and ended up at Terzi di Siena, which is a collection of apartments in the center of town, in two buildings.  The contact’s name is Elizabetta, who speaks very good English.  You can find it in Booking.com or Tripadvisor.

 

Back when we first came to France a few months ago, we planned a trip with our 40-year-old daughter and husband, to Greece and Italy.  I immediately asked Carol if we could go to il Palio.

The first thing I had to do was to figure out how to get tickets, which is the subject of another blog post on Siena Lodging and the Il Palio Race on Aloha Creek, .

We got the tickets to be in an apartment window from an Italian fellow named Jacopo.  When we met Jacopo in May, he said, “You really need to come for all 4 days of Il Palio to understand and enjoy it.”

And this is how we ended up staying 4 days in Siena, and looking for longer term Siena lodging.

Siena is a fantastic city, and it is very old.  It was originally settled in the first century BC by the Etruscans.  Like many Italian cities, it grew a lot in the 1200’s.  It was involved in the life and times of the Medicis of Florence and other influential families in the 15th century.  Il Palio is over 400 years old.

So as a result, there are lots of Siena lodging options, from the high end to basic, even though the core of the city is very small.

Before I go on, let me give you something else from Jacopo — one of the best tips I can give you is that if you drive to Siena, and if you are staying at Siena lodgings, it can be a real hassle to park — unless you know the trick!  Parking in Siena is easy if you just go to the train station, and then take a taxi to your hotel.

The parking at the train station is only 2€ per day, and the taxi will cost you 10-12 €.  Believe me, this is a really good deal.  It will be very difficult and a pain in the butt for you to find your Siena lodging hotel yourself in the center of Siena if you are not familiar with where things are.

But a taxi driver will take you to the front door for a few bucks.  In addition, there are ZTLs (zona traffico limitato) where you are not allowed to drive, not to mention endless one-way streets.

If you park at the train station, take your ticket for paying as you return later, go upstairs to the front of the station with your bags, and get a taxi.

The taxi drivers are very fair-just make sure the driver turns on the meter, which actually should not be a big deal, I just always watch out for it.  No tips are necessary for cabs, but if it is an odd number, round up and make that the tip.

In all of our dealings with Jacopo in Siena lodging and other matters, he NEVER steered us wrong, and gave us some fantastic tips.  So therefore, I can tell you that the Siena lodging hotel listings I give you above are good ones.

Useful links:

Booking.com Siena Lodging

AirBNB.com Siena Lodging

Siena lodging made easy

JB Leep and Carol Martin