Originally Posted by spinnaker
What is the best way to pick accommodations in Italy (hotels, pensiones, hostels etc.) ? Is it better to carry guidebooks (could prove to be a heavy annoyance) or use Internet connections along the way for pre-planning and tourist information offices for on the spot choices?
During my two weeks in Tuscany & Umbria last May I found just about all my accommodation on the Internet. I had accommodations for the night of my arrival and the night before my departure booked and paid for before I left the US, just because cheap accommodation can be hard to find in Florence. Many campgrounds have websites, and most hostels are listed on the various hostel websites. Many hotels either have a website or have a listing on the website of the local tourist office. Googling for "hotel", "hostel" or "camping" together with the name of the town you're planning to stay in will give you a good picture of what's available.
I did bring two guide books and a phrase book (Rough Guides for Tuscany/Umbria and Florence/Siena, and the Rick Steves phrase book) but I never used them for accommodation, just to see what there was to see in a given town.
HTH,
mark