we recently booked our Romantic European tour with insight
One thing that's really puzzling is that 8 out of 10 hotels that we will be staying in as stated in the insight brochures and internet have changed. no more sheraton or hilton hotels.
I can not judge if the hotels that they are putting us in is the same grade as ones stated in the brochures. but one thing I do know is that:
1. The hotel room $rates are somewhat consistently cheaper than the original hotel as checked on the internet
2. In venice we are now staying in a more remote location in Mestre.
the reason for the change as they put down is due to "Operational Reason". .
I am wondering if this has happen to anyone else who had gone on a trip and has insight honer their grades of hotels as they have always boasted?

Have made nine tours with Insight, have had hotels changed, but NEVER a complaint about any of them. Normally, the changes were for the better. Good luck . .. .. . just enjoy. (What do you do in a hotel but shower and sleep?)

I just returned from the Road to Rome tour with Insight and I was disappointed in the quality of hotels. The one in Rome was the worst hotel I have ever stayed in and was in a bad section of town. However, the pros outweigh the cons. Our tour was very well organized and we had wonderful traveling companions from the US, Canada, and Australia.

We have travelled both with Insight and Trafalgar and have found that you usually have a few good hotels and then they put in a "not so good". . Sometimes they are out of the way and other times they are in the centre of everything. It is just luck and when you weigh up the cost of the tour and take into account the meals, accommodation and travel you would not be able to come any where near the amount if you did it yourself.

One Tour guide told us to look at the back of the bedroom door in each hotel we stayed at in Europe. That is where the rack rate price of the room has to be displayed. We were amazed at the cost of the room per night and realized that they were putting us up at 4 star hotels mostly . . Occasionally they will throw in a 3 star to balance the books.

Enjoy your trip and forget about the Hotels as you spend very little time in your rooms.

Hotel changes may mean anything. It's good if your getting away from the Anerican chains and get more genuine atmoshere from Italy. But Mestre outside if Venice is a very poor loaction. Stayed there once because we had a car and trained into Venice. It's much much better to be on the island or even Lido is not that bad.

Beware, hotels in Venice are much below standards elsewhere for the most part, but I'd be very angry staying at Mestre -- it's a big industrial nothing. I'd complain to Insight.