Please note that accommodation in Esino Lario is in shared rooms and managed by the organizational team. Please book directly your accommodation in Varenna and Perledo. For special needs please do not hesitate to contact us as soon as possible.
We designed the event to have the majority of the attendees living and sleeping in Esino Lario. The hosting capacity of Esino Lario is far beyond its 800 inhabitants and it is linked to its touristic economy. The majority of the apartments belong to the people of Esino Lario who rent them; there are few hotels (one of them fully equipped for people with special needs), there are some accommodations structured as dorms and there is space for camping and caravans. All accommodation in Esino Lario is inexpensive and simple; there are no 4 stars hotels, which are available in Varenna (20-40 minutes ride from Esino Lario). The accommodation is managed by Catherine de Senarclens and the team of the Esino Lario tourist office (biographies of the team).
Around 60 private owners (including B&B Rainbow House). At the moment we only asked owners of apartments living in Esino Lario[1].
The apartments are quite diverse; the majority are flats and a large number are in Via Adamello, via Dante, via Castagneto and via alle Grigne. There are also some villas which has been made available and one apartment in Villaggio Riva with swimming pool.
Out of the current apartments, there are apartments normally rented to tourists and managed by the Tourist Office (kept vacant for the event); another flats are private homes made especially available for Wikimania international participants. The apartments normally rented to tourists and managed by the Tourist Office are in total 86 (according to the recorded numbers); at the moment around half of them have confirmed availability for Wikimania. Since they are normally rented those apartments do no present particular problems and the owners are used to manage them. The flats and houses made especially available for Wikimania international participants can present some specific situations; some of them have electricity disconnected and some owners provide the apartments but they can not manage the bedding (or - since they provide the apartments for free - we do not want to ask them to manage the beddings). The reimbursement is planned to cover the necessary expenses (i.e. necessary copies of the keys, reinstalling the electricity which is only 32 euro/44 $ - we already checked with the electricity company). For the apartments and houses for which is needed, we will use the reimbursement to cover in a centralized way the costs for bedding and cleaning; in particular we will do it for apartments which are provided to us for free.
In case the bid is successful we will proceed with a specific census of the apartments which will be done by a specific person, visiting the apartments and collecting the following information: address, geographic coordinates, photos to document the status, situation of electricity, situation of hot water (and amount of liters), situation of heating, availability of sheets, covers and towels, necessary to manage the cleaning, bathrooms, number of beds (single, double, condition of the beds), use of the kitchen, use of the laundry, amenities, available keys and necessary keys, emergency numbers, parking, estimated reimbursement and information about the management of the reimbursement.
55 beds, 4 bathrooms inside the building, 1 bathroom outside the building. The dorm is a simple and clean accommodation in building with kitchen, 2 large living rooms and a garden. To provide a comfortable accommodation we will reduce the number of guest per room (at the moment there are 5 rooms with 8 beds). In the summary of the accommodation we have already removed 20 beds (the list includes only 35 beds).
20 beds (old info online). We do not have confirmation of those beds and at the moment we do not know if this accommodation can be used during Wikimania. In the summary of the accommodation we have removed those 20 beds.
Below a list of the accommodation available in Perledo; information are collected only on booking.com. We did not yet contacted the villas and apartment owners in Perledo to discuss and negotiate prices and to book rooms.
Below a list of the accommodation available in Varenna. The price is the maximum indicated on http://www.varennaitaly.com; in general it is the full price for a double room; the information about villas and apartments come from booking.com and other data come from http://www.alberghieturismo.it. We have not yet contacted the hotels in Varenna to discuss and negotiate prices and to book rooms.
Last update 12 November 2014.
We expect Esino Lario to be able to accommodate around 700 people. For the apartments, at the moment we asked only owners who live in Esino Lario; we didn't approach apartment owners who do not live in Esino Lario. We expect that - by further asking - the number increases, but after the visits, double check on the apartments, review of rooms (i.e. double beds for single use, reducing the number of beds to arrange convenient accommodation), we expect the total number to remain more or less around 700.
Accommodation in Varenna and Perledo is a relevant option for the event, not only because it can provide further beds but also because it offers a wider range of quality (also with charming 4 stars hotels; the best hotel in Esino Lario has 3 stars). Varenna is around 30 minutes car ride (40 minutes according to regular bus schedules; 20 minutes by car - 12 km) from Esino Lario; Perledo is slightly closer.
↑The project has been illustrated on several occasions during the summer and winter. Leaflets and forms have been given out to all families with a door to door distribution. A contest with small prizes has been organized for the 10 to 15-year-old children of the village with the help of a Wikipedia volunteer to explain what Wikipedia is about; the children were successfully taught the principles of Wikipedia, how to use the encyclopedia and how to modify items. We targeted children as a way to reach and engage families.
↑This number only includes 35 beds of the Scout centre / Ristoro (which will make the accommodation more comfortable) and it does not include the 20 beds of Antropos/former-La Colonia (since we have no confirmation).
↑This is the number of beds of hotels in Varenna and Perledo from tourism websites. This accommodation has not been reserved, it does not include apartments and we didn't contact the owners.