Italy Hotels
Depending on how long you are traveling, where you want to go, and what your budget is there is something for everyone visiting Italy. Italy gets more tourists every year than anywhere else in Europe and it accommodates well. Although, in the bigger cities like Florence and Rome, if you are going during high tourist season you will need to make any reservations well in advance. If you do this, there is no reason you won’t be able to find the accommodations you require.
Rome
4-5 Star Hotels: Hotel Art by the Spanish Steps is an expensive hotel located on Via Margutta or “the street of artists.” It is extremely comfortable and well kept and is in an absolutely unbeatable location. This hotel is truly the essence of luxury and should be booked well in advance. If location and luxury is what you desire in Rome it is best to find any hotel on any Piazza where traffic will be less and the view will be spectacular, but you will have to pay for these added features.
2-3 Star Hotels: Rome has loads of smaller boutique style hotels in which you can stay. These are bound to have very small rooms and much better prices than the more luxurious hotels. But, they are still clean and often can be found close to great attractions. Hotel Parlamento is a two star hotel with a friendly staff and good prices. It is extremely clean despite its low rating and offers a uniquely Italian style of rooms.
Florence
They say that tourists outnumber residents of Florence at any given time 7-1. This means that if you are coming during high season, you will need to make your hotel reservations well in advance. The most moderately priced hotels are near the train station Stazione S.M. Novelle. Just down Via Fume there are loads of boutique style hotels that are very moderately priced. Any one of these hotels will be clean and inexpensive, but it isn’t the safest area late at night.
The best and more expensive hotels are going to be the ones located right on Piazza della Signoria or Piazza della Republica. But, if you are on a budget and are planning to stay in town for more than a week, the best option is to rent an apartment. There are loads of apartments for rent and they tend to be less expensive than even the cheapest hotels. This way you can cook some of your own meals and you don’t have to make your plans based on a daily cleaning schedule.
Venice
Most things in Venice tend to be more expensive than anywhere else in Italy. For example, hotels near Piazza San Marco in Venice are going to be more expensive than anywhere else in the country, and more fabulous. This is because extravagance is simply a part of Venetian culture and life. To find the least expensive hotels look around the train station. Hotel Hesperia is one such hotel. It is a two star, which here means small rooms, but it is clean and has a cute entrance and lobby with a friendly staff. Venice is so easy to walk anyway the location of where you stay is almost irrelevant. Just one tip—if you are going for Carnevale in February this is the hardest time to find rooms in Venice, so be sure to book well in advance.