HotelChatter

We first suggest checking out the Lungarno Collection which is owned by the Ferragamo family. The collection has most of their hotels in Florence but there's one in Rome called Portrait Suites and yes, it's right above the Ferragamo boutique in the heart of Via Condetti. You can even get a private escort (not that kind) to take you into the store.

As the hotel name suggests, the rooms are all-suites starting with the Superior Studio rooms which come with a fully equipped kitchen that includes a fridge, microwave, espresso AND cappucino make, dishwasher and minibar. Best of all, the hotel has free WiFi, something Four Seasons hotels do not. Rooms start around 447 Euros a night.

Another option is the Baglioni Hotels, a Italian collection of luxury hotels. There's the Luna Hotel Baglioni in Venice which has an ideal location near Piazza San Marco and facing the San Marco Basin and the island of San Giorgio. Literally, you step out the front door and there is the water and a gondolier!

The hotel was once an aristocratic palace but now it has just under 70 hotel rooms divided into two categories--superior or deluxe. The rooms are overdone in Venetian style (lots of silk fabrics, lots!) but do come with modern amenities like flat-screens and WiFi. Rates start around 555 Euros a night (the rooms with views are more.)

In Rome, Baglioni has the Regina Hotel which is located on Via Veneto near the Villa Borghese, Piazza di Spagna and also the fashionable Via Condotti. Rooms here are much less fussy than their Venetian counterparts although the purple headboards in some of the deluxe guestrooms might shock you. Room rates start around 618 Euros a night.

We're not sure what your budget is but if you're looking for a little bit of savings, Baglioni Hotels have a bunch of promotions and we know if you use your Platinum Amex that you can get a free upgrade and other perks.

Lastly for Rome, not sure what you think of celebrity appearances but this summer Woody Allen dined at the rooftop restaurant, Aroma, at the Palazzo Manfredi Hotel near the Coliseum. Some of the rooms look a little on the smaller side and there's not much of the finery that we see in the other hotels but a room with a view of the Coliseum (which most seem to have) would be the cherry on top of the gelato of your Roman holiday. Room rates start around 600 Euro a night.

And lastly for Venice, if you've got the cash, how about the legendary Hotel Cipriani, an Orient-Express hotel? The hotel's main building has 79 rooms overlooking the lagoon (and with its own pool!) but if you want to up your stay, book one of the 16 rooms and suites in the Palazzo Vendramin, a 15th century residence connected to the hotel by an ancient courtyard and flower-lined passageway. However, the hotel is seasonal so the Hotel Cipriani rooms will close after the first week of November while the Palazzo rooms are closed after October 17. Room rates at the hotel start at 1,100 Euros a night.

Hope these picks help and didn't burn a hole in your wallet just by mentioning them. But wherever you end up, please let us know where you stayed! And send pics too!

Got a better suggestion in Rome and Venice for Jcjteeth? Tell him where to go in comments below!