Best Hotels in Italy: Rome, Florence, Venice, Como and the Coast

Travel Journal / Italy Travel

Luxury Tours Agency Travel Journal · Updated 8 November 2026 · 7 min read

Italy is a country of very different places, and the right hotel changes with each one. In Rome you want to be within walking distance of the sights. In Venice the boat ride is part of the stay. On Lake Como and the Amalfi Coast, the setting matters as much as the room.

Below are six places to stay, one for each part of a classic Italian journey, with a short note on what makes each special and who it suits. We have kept to facts we could check, and we are happy to confirm current details and availability when you plan a private trip with us.

1. Rome: Hotel Hassler and Hotel Eden

The Hotel Hassler is a five-star hotel at the top of the Spanish Steps, so the view over the city is part of the address. For a first visit to Rome it is hard to beat for location, and the Tridente streets, Villa Borghese and the Pantheon are all reachable on foot.

The Hotel Eden, a short walk away near Via Veneto, is the quieter choice. It opened in 1889, has 98 rooms and belongs to the Dorchester Collection. It was the first hotel in Rome to offer lifts and electricity, and it still has the feel of a small, private house.

Best for: a first visit to Rome, couples, and anyone who wants to walk to the main sights. See our guide to the top attractions in Rome for how to spend your days.

2. Florence: Belmond Villa San Michele

Villa San Michele stands on the hill of Fiesole, above Florence. It began as a Franciscan monastery in the early 15th century, and the present building, with its loggia and a façade attributed to Michelangelo, dates from around 1600. Today it is operated by Belmond as a luxury hotel.

It is quiet, green and a short drive from the Duomo and the Uffizi, so you can spend the day in the city and return to the hills for the evening. If you would rather stay in the centre and walk everywhere, we can suggest hotels near the Arno instead.

Best for: travellers who want calm after a busy sightseeing day. Plan Florence itself with our top 10 things to do in Florence.

3. Venice: Gritti Palace and Belmond Hotel Cipriani

The Gritti Palace is a Venetian Gothic palazzo on the Grand Canal, opposite the church of Santa Maria della Salute. It was redesigned for the Pisani family in 1475 and became the home of Doge Andrea Gritti in 1525. You stay in a palace and arrive by water.

The Hotel Cipriani sits across the lagoon on the island of Giudecca, and a hotel launch takes you to St Mark’s Square in about five minutes. It is the calmer, greener option, with space and quiet that are rare in Venice.

Best for: the Gritti Palace if you want to be in the middle of the city, the Cipriani if you want to be able to step away from it. Our guide to the best things to do in Venice covers the rest.

4. Lake Como: Villa d’Este and Mandarin Oriental

Villa d’Este in Cernobbio is a Renaissance villa that stands in a park of about ten hectares on the shore of Lake Como. It was built in the 16th century as a summer residence for Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio, and it is now a hotel. Edith Wharton, visiting in 1903, called the garden the only old garden on Como that kept more than a fragment of its original architecture.

Across the water in Blevio, the Mandarin Oriental, Lake Como is a more modern resort whose centrepiece is Villa Roccabruna, where the composer Vincenzo Bellini wrote his best-known works, La Sonnambula and Norma.

Best for: a slow few days on the lake, with boat trips to Bellagio and Varenna. Two or three nights is the right length.

5. Amalfi Coast: Belmond Hotel Caruso, Ravello

Ravello sits high above the coast, away from the crowds of Positano and Amalfi. The Belmond Hotel Caruso occupies a palace that dates to the 11th century, built by the d’Afflitto family and largely destroyed by the Pisans before it was rebuilt from the 16th century onwards.

You get the coastline without the traffic, and your driver or boat can take you down to the villages when you want to go. Ravello also has gardens, concerts in summer and a much slower pace than the coast below.

Best for: couples and anyone who wants the Amalfi Coast at a distance. Ask us about private transfers and boat days.

6. Sicily: Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo, Taormina

The Grand Hotel Timeo stands in the centre of Taormina, next to the ancient Greek Theatre. The Timeo name goes back to a house that rented rooms to visiting artists in the 19th century, after watercolours of snow-capped Etna drew painters from Berlin and Paris. Goethe had written about the theatre in his Italian Journey in 1787.

If you are going to the west of the island, the Villa Igiea in Palermo is an Art Nouveau villa overlooking the sea, in a neo-Gothic former residence. Our guide to luxury resorts in Sicily has more options.

Best for: a stay built around history, views and long dinners in Taormina.

Choosing where to stay

Do not try to see everything. Most guests are happier with three or four bases of two or three nights each than with one night in each of eight cities. Rome, Florence and Venice, then a lake or the coast, is a good first journey.

Travel between hotels in comfort. We arrange private drivers, fast trains where they make sense, and boat transfers in Venice, so luggage and logistics never become the story.

Check the season. Summer is best for the lakes and the coast, while spring and autumn suit the cities. Some of the leading hotels close for part of the winter, so we confirm opening dates before we plan.

Hotel details such as room types, restaurants and opening dates change, so we confirm the current position when we plan your journey. For where to go, see our guide to the best places to visit in Italy; for what to eat along the way, read our guide to food in Italy; and look at the 10-day private Italy tour as a starting point.