Could someone please reccommend 3-star hotels in Rome/ Florence /Venice near the main squares?

I believe the Hotel Kette in Venice is a quite nice 3 star. Although I opted for cheaper accommodation I have had recommendations from 2 different sources.

Hi,

Venice is a very small town. There is no real need to stay near San Marco.

I suggest that you look for the nicest hotel in your price range.

Try www.venere.com.

Rome - santa chiara
Venice - Hotel Flora
Do a text search on either of these names. You'll find tons of info (very favorable for both).

Try the Hotel King in Rome and
Bonvecchia in Venice. The King is located within 1/2 block of the subway -great location. Easy walk to Trivoli Fountain, Plazzas, & Spanish Steps.

Bonvecchia looks expensive upon entry, but has very basic rooms in the older part of the building. Just a note - Venice doesn't turn their heat on until 11/1 and it can be cold in the room. Ask for a space heater.

Ciao!

Go to www.travel.it for Rome. All the hotels have their own websit there and you can deal directly.

For Venice the Galeria is great. I wasn't crazy about the Flora. The Kette is nice, too.

For Florence, I love the Pendini, but ther are a lot of other nice places, also.

If you go to venere do a search to see if the hotels have their own website. Venere can be more expensive and sometimes the hotel has room when venere says it doesn't.

If you're looking for affordable in Venice, try Locando Barbarigo -- great location. The San Stefano in Campo San Stefano also looked very nice. Florenceby.com and Veniceby.com are good resources.

3-star on the Guidecca canal in Venice

www.lacalcina.com

Pensione La Calcina

Rome: Santa Chiara-the location can't be beat.
Florence: Hotel Paris-good location and some charm.
Venice: Hotel Flora-I'm a fan because of its location, charm and staff. Another nice 3-star is Hotel Bisanzio.

I dislike the Hotel Flora in Venice. I won't repeat my many complaints but will only state that I'll never stay there again and never recommend it to others.

Jean, nice to see I wasn't the only one that won't go back to the Flora. It was various bad experiences through the whole visit.

rome: santa chiara
florence: hotel marios
venice:hotel bisanzio
we have stayed several times at both of the first 2 and would return to the bisanzio after our one week there.

In Florence, I recommend checking out the Martelli.

In Rome - Hotel Portoghesi off of Pz. Navona. This hotel doesn't get the best reviews on this site, not sure why b/c we stayed their in Nov. 2001 and it was perfect. Would stay there again without a second thought. My in-laws also stayed their in May 2002 and had a very good experience. Awesome location, quiet (which was a must for me), and good but simple breakfast....best of all, affordable.

We were in all three cities this past February and we recommend: Santa Chiara in Rome, Hotel Ala in Venice and Hotel Casci (a two star) in Florence.

Try Palazzo ruspoli at Firenze. A must. You can't find better. Believe me. You have a flat for you.

Invenice, try Hotel ALA. It's a bargain.

Olivier

Stayed at palazzo Ruspoli in May. Staff and rooms couln't have been better. Nice furnishings and large room with good breakfast. It is right at a main bus stop so there is traffic noise. Also some noise from people at Doumo piazza on Saturday night. Other wise very nice.

We've made plans to stay at Locanda Orseolo next year. I realize that I haven't stayed here yet, but I have not been impressed by any hotel as much as this one in terms of its guest service-very personal and thoughtful. Yes, this came through from email correspondences with its owners/managers (Barbara and Francesco) in order to get information about the rooms, etc.

It's a fairly new hotel opened since May 2002. It is very close to San Marco-50 meters or so-and there are canal view rooms that you can reserve in advance.

There are 9 reviews on tripadvisor.com and a discussion about the hotel last week here.

I'm sorry, Locanda Orseolo is located in Venice.

We stayed in the Hotel Rialto (annex) in Venice and loved it. The room was wonderfully furnished and we felt very secure there. I would definitely try to stay there again. It is right next to the Rialto bridge. And yes, Venice is small, you won't have any problems walking to San Marco.

Unfortunately, I do not have a recommendation for Florence. We stayed at the Hotel Accademia there and it was awful! I won't go into the details, except to say that the worst part about it was that our toilet was literally part of our shower!