Suze - You're right it is already booked- thanks anyway. We will continue searching

Hi weddingbells,

We stayed in Suite #39 at Hotel Europa in Florence and LOVED it (honeymoon last June).

Here is my review:
Hotel Europa, Suite 39, E140 for a suite (2 HUGE bedrooms one with a queen bed and one with 2 twin beds), huge private bathroom with a jet-massage shower, breakfast from 7:30 to 9:30, small refrigerator in room, and air conditioning. This was right off Via Cavour and about a 5-7 minute walk to the Duomo. Our favorite thing about the suite was that all our ceilings had original 16th-century frescos. The hotel was very quiet and having that large suite to ourselves was most luxurious! The windows were double paned so we did not hear any street noise. I'm not sure the regular rooms in the hotel are as nice... they were on a different floor and did not look to be as beautiful or large.

Here is the hotel's website:
http://www.webhoteleuropa.com/old/english/Eng-suite.htm


Also, the hotel is only about 3 minutes from the Basilica San Lorenzo with the Medici Chapels and the market on the street in front of it.

From the pictures (you can see pictures of each suite if you click on the photos link), I think our suite was the Giotto.

It looks as if the rate has gone up to 150€ per night. I copied this from their website
Price include:
Private bathroom, buffet breakfast, air conditioning, taxes and service.
Terms and rules:
Check-in: 12.00 AM - Check-out: 11.00 AM Guests can leave their luggage at front-desk upon check-in and after checking out.
Children under the age of 3 years don't pay if they share the bed with their parents.
Cancellation Policy: Reservations must be cancelled 2 days before the arrival date, in order to avoid a no-show charge of one night's room to your credit card.

You will have a wonderful time in Italy. Traveling independently, without a tour, gives you the freedom to stop and smell the roses--or drink the wine or sit in a piazza or go back to the hotel--whenever the mood strikes.

Here is a list of hotels that were in my files that I consider my "short list" for our next trips to Italy. The asterisks are where we have stayed (and which I recommend), the others were recommended highly either by friends or on forums.

Florence:
Hotel Brunelleschi
Hotel Medici
Hotel Casci
Hotel Lungarno
Hotel Loggiata dei Serviti
Hotel Tornabuoni Beacci

Rome:
Hotel Santa Chiara
Albergo Sole al Pantheon
Albergo del Senato
Hotel Due Torri
Albergo Cesari
Hotel Portoghesi *
Colonna Palace Hotel *

Venice:
Antico Doge
Hotel Giorgione*
La Calcina
Hotel Ala
Hotel Flora

Hope this helps.

Lorac's list is a good one. These are also many of the hotels that ended up on my list as well after cross referencing websites, books and this board. I have also read good things about the Europa which I put on my list for future reference.

Since this trip is right around the corner, this list may be narrowed down just on the basis of availability. Email the hotels directly (just about all of them have websites), tell them it's your honeymoon. In most cases they'll get back to you quickly.

here are the emails i have:
CAsci, FLorence - [email protected], website: www.hotelcasci.it
Santa Chiara, Rome - i had 2, i don't know if they both work anymore, [email protected] or [email protected], website: www.albergosantachiara.com/
FLora, venice - [email protected], website: www.hotelflora.it

<<MF just informed me that our flight leaving Nice has a layover in Milan. So we could actually could stay in Italy.>>

Do NOT assume that you can do this by just "showing up" in milan. You need an explicit, in-writing, change to your ticket (e-ticket or paper ticket) showing that they have changed your departure city. Without it, you could be socked with a huge change fee, or denied boarding altogether.