its for my honeymoon

looking for something around $150 - 200 / night

few days i can afford bit more

any ideas of romantic hotels?

what time of year will you be in those cities? do you want to stay close to the city center or would you consider fiersole near florence or the lido in venice?

Yes, time of year can make a difference...

I don't have any romantic recommendations in your budget range but have just a couple of comments.

As you're researching hotel websites, look for discounts many are offering this summer that may extend into autumn. I.e., if you stay three nights, the fourth night is free. Remember that most hotels include at least a continental breakfast in their daily room rate. Finally, if you choose a romantic spot outside the city center that doesn't offer complementary shuttle service, add daily transportation costs to your hotel expense.

Ill be going in january 2010

was thinking if i book early might be able to get some discounts

What time of year are you going?

IMO and IME, it will be hard to find a special hotel in that price range but you might get lucky if you do a lot of research.

Il Villino in Florence would be lovely IF you can get a room there. It will be in the upper end of your range but is intimate and charming.

For a modern 4 star that is a great value I like the San Gallo Palace. I have stayed there 4x and if you do not mind a bit of walking, you get a lot of luxury for the money, including great bathrooms.

In Rome, you might get lucky and find a room at one of the two Daphne Inns. If you would consider Trastevere, then Arco de Lauro is getting very good reviews. The Nicholas Inn might also have rooms in your price range.

Venice is very expensive IMO but hopefully some one else can help.

In Florence-

http://www.lestanzedisantacroce.com/.../eng_rooms.htm

In Venice, try an apartment-

http://www.palazzofoscarini.com/

http://www.cortetiepolo.com/eng/appart.php

Or Venice hotels-

http://www.lacalcina.com/

http://www.pensioneaccademia.it/

http://www.locanda-sanbarnaba.com/default.htm

http://www.caangeli.it/eng/caangeli.html

We stayed in the corte tiepolo apartments in Venice this May and really loved the location. We ended up renting a 2 bedroom that is not on the website but on the same property. It had a small garden that we could relax in plus access to their small dock on the grand canal. Opening the palazzo doors onto the grand canal is a sight I will not soon forget. Overall it was a really peaceful retreat down a narrow street in the San Polo section of Venice.

Don't, on any account, book a hotel on the Lido (or Mestre, for that matter). You want to wake up in Venice and go to sleep in Venice. Otherwise you will waste precious time (and money) on ferries or trains or buses. The Pensione Accademia looks good. I stayed at the Abbazia Hotel, which is very near the railway station - handy if you've never been to Venice; you would find it hard to get lost on the way! It was very nice, being a converted monastery, beautiful atmosphere etc. The only snag being a bell that rang about 7:20 every morning in the nearby church.

We stayed at the Ca Dei Dogi on our last trip to Venice, in the "economy" room. It was definitely cozy, but we also thought it romantic. http://www.cadeidogi.it/en/index.htm

For about the same rate, we could also have had a balcony w/canal view at the Ca Furlan http://www.veniceby.com/cafurlan/

Do either of you have hotel points from either a credit card or business travel? you might be able to use those for a night or two and then have more $$ to spend on other rooms. I would start with Venere.com which allows you to search rooms based on your price level. You can also take a look at the ratings previous travellers have given the hotels. If you book online, you might want to contact the hotel (a good thing to do in any case) a week or so prior to your trip and mention that its your honeymoon. january is low season and they may upgrade you! If you book directly with the hotel, I'd still call ahead of time to confirm and mention it. Can't hurt!

collage:
We did the same trip in January 2007. We booked hotels in September at standard "winter rates".

BUT. In December we spotted a special offer at a fabulous hotel in Venice. Foscari Palace, 3 nights, superior double with large balcony: 132 euros/night. We canceled our other reservations and stayed in the lap of luxury at the Foscari. This website doesn't come close to doing it justice: http://www.hotelfoscaripalace.com/eng/foscari/home.asp

For some reason, we didn't shop around after finding that great deal. So I can't tell you whether we could have done as well in Rome and Florence.

Here's my suggestion: go ahead and make reservations once the winter rates and deals start appearing, probably soon. But <I>make sure</i> you can cancel. Then, in mid to late December, start making inquiries. Aim high, contact hotels you might never think you could afford. I think you have a good chance of getting a great deal in Florence and Venice. Rome not so much. But it's worth a few emails.

Buona fortuna!

We just stayed in Al Ponte Mocenigo in Venice and can recommend it. Ask for a canal view room.

These are my notes from visiting Venice three years ago. We did not stay at these hotels, but they looked nice and I wrote them down to investigate for our next visit:

"The Hotel Colombina is a four-star hotel, located at Calle del Remedio, Castello 4416. It looked like a very classy and pleasant hotel, in true “Venetian” style of design. The front desk personnel were very helpful in setting us up on the wi-fi, even though they knew we were not patrons of the hotel itself.

Other appealing hotels we noticed (besides the Pension Calcina mentioned above) include:
Dona Palace Hotel, four-stars, San Marco 391. www.donapalace.it. It overlooks the Rio of Palazzo Ducale, the Bridge of Sighs canal.

Hotel American, three-stars, San Vio, 628 Accademia, www.hotelamerica.com. An “antique palace”, it also faces a nice little canal, the San Vio, in the Dorsuduro area, with a pleasant first floor terrace café.

Hotel Bruno, three-stars, Castello, Salizzada S. Lio 5726/A, www.hoteldabruno.com."

i stayed at the Ruzzini Palace. it was pretty amazing

this person traveled more than a year ago

In Florence, Hotel Casci is great value and within your budget. Although it's not what I would call romantic, but the family that runs it is delightful and that makes up for the fairly generic decor.

Collage, did you happen to write a trip report?

We are just firming up last minute plans for a trip in August. We are interested in the Ruzzini Palace. How are the rooms, location, decor, ammenities, staff? We know it is on a side canal - how are rooms with these views?

Thanks.