Hotels in Venice and Florence..
 

Does anyone have any tips or experiences with these hotels?

In Venice. La Forcola. http://www.venice-hotel.laforcolahotel.com/location.htm

In Florence. Residenza Giulia. http://www.residenzagiulia.com/english/us.htm

I was very happy with La Forcola. My review on TripAdvisor is the second from the bottom.

Great thanks.
My only hesitation is the distance to some of the attractions, but we don't mind walking. It sounds like Cannaregio is a nice area.

Any restaraunt recommandations near the hotel?

venice is pretty small. You'll never be too far away from the "attractions"

You can get a 72-hour vaporetto pass for 22.50 Euros that is well worth the cost. With that, you can jump on any vaporetto anytime. However, you could walk anywhere from La Forcola if you liked.