italy: favorite luxury hotels?
 

Hello everyone! I was wondering what people's favorite luxury hotels are in Italy. I'm just starting to plan my honeymoon and since I am having so much trouble deciding where in Italy to go, I thought maybe hearing about some favorite hotels might help - because I'm one of those people who can't resist a really luxurious hotel. (we're willing to spend a good amount of money, but something short of Villa D'Este $1000 a night type money)

Hello sharbear, if you are going to Florence the Excelsior across the street from the River Arno is very beautiful with fantastic service and walkable to everything. Here is the website:
http://excelsior.hotelinfirenze.com/?source=googles

Another hotel that is very lovely is the Hotel Savoy in Florence:http://www.lhw.com/property.aspx?&pr...FRpdagodgFyl8g

Sorry sharbear, for some reason the Hotel Savoy website did not post properly and the edit function on Fodor's doesn't seem to be working right now. But if you are interested just Google Hotel Savoy for their proper website address.
And congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

Villa Cipriani in Asolo (90 minutes outside of Venice) is really lovely.

There are very nice hotels in most of the desirable places in Italy. I suggest your best bet is to pick the locations first.

I agree that you should pick where you want to go first, then find a luxury hotel in your price range. Be aware that many luxury hotels are around $1000 per night now. I just checked rates on my favorite luxury hotel in Rome, the de Russie, and a deluxe double in June is over $900. Very luxurious hotels in Positano like the Sirenuse and San Pietro are also around that price or higher. You may get a better rate in Venice or Florence (but not at the Cipriani or the Villa San Michele).

Le Sireneuse in Positano is really the most romantic hotel I've ever stayed at. Consistenly listed as one of the top in the world, but it's the location and views and architecture that do it. PERFECT for a honeymoon, but very pricey.

OH, and Le Tre Vaselle in Umbria is amazing. We stayed in a suite overlooking the vineyards. From the lobby, we had to walk for ages in this really cool hallway that turned out to be a tunnel under the farmland landscape. VERY memorable and romantic to get a room with a patio and drink wine and eat cheese out there. EXCELLENT restaurant on premises, as well. I'm jealous already!

http://www.3vaselle.it/inglese/home.htm

one more! In Lake Como/Belaggio district- which is EXTREMELY romantic- the best is Villa Serbelloni on the lake. Excellent restaurant on premises, too

http://www.villaserbelloni.com/nuovo...Customerlang=2

Thanks for all the suggestions so far! yes I know I should choose places first, but this is kind of fun too.

Poodle - when I look at pictures Serbelloni, it looks like the double/queen beds are all twin beds pushed together! Is that really the case?

The former home of J. Paul Getty on the Med coast near Rome: La Posta Vecchia near Ladispoli. I wish I could say I've stayed there, but we were guests at an unbelievable dinner in the hotel's restaurant a few years ago. Luxe, luxe, luxe. www.lapostavecchia.com

But, for a honeymoon, I'd pick Il Pellicano in a heartbeat (where we have stayed). This hotel is also on the Med coast in Tuscany, at Porto Ercole/Argentario. Beautiful beach, pool, spa, numerous terraces. The decor doesn't ooze luxury quite the way La Posta Vecchia does, but the setting, views, amenities and location make it perfect.
www.pellicanohotel.com

Doubles at both hotels in high season are just under your $1,000 limit.

I love The San Pietro in Positano . Truly lovely and perfect for a honeymoon .Its rate includes breakfast and dinner exclusive of drinks .

The Lungarno in Florence is one of my favorite hotels in Italy. The riverview rooms with balconies are spectacular. And the service and location is excellent.

In Bellagio, we stayed in one of the loft apartments at The Belvedere. It's a huge apartment(one per floor) with an enormous terrace fronting the lake. Very private. I don't think it gets much better than that!

sharbear84- this is hysterical that you would pick up that bed situation (i.e. that they are pushed together). Now that you mention it, we actually encountered this at nearly every hotel we went to in Italy, no matter how fancy it was! Maybe other fodorites have an explanation for this.

Maybe it's an Italian thing- I do remember learning the word "matrimonio" - as in I had to tell the housekeeper that I wanted my bed made up for a married couple, because it was made "I Love Lucy" style with 2 sets of sheets so you wouldn't actualyl touch each other! :-)

Nothing holds a candle to Le Sireneuse, but Hotel Palazzo Murat in Positano is also very nice:

http://www.palazzomurat.it/

Well you have to understand Poodle, the husband needs a rest after his "siesta" in the afternoon with his..oh never mind, lol.

Yes sharbear, some hotels do have two beds pushed together. I am positive the two hotels I gave you information on did not. And a lot no longer do even in small towns. But best to check into that for sure!

Weadles - if you don't mind my asking how much was the apt at the Belvedere? I can't seem to find prices on the apts, only the hotel rooms - they do look lovely.

also...all these hotels are making me want to leave tomorrow. It does seem though like all the nicest hotels are around $1000 a night, and then there aren't any five or four star places in the $500 a night range..I guess I"ll just have to convince my FH that we need to spend more money on the trip:)
I'm usually not such a snob about hotels, but it is the honeymoon after all...

For our honeymoon we divided our time between the San Domenico Palace in Taormina (trad luxury) and the Raya in Panarea (simple but lovely and quite groovy).

I also love the Santa Caterina in Amalfi.

There was a trip report a while back by someone who stayed at this magnificent place:

Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli
on Lake Garda

http://www.villafeltrinelli.com/home/030416.swf

sharbear,

Two years ago, the loft apartment at The Belvedere was about $550/ per night. I actually thought it was a bargain considering that it was a big apartment (living room, large bathroom, upstairs loft) with multiple windows and a very private terrace right off the living room all facing the lake. We were shocked when they asked us if we'd like to look at it because we had booked a deluxe double in the regular hotel. This apartment is in the annex to the hotel, and as far as we could tell, we were the only ones on our floor!

Only possible downside: The air conditioning didn't always work so well in the upstairs loft. But this is something that could happen at any hotel, no matter the price. And management did say they were working on it to resolve the problem.

Another favorite hotel I forgot to mention last night and how could I?? Hotel Poseidon in Positano, a 4-star that's just uphill from the much more expensive Le Sirenuse. We've stayed in jr. suites there a few times, which are simple but beautifully decorated, all with private terraces, some with amazing views over town.

This hotel is one of my favorites because guests are treated like members of the family. It's quite small, and service is outstanding. As for the views and food at the hotel's restaurant? Absolutely out of this world. Some of the best food we've ever had in Italy.

Thanks so much for all the help so far! You guys are awesome..
Just bc people have rightly said that I might want to choose the places I want to go first...places we're considering are Venice, Tuscany (definitely), and then we're not sure - maybe the Lake region, Italian riviera, or Amalfi coast (although I've been to positano and was hoping to go somewhere new since I"ve also visited Venice and Tuscany)
Am looking for luxury hotels that cost more in teh $500 a night range rather than teh $1000 a night range but not sure those exist. I love hearing all your suggestions!! Even the ones I can't afford:)

Check into Starwood's "Welcome to Italy" package. If you're staying at least 7 nights in Italy, you can split those nights up among a number of different Starwood properties ... with a "guaranteed US Dollar" rate that includes breakfast, taxes, and service fees.

Although it is not in the class of some of those mentioned above, I really do not think you can go wrong (and you can save some money, too) by choosing a Pantheon-view room at the Albergo del Senato for your base in Rome. Other than the fact that rooms are not huge and there is no large flat-screen tv with many foreign channels, I cannot element lacking in comparison with the fancier places.. Maybe your stay here can free up some cash for the Villa del Este! Or the San Domenico! Or even La Posta Vecchia!

Since I love luxury hotels, I did some research. The prices have gone way up unfortunately. The last few times we were in Rome, our family stayed in the Senior Suite at the Del Senato. That is a great room for a family of four, but at over 500 Euro a night, over your budget. But you can get a very nice double room in your price range. It is a great hotel in an unbeatable location, but it's no five star luxury hotel. It's a three star (because it doesn't have restaurant) with attractive and comfortable rooms.

I also checked the prices on some of the usual suspects when someone mentions "luxury hotel in Italy." The Gritti Palace has a standard double room, with twin beds pushed together, for 460 Euro a night. Over your budget. The Danieli is more expensive. In Florence, both the Grand and Excelsior have standard double rooms starting around 450 Euro a night, again, with twin beds pushed together. The Excelsior's website listed one room, at over 500 Euro a night, with a king bed. But if you want a queen or king bed in one of those hotels, it will be hard to come by. The Helvatia and Bristol is one of my favorite smaller hotels in Florence. Five star and a luxury hotel, it also starts at around 500 Euro a night.

So the point of all this is that in the cities, it will be very difficult to find five star luxury for less than $600 or $700 per night. I suggest you spend more time outside the cities where you can find a beautiful room in a charming hotel in your price range. For example, the suites at La Saracina, outside Pienza are at most 300 euro per night and they are gorgeous.

Grinisa - great research thank you! I'm not exactly sure what our budget is yet as the trip is pretty far away. 6-700 a night may be alright, for part of the trip, I just know that if my fiance hears 1000 a night he will freak out:) But there is definitely some leeway in there, and thanks so much for the helpful price checking!

one more thing - is it the more expensive the hotel the more likely it is to have two twin beds pushed together?:) I assumed this had to do with how old the hotel was but some of the hotels Grinisa mentioned are not that old are they? Not to harp on the bed thing, I just know how much my fiance hates that. He will be very unhappy if we spend all that money and then he sees two twin beds pushed together.

In Piemonte, Locanda Sant Uffizio is excellent. Their half board package is fantastic - including sparkling wine for apéritif in unlimited quantities.

http://www.thi.it/eng/benvenuto.asp?id=4

"is it the more expensive the hotel the more likely it is to have two twin beds pushed together ?"

IME nearly all European hotels do this - it makes things more flexible for them as they can use the room as a twin or a double. You can ask for "un letto matrimoniale" (which I always do) but it's still quite likely to be 2 singles stuck together to a greater or lesser degree - mostly secured in some way but occasionally not. IMO, if they are securely fastened together it can be better than a double, which seems cramped when you're used to a king (i.e. 2 x single beds = wider than 1 x double bed).

It doesn't matter if the hotel is expensive or not, old or new, the usual bed arrangement is to push two twin beds together. It can be tricky to find a queen or king mattress in Italy, even when you specify a "matrimonial" bed. Many places think two twins pushed together qualifies, so you must be very specific.

very interesting..I think I am making a bigger deal about this than I need to be. Very quickly - this is because a few years ago I was living abroad with my FH and we ended up wtih two twin beds pushed together for six months but the beds had separate wood frames and everything, and it was so uncomfortable. I do not think this would be anything like that, but just to explain why we hate it, it's those memories...certainly not anything that would stop us from loving Italy I'm sure!

all these wonderful hotel suggestions make me want to go to Lake Como and back to Positano/Capri....would it be crazy to do Venice, Tuscany, Amalfi Coast, and Lake Como (we may have as long as 2.5 weeks) - what would be the best order assuming open jaw is doable and all that?