We are planning a trip to Rome and Venice in spring, 2006, with a possible stop in London.
Are there suggestions for the itinerary, and for luxury hotels in these three cities. Thank you.

Look up the website for Hotel Russie in Rome. We had some drinks in the courtyard at sundown a couple of years ago. Outdoor evening diners are serenaded by strings. Molto luxe.

We stayed in the Hotel de Russie last November for a few days and thought it was wonderful. Great location -- between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish steps, and right by the Bardolino hat store!

Venice, pick any

Hotel Bauer Palazzo (one of the hotel's two buildings)
Gritti Palace
Europa Regina
Monaco
Luna Bagnelli
Cipriani--a 5 minute boat ride into the lagoon

all of those have great locations

the Danieli is also considered one of the best, but I just don't care for the location as much

Hi, Laurna!

The Danieli in Venice is indeed in a very hectic location (as elaine intimates), but I liked the proximity to San Marco. Also, the hotel itself was very picturesque--I recommend it strongly!

Loved the Hotel Hassler in Rome. A stone's throw from the Spanish Steps.

We've stayed at both The Danieli and The Europa Regina in Venice. They're both wonderful! We actually like the location of The Danieli the best, make sure you get a room facing the canal. We didn't find it noisy at all.

In Rome we've stayed at The Westin on Via Veneto, also very nice. If you stay there request a room with a balcony facing Via Veneto.

For Venice I prefer the Danieli. But I'm a New Yorker - so this is quiet for me - I know some people think it's too busy - but its' right in the center ot everything - with a lot of Venetian over the topness.

For London - it depends on if you want traditional or modern. And neighborhood.

My favorite is the Mandarin Hyde Park - but you have to get a park view - and I think the prices are getting outrageous.

For itinerary suggestions, how many days are you planning on overall for the trip, and what city are you departing from?

For hotels, are you OK with US$600 a night and up, as that is what you are going to pay for most if not all of the hotels mentioned so far. I agree they are mostly wonderful (sorry totally disagree on the Danelli), but you have to be prepared to pay these prices, especially if you want a good-size room (by US standards). If you want more moderate prices, let me know.

Some general websites to start with:

Leading Hotels of the World (lhw.com)
Small Luxury Hotels (slh.com)

For particular hotels try:

London, in my personal order of preference:
The Lanesborough http://www.lanesborough.com

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park - mandarin-oriental.com

The Ritz (location is not as good, IMO) - http://www.theritzlondon.com

Dorchester - http://www.dorchesterhotel.com (some uneven room quality IMO)

Rome
Hotel de Russie - hotelderussie.it

Venice, in my personal order of preference
Bauer Il Pallazzo - www.ilpalazzovenezia.com

Londra Hotel - www.hotelondra.it (ask for Room 504)

The Palazzo Sant Angelo (sinahotels.com) - Quite lovely, smaller, newer, on the Grand Canal but further away from P. San Marco. A picture from one of their rooms was the end page in the May 2005 edition of Conde Nast Traveller magazine. Sina hotels has some very interesting hotels in Italy

Cipriani – have never stayed there, meals only - hotelcipriani.com

These websites have all extensive photos of the hotels -

In Rome, I like the St Regis Grand.
http://www.romeby.com/regis/pages/gallery.htm
and the Hotel de Russie
http://www.romeby.com/derussie/pages/gallery.htm

Venice: The hotel Luna Baglioni...where they say that they are so close to St Marks that you could walk there in you pajamas.
http://veniceby.com/lunabaglioni/pages/gallery.htm

Gritti Palace
http://veniceby.com/gritti/pages/gallery.htm

And the Danieli
http://veniceby.com/danieli/pages/gallery.htm