I will be staying in Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan next June/July. Any hotel and/or restaurant recommendations.

Is it you alone - or will there be other people along - and how many?

And would you consider giving us any idea of a budget? Do you want to spend 100 per night? 500?

Also - you might consider looking at a couple of the dozens of postings on this topic as a starting place.

welcome aw2risin,
If you type in hotels in Rome..ect where it says search this forum, you will get literally 100's of threads.
Same for restaurants.

Also tell us what your budget is, do you like real fancy places or more casual ones. It is easier to help when we know more about your tastes.

Good luck.

It will be my wife and myself. We'd like to spend $400/day for food and hotel. Since it's just the two of us we would also like hotels/restaurants where there would be few if any, kids.

You might investigate on your own at www.venere.com - many hotel listings by price, location and reviews. Can also book most of them online. Additionally here are several hotel suggestions - in Venice, Pennsione Accademia or La Calcina. In Rome, Hotel Lancelot or a hotel on the Aventine Hill. Both of these cities are very full of tourists in June/July and I would try to find a hotel in a location a bit away from the really busy areas, but still convenient enough to walk to. I suggest you get your hotels then post for restaurants in the area you will be staying - otherwise there are hundreds of choices! Have agreat trip!

Hi aw,

>It will be my wife and myself. We'd like to spend $400/day for food and hotel. <

Is that 300 for hotel and 100 for food, or vice versa?

In Venice,you can upgrade to Locanda Orseolo.It's a lovely place with impeccable service.

www.locandaorseolo.com

$400/day would be for both hotel and food. I don't care about the breakout, just the bottom line. I guess $250 for hotel and $150 for food would be reasonable? Will it cost more/less to eat, which means I can go higher on the hotel.

Your budget should give you plenty of flexibility... I've only stayed in one hotel in Venice: La Calcina. It has the following features which may be of interest: nice, English speaking staff, a super easy -to-find location at the Zattere vaporetto stop in Dorsodoro, internet access, gorgeous views of the Guidecca from canal view rooms and its over the water restaurant, La Piscina, walking distance to many restaurants, gelato, etc, an in room safe, good A/C and a lovely included breakfast buffet that you can take in that over the water restaurant. Downside: that Accademia Bridge to San Marco can be tiresome, but I'm a bit of a wimp. Very quiet. About 160-175 Euros/per night this past year depending on the room.

Rome: we stayed at the Daphne Veneto. It's about a block from the Barberini Metro stop which was very convenient for the Vatican and day trips, less convenient but doable even in 100 degree temps (and I'm a wimp) when we were going on foot to the Piazza Navona or Campo de Fiori. The rooms are clean, nice beds and baths, but the best features for us: EMPTY mini-fridge for you to fill with normally priced beverages, etc, an in-room safe where YOU set the combination (there is a master code if you mess up). The latter relieved me of the need to were a money belt in Rome --a blessed relief after reading all the horror stories of pickpocketing. The English-speaking staff take such an interest in helping you find restaurants, tours, too, if you need that kind of advice. Very quiet (except the soccer revelers after the Italy-Germany game, but you wouldn't want to miss that). 160 Euros per room this summer.

You may find children in both places, but these smaller hotels aren't oriented so much toward families --no pools or special rates. If you go early in June, the children will still be in school. In Europe, they get out even later. But neither place is rowdy and I think they tend to attract small families with well behaved children. Ours (ages 18 and 15) had a separate room.

www.lacalcina.com

is also my suggestion for a nice hotel in Venice.

You might like to look at www.monasterystays.com for a different type of accommodation but I'm not sure about wehther the site has anything in Milan but plenty of places in Rome, Florence and Venice. Depends on what you plan to do.