174 Best Hotels in Italy

Monti's first true luxury boutique hotel is a tribute to the artists and craftsmen that populate the neighborhood, with a whimsical design full of nods to ancient Rome. Rooms and suites feature colorful prints on the headboards, curtains, and walls, as well as bespoke furniture, Nespresso machines, and hand-painted espresso cups. A breakfast buffet with high-quality products is set up in the ground-floor restaurant, which serves excellent Roman and Italian cuisine for lunch and dinner, while the rooftop bar is a charming spot for creative cocktails. The sunny yellow spa has a Jacuzzi and treatments using Susanne Kaufmann's holistic skincare line.

Pope Alexander VII of the famed Sienese Chigi family gave this palace to his niece as a wedding present in 1600, and, through the centuries, it has been a private home as well as a grand hotel—one that exudes elegance from its stately pillared entrance to its crisp-linen sheets. Some guest rooms take in panoramic views, whereas others have 18th-century frescoes and massive chandeliers. The excellent staff is reason enough to consider a stay here.

When it comes to million-dollar views, the best place to stay in the whole city is the Hassler, so it’s no surprise many of the rich and famous (Tom Cruise, Jennifer Lopez, and the Beckhams among them) are willing to pay top dollar for a room at this exclusive hotel atop the Spanish Steps. First opened in the late 1800s and run by the sixth generation of Swiss hoteliers—making it Rome's only luxury property to remain in private hands—the Hassler hits you with old-world elegance, exclusive clubhouse vibes, and refined service the moment you enter. The quiet hallways have an air of discrete opulence, but the lavish rooms are decorated with art and antiques, plus some whimsical touches. One penthouse claims the largest terrace in town (and a €10,000-per-night price tag), while the other goes one better with two terraces, not to mention butler service (€18,000 per night). More standard rooms at the back will spare you and your wallet the VIP prices, but they don't offer the coveted vistas across the Roman skyline. The Michelin-starred rooftop restaurant, Imàgo, is world-famous for its view and gets top marks for a menu that reinterprets seasonal Italian cuisine. There's also a spa, gymnasium, and salon on-site.

Situated in a stately 16th-century building and founded in 1845, this storied hotel served as a guesthouse for aristocratic travelers visiting the noble Torlonia family (who still lives across the cobblestone street) and has since been the home away from home for various monarchs, movie stars like Elizabeth Taylor, and several great writers—Lord Byron, John Keats, Mark Twain, and Ernest Hemingway among them. A top-to-bottom renovation kept the British influence as an homage to the hotel's Grand Tour–era heyday, while upgrading the rooms and suites as well as the public spaces, including the sidewalk-facing restaurant and intimate English-style bar.

Hard to spot from the street, this sumptuous place provides all the comforts of a luxe home away from home—expect soothing earth tones in the guest rooms, free minibars, crisp linens, and room service offering organic dishes. A library serves as the reception room, and buffet breakfast is served on a gleaming chestnut table in an interior atrium; a rooftop terrace makes a perfect setting for an aperitivo, as do the ground-floor sitting rooms with their large, pillow-piled couches.

The location of this stylish and welcoming family-run hotel can't be beat: it's right around the corner from Piazza Maggiore on a quiet piazza. The inviting living room has Oriental rugs and comfortable couches. Rooms are mostly painted yellow, with hardwood floors, and some have antique clocks and tremendous views of 14th-century Palazzo Comunale just across the way. The ample breakfast includes fresh fruit, and the staff are uniformly friendly and professional. 

Opened in 1925 and still run by the same family, the Bellevue provides timeless charm, gracious hospitality, delectable cuisine, and a second-to-none spa, along with astounding views of the Gran Paradiso, the highest mountain entirely within Italy. Individually decorated rooms have wood floors and are furnished with antiques; some have balconies, Jacuzzi tubs, fireplaces, or saunas. Le Petit Bellevue, with only five tables, serves Aosta Valley specialties; Bar à Fromage focuses on (what else) cheese, with superlative fondue, raclette, and meat dishes; Bellevue serves creative Italian cuisine; and La Brasserie de Bon Bec creates more informal plates to be shared. Ask for a tour of the expansive wine cellar, which stores about 15,000 bottles, along with the cheese cellar—and, if the weather’s nice, don’t miss dining on the enormous terrace overlooking the mountains. The very unique spa is another must-do, with two heated swimming pools, a wide range of saunas including mountain pine, citrus, and hay, a salt cave, and a compact fitness center.

For a taste of old-school Italian glamour just outside of Merano, you can’t do better than this elegant Relais & Chateaux property high up in the mountains, set amid 4 acres of gardens and featuring a Michelin-starred restaurant and spa that both use products sourced from the land. Enormous individually decorated suites boast country-chic decor, sitting rooms, and terraces or balconies; some of the spacious bathrooms include claw-foot tubs and infrared saunas. Guests can choose from the more gourmet Prezioso restaurant for dinner or the lighter-style Orangerie, which offers a large panoramic terrace, for lunch or dinner. Amid the lovely gardens, you’ll find a heated pool, whirlpool, and freestanding fitness center, while the cozy spa includes three saunas and a steam room—as well as treatments from the hotel’s very own “modern alchemist,” who creates bespoke creams and lotions using plants and herbs from the very same gardens.

Enchantment reigns at this tiny 13th-century countryside hamlet, part of the fiefdom of the aristocratic Florentine Guicciardini family and reinvented by the modern Count Roberto Guicciardini. A castle, church, and cobbled streets set the stage. Guest rooms vary in style; high wood-beam ceilings, terra-cotta floors, and modern bathrooms are the rule throughout. Apartments sleep as many as eight people and have as many as two baths.

Perched majestically above Camogli's beaches, the former summer palace of Genoa's doges features many guest rooms with expansive balconies and commanding vistas of the city's port. This is indisputably among the best addresses in town. Aside from enjoying the lovely lounges, you can relax in the well-kept park, or swim and soak in the sun. There's a week's minimum stay in July and August.

This luxury grande dame, now run by Marriott, is lauded for its service, spa, and more—the architecture was immortalized in 1963's The Pink Panther. Guest rooms are furnished in handwoven fabrics and wood paneling typical of the region, but with an attention to elegance and detail that clearly define the resort's level of excellence. The prestigious bar and spa have both set the precedent for other properties in their class around Europe.

Its location—set amid hills of olive trees yet steps from the village center—makes this hotel with bright rooms and contemporary furnishings one of the best places to stay in Lerici. Junior suites have large terraces and spa baths, but any sea-view room is a value. The welcoming, relaxing atmosphere is evident in a sitting area surrounded by a garden, an ideal place for enjoying a bountiful breakfast. The restaurant specializes in fresh seafood.

This friendly, intimate hotel in the center of town combines history with modernity in its spacious, minimalist suites—some with original ceiling frescoes—inside a house dating from 1450. Guest rooms, all suites, are done up in muted colors and use reclaimed wood in the furnishings. Many visitors come just for the top-notch restaurant, where owner Florian Fink is the chef. Perhaps the most unique feature is the spa inspired by Roman baths, which includes a sauna, steam bath, and hot and cold Roman baths.

It’s all about the views at this minimalistic yet quietly luxurious retreat (for guests age 14 and over) high up in the mountains at 1,800 meters (5,900 feet), reached by winding roads through the pretty forest—rooms in the main building exude cozy mountain chalet vibes, while those in the Tower have a more polished feel along with astounding Alpine views in the suites and penthouses, two of which boast their own fireplace, sauna, and outdoor pool. The restaurant, with floor-to-ceiling views of the majestic Dolomite peaks, serves up an innovative nightly changing seven-course dinner menu using local ingredients. The lovely spa includes saunas, steam rooms, an indoor/outdoor pool, and relaxation areas, and daily scheduled activities include yoga, sauna treatments, and DJ nights. An added perk: ski-in, ski-out access to the Plose ski and hiking area, small but less crowded than other Dolomites standbys.

As you enter this 1890s-vintage hotel above Piazza Acquaverde, you’ll be transported from the modern city to a more glamorous era, thanks to details such as the original marble floors and lush gilt and richly colored velvet furniture in common areas. Traditionally styled guest rooms have details like steamer trunks, wooden minibars that evoke an age of grandeur, and artwork that depicts Genoa’s maritime history. Some rooms have soaking tubs, and there are also a fitness room and a small spa with a private waterbed and a hot tub room.

The pale yellow exterior only hints at the elegance inside this hotel created by joining two Liberty villas dating from 1899 and 1902. Refined furnishings include gem-color fabrics and dark wood. Many rooms have balconies that face the sea or the mountains, and all of them have comfortable beds with linen sheets and copious pillows. Though beach privileges come at an extra price, the pool is so pretty that going to the beach may seem irrelevant. Half- and full board are available, and a seven-night stay is mandatory.

At this recently renovated cozy inn—more than 500 years old and still one of the region's best—each room is unique, and many are filled with antiques and paintings. The name comes from the 1551 visit of King John III of Portugal, who stopped here while leading an elephant (a present for Austria's Emperor Ferdinand) over the Alps. Housed in the large park are a pool, tennis courts, and the separate Villa Marzari, with 12 rooms and a sauna. Two in-house gourmet restaurants (one with a Michelin star) serve tasty fare.

After serving as a Franciscan convent and then the residence of the noble Strozzi family, the Collegiata has been converted into a fine hotel, with no expense spared in the process. Arched, multipane windows look out on the surrounding park. All the guest rooms (some with private balconies) are furnished with a mix of wood and upholstered antiques in warm browns and reds and precious tapestries. Bathrooms have large whirlpool baths. A summer restaurant occupies the deconsecrated church.

At this small and inviting family-run hotel overlooking Aosta, guest rooms are bright and charmingly decorated; some have balconies and all have splendid views of the city and mountains. A huge brick hearth and rustic wooden beams highlight the lounge, and in summer the great views can be enjoyed from the pool.

Set on gorgeous, verdant grounds with stunning sea views, this cliff-top hotel—a villa with a modern annex—offers a mix of traditional and minimalist rooms, many with private balconies. The restaurant, Le Terrazze, features a mare e terra (sea and land) menu and a lovely terrace above the sea, where breakfasters can linger before heading down to the Riviera bathing area.

On a street filled with beautiful old villas, this Victorian-era former private residence has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, beautiful gardens, a spa, and well-appointed rooms (some with balconies). There are also family suites and a self-catering apartment sleeping five. Breakfast can be enjoyed in a sunroom, and just outside its windows, citrus trees sway. An in-house bar offers the perfect place to have an aperitivo, either in one of the well-appointed rooms or outside in the flower-filled garden. There is a minimum two-night stay in summer.

Set in a 16th-century mansion annexed to Palazzo Borghese and tucked behind a discreet entrance, this intimate hotel might be Rome's best-kept secret. It has stunning decor featuring plush furnishings and vivid photographs by Florentine photographer Massimo Listri. Rooms and suites were designed with comfort, style, and convenience in mind. The lobby lounge, Il Salotto, is a lovely spot for coffee or cocktails, and the Adelaide restaurant serves perfectly executed Mediterranean dishes, including some Roman classics.

The location has been described as "heaven on earth," and a stay at this elegant Ferragamo estate—situated near a medieval village and with accommodations that include a 10-bedroom villa (rented out as a single unit) that was once a luxurious hunting lodge—is sure to bring similar descriptions to mind. Here, the houses have been converted into splendid suites and villas that sleep two to eight. No two are alike, and the shops and craftspeople who work in the village are all part of the hotel: the atmosphere is magical.

Options at this sumptuous lodging include rooms and suites in an 18th-century villa, or, for more seclusion, private suites and villas at the far end of the property. The hotel serves an almost exclusively international clientele. Cooking classes and guided wine tastings are available, a small shop sells estate-produced olive oil and wine, and the restaurant serves sumptuous fare.

Set in what was once an architecture school and featuring gorgeous modern design, this intimate hotel is a stone's throw from the Mausoleum of Augustus and not far from the Spanish Steps and Piazza del Popolo. Its guest rooms are decked out with canopy beds, Italian-marble bathrooms, and the finest linens, as well as satellite flat-screen TVs and Bose bluetooth speakers. The swanky bar and the timeless library-inspired lounge are the perfect places to relax after a day of wandering cobblestone streets, but for extra pampering you can request a massage in the comfort of your room.

A 14th-century monastery has been converted into this upscale country hotel, where rooms have the style and comfort of an aristocratic villa, with classic prints and bold colors such as daffodil yellow. Common areas are luxurious, with fine woods and leather upholstery. In warm weather, breakfast is served on the patio next to the garden ablaze with flowers.

Just outside Asti in the Monferrato hills, this striking contemporary property in a gorgeous natural setting features a Michelin-starred restaurant, designer furnishings, and art-lined walls. The hotel building, made of raw concrete, crushed stones, and glass, contains ample suites that include bathrooms with soaking tubs and oversized walk-in showers. Many visitors come just for the gastronomic restaurant, overseen by famed Italian chef Antonio Cannavacciuolo; there’s also a bistro for smaller meals. The hotel’s art and music collection includes more than 30,000 vinyl records and CDs as well as 160 paintings by 100 artists, including Leonard Cohen and Miles Davis. Save time for the lovely, though petite, wellness area, which includes a sauna with views of the surrounding scenery and steam room, plus an outdoor pool.