Parma, Modena, Bologna hotels

If you're lucky you may get a few recommendations here but don't limit yourself to such a small number of choices. To get more choices, go to the Michelin website ViaMichelin websiteWhen at the website, at the top ribbon select the Hotels tab, then input country, town, your dates, etc--and check hotels selected by Michelin guide--then Search and you'll get about 30 good hotels for each town with a map showing location, websites, etc. This way you'll have a wider selection to choose from instead of just one or two. If a property is recommended by Michelin, it says something because they've been doing this for about a hundred years in Europe and have a reputation to uphold--no guarantees but it's something.

Try www.venere.com I've used it successfully on several trips. you can choose by location, stars, price, etc.

I found a great hotel in Bologna at a fantastic price last year just doing a search on venere. I really like that you can pick by location. I always try to find a hotel within walking distance of the train station in any town we visit.

I'd add Tripadvisor.com as a resource. It lists hotels and travelers' reviews for them. It also has a discussion board that has many more participants for places like the cities you're researching.