Places to stay for first time visit to Rome and Florence

I agree to stay in the Historic District. We stay literally right next to the Pantheon. Albergo del Senato in Rome.

https://www.albergodelsenato.it/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAgP6PBhDmARIsAPWMq6lJDNFuBU62wyPi5uYfM4mQ2hd8GOWT3KkA4Fiqf7W7zOazceZMrRUaAoN4EALw_wcB

If you want specific recommendations, it's best to give us a few parameters:

Are you sharing a room?
Do you need two beds?
What's your budget?
Aside from location, what are your priorities?

As to location, I walk almost everywhere in Florence. So just about anywhere is a good location. Rome is both much larger and its sights are more spread out. Depending on how long you're staying and which sights you want to visit, some other locations may be just as good.

In Florence, we always stay at https://www.7florence.com/en/about-7florence/

It's very clean, comfortable, and directly across the street from the train station. Makes dropping off luggage and day trips easy peasy. As mentioned above, Florence is very walkable, so this hotel's location is perfect for you since you want to be near train station. The Duomo is a five-minute walk at best.

In Rome, we love https://charmechic.com/

It is steps from Piazza Navona. It also has great restaurants and shopping outside your door. Best of all, they offer free Netflix for those late-night movies or afternoon breaks. Rooms are large as are the bathrooms. Great place with a very good breakfast.

As mentioned, it's better to know a budget, but these two places will definitely not break your bank. Have a great trip!

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions!! This makes my planning so much easier!
My friend and I are planning on spending 3-4 days each in Florence and Rome. We plan to share a room but sleep in separate beds. A budget friendly hotel less than 200 USD per night would be ideal but we can go up to 300 USD per night. Thanks!

If you're not planning to stay out late, you could consider a convent. We stayed in one near the Colosseum. It was mentioned in Rick's book.

We stayed at Hotel Nazionale in Rome and the Pendini in Florence highly recommended both.

Thank you all for your input/advice! I am very excited to look through all your recommendations!

Which convent did you stay in? I am very curious to look into it!

In Florence, check out Hotel Globus on Via S. Antonino. Don't let the name put you off. It's about a five minute walk from the train station, and literally just steps from Mercato Centrale. Our room was comfortable and quiet, the staff were friendly, and breakfast was good.

Will look that one up too! Gracie!

Look on booking.com for your dates and preferences.
Then open the page where the hotels are shown on the maps.
Then you can zoom in to see where they are all located near your chosen areas, and open each one to see what it offers.
If you have Google maps open in another screen at the same time, you can look at each hotel in Streetview at the same time, to get a sense of what's around it.
In Florence, try not to stay really close to the Duomo, it can get noisy at night; though maybe not in March.

If walking a bit is not a problem for you, the quartiere Monti in Rome is a great area to stay in. Full of restaurants, cafes and a nice vibe. And it's just minutes from the Colosseo. :)

www.monasterystays,com

Take a look at the Hotel Loggiato dei Serviti in Florence. Back in 2010 we enjoyed our 2-night stay there.

Greeting fellow travelers:

That was quick ; ' Greetings Fellow Travelers".... :-)
Just a thought - may not work for you - but - here it is:
We have stayed in London, Paris, Rome & Athens in Monasteries. They are remarkable.

Almost always located in the center of town, (some are outside of town in the countryside), within easy walking access to shops and restaurants. These are not Hostels - in Florence for example - structures architecturally from the Medici period- at $75-$100 a night,
Exquisitely clean, safe, close to transportation choices, most with breakfast included, with Nuns that make the entire experience enjoyable.
In Rome, for example, traveling with 5 children, the monastery we stayed in had breakfast and dinner (with wine), provided baby- sitting services for the children while we were out - and - offered personal guided tours by one of the Sisters.
The money spent on luxury accommodations is far better spent on museums, tours & restaurants.
we begin with www.monasterystays.com - pick a country - pick a city - choose one - there are many.
Enjoy.

In Rome I suggest sleeping in the trendy Trastevere neighborhood. If you can’t find a place consider the nearby Hotel Smeraldo across the River Tiber.

Thank you all for the suggestions on lodging. I have narrowed it down to a couple of places.
Now the tours!
Has any one of you been on a good wine tour in the Tuscany region? I have been doing research and it seems like the reviews are all over the place. Any input would be greatly appreciated!