Seeking great hotels in Rome/Venice/Cinque Terre/Florence/Siena

Florence[INVALID]the City Hotel is well located, nicely decorated and very comfortable. There was a very nice breakfast included, too. The friendly staff is really helpful and welcoming, and the location is within walking distance to the Duomo, The Uffizi, the train & bus stations, and a bit longer walk to the Pontevecchio. It was our most luxurious accommodation of our trip (we are budget travelers with 4 in the family). Definitely recommended! www.hotelcity.net

Do you have the RS Italy 2010 book? It's got exactly what you're looking for, and it's been vetted for accuracy. Plus it has all the contact information you'll need. (No, I don't work for RS.) :-p

Are you open to apartments & agriturismos? In Rome, I highly recommend the Palazzo Olivia apartments. They are in a great location near Piazza Navona & they have air conditioning & are very comfortable and clean. We paid approx 170 euros/night. For that price a hotel would have been very tiny but we had a good sized apartment (by european standards). The bedroom in the apartment we chose was towards the inside of the building therefore it was very quiet at night. The surrounding area couldn't have been more perfect; it's literally right around the corner from taxi stands, bus stops, ATM machines, internet places, restaurants, etc. While it's close to the Vittorio Emmanuel street which is a busy street, the building itself is on a quiet ally. In the Cinque Terre, we stayed at Albergo Margherita (hotel) in Monterosso & loved it. It's a modern, clean & comfortable hotel. Can't remember the exact amount we paid but it was around 200 euros/nt. The rate included an outstanding breakfast buffet with a large variety of items. They even packed a sack breakfast for us when they found out that we were catching an early morning train & would miss the buffet. Finally, in Siena, I can recommend Agriturismo Marciano. The agriturismo experience is unique and ended up being a highlight of our trip. The agriturismo is very clean and relaxing. I could have hung out there for days on end. The rate includes a small breakfast around the farmhouse table and they offer optional dinners that are to die for (see reviews on Trip Advisor). They will call a taxi for you to take you into walled Siena. The agriturismo is only 10 minutes from the walled city by car yet it feels like you're out in the countryside. For this, we paid approx 80 euros per night but were instantly so impressed that we agreed it was a bargain.

Sorry my reply all ran together...I couldn't separate the paragraphs like I usually do.

We loved Hotel Golden in Rome, near Villa Borghese and Via Veneto. It is a small, family-run (two brothers and a sister) hotel that met our every need. Go to: http://www.hotelgoldenrome.com/ :)

We used cross-pollinate.com for rooms/apartments. They often have a short minimum stay for an apartment, and we were never disappointed. The prices were quite reasonable as well.