Venice and Rome hotel recommendations

Hotel Ala in Venice
Highly recommended by many here as well
We have stayed there twice and have no need to look elsewhere

It’s on a quiet campo just short walk from San Marco, steps from vaporetto stop (no stairs or bridges)
Excellent breakfast and a nice rooftop terrace
Lovely staff

I would encourage you to spend at least 3 nights in Venice. Those who stay longer than 2 nights seem to appreciate her more.

In Rome, while I have not stayed at this hotel (we lived there so didn’t need a hotel) I visited Albergo del Senato a couple of times and thought it quite lovely and well-located. https://www.albergodelsenato.it/

Recommend looking at booking.com… it gives you a wealth of information.

In Rome I would highly recommend Smeraldo Hotel - it's in a good central location, lots of great food options nearby, and the staff is very helpful and friendly. They have a small rooftop lounge too which was a nice place to relax after a busy day out and about.

reasonably quiet, good service, an older style decor (not contemporary) on the Grand Canal

I would stay a bit away from the Grand Canal if you want it more quiet.

Thanks for the responses so far.

"I would stay a bit away from the Grand Canal if you want it more quiet."

Ah good point. We won't mind during the day, but at night we like quiet for sleep (though I am bringing a travel fan for white noise along with using a phone app). I wasn't thinking about noise from the canal if we were to get a room with a canal view.

We stayed a week at Hotel Flora in 2018. The hotel is a family owned hotel (3 generations). It’s a former Palazzo with unique decor, convenient to main sites, quiet and tucked away but minutes away from San Marco & Vaporetto. Same Vaporetto stop as Hotel Ala. In addition the well appointed rooms, helpful staff were wonderful. Our room had a view of the Garden. We especially enjoyed their “magic garden” for breakfast. I would agree with others to avoid staying on the Grand Canal if you are looking for a quiet stay. IMHO consider more nights in Venice! Enjoy your planning. ;)
https://www.hotelflora.it/

You'll be able to find hotels for $200-250 a night, but they may not be as nice as you might want or in the location you want. Check RS Italy guidebook to get an idea of what's available at what cost and where. Both Rome and Venice are expensive.

We stayed at the Sina Palazzo Sant' Angelo in Venice. It's expensive. It was perfect. I figured this was our once and only chance to visit Venice, so got a room on the canal. We had a view of the Rialto bridge. It's small, less than 30 rooms. If this is your first and possibly only trip to Venice, stay on the canal. During the day the canal is busy but we did not find it noisy at all. Maybe if you're sleeping until noon, but not if you're getting up and going out.

They serve breakfast in the hotel. There's a vaporetto stop just a few steps away, and you'll need to learn use a vaporetto to get around Venice, otherwise you'll spend too much time walking to all the sites you'll want to see.

Good luck with your planning! It's half the fun!

Thanks again, I'm checking out all the hotels suggested.

Sigh, I was hoping $250 a night would be enough for Rome. Oh well, we can spend more if necessary, not a huge deal. Or if my husband grumbles, go with a slightly simpler place.

We loved Hotel Le Isole in Venice. Not far from Saint marks Square. Less than 5 minute walk to the Vaporetto stop. It's in a great area in Castello. They serve a wonderful breakfast and have an outside court yard to eat in.

We booked Prince Apartments in Venice via booking.com and stayed there in June for 2 nights. We really enjoyed it. Our accommodations included air con, a kitchen, and a washer and dryer was available downstairs. The owner/manager was very responsive, it was a quick walk from the Arsenale vaporetto stop. The cost per night was well under your budget (and it was quiet at night).

I cannot offer any advice on hotels in Venice that are along the grand canal, but I do have a few hotels I would recommend for Rome. You absolutely can find rooms under $250 they just may not be in a super fancy hotel. I’m more of a budget traveler and I usually lean toward smaller boutique hotels that offer the amenities I need.

I’ve really enjoyed the places I’ve stayed but definitely recommend looking at reviews. tripadvisor has always been my go to for the research and then I book direct with the hotels, in some cases getting free nights by doing so.

Here are a few, all appear to be under the $250/night price range:

Residenza zanardelli - right around the corner from Piazza Navona. Stayed here in 2007 and would stay again without hesitation. Although our cab from the airport dropped us right out front without issue, it can be easy to miss/hard to find as there was not a huge sign on the building: we had to look for the name on the building by the call bells. The building has a small lift (elevator) and our stay included breakfast

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187791-d239503-Reviews-Residenza_Zanardelli-Rome_Lazio.html

Hotel Navona - in a quiet area between the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. Stayed here in 2015 and would stay again without hesitation. The building has a lift and our stay included breakfast. Originally we were placed in a room that was super cute but quite quirky (a very low archway-maybe 5ft 5 inches high-separating the room from bathroom with a curtain instead of a door. No shower but a bathtub) and we asked to be moved to a different room, which they did as soon as they were able.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187791-d198738-Reviews-Hotel_Navona-Rome_Lazio.html

Imperium suites Navona - in a quiet area a few blocks from Piazza Navona. Stayed here in 2014 and would stay again without hesitation. Initially it may be difficult to find on your own but our cab found it with ease. I do not remember the building having a lift but we only had to go up one flight of stairs - although my understanding is they also have rooms in an annex across the small street so I am unsure on that building. Our stay included breakfast and it was by far my favorite as they left a menu the day before to choose our items and they delivered them to our room at the time of our choosing the next morning. Our bed was very hard here but we loved the location.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187791-d1109342-Reviews-Imperium_Suite_Navona-Rome_Lazio.html

Starhotels Michelangelo - near the Vatican. Stayed here in 2016 and while it was further from the area we normally stay - and a larger hotel - the rooms were quite charming. We requested a room with a balcony, from which we were able to enjoy a partial view of the St Peters dome, it was magical to view at night from our balcony. Here they offered room service as well as breakfast in a large banquet room. Because of the location we took a cab a few times over the course of our stay if we needed to go a long distance but in most cases we were able to navigate the city by foot and broke up the walk if it was long with a stop for gelato or cappuccino.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187791-d203056-Reviews-Starhotels_Michelangelo-Rome_Lazio.html

All of these hotels had AC and the rooms were larger than anywhere else we’ve stayed in Italy.

Thank you. Checking all of these out. It's good to have something to start with. I have been looking in the R.S. book but I like lots of options and hearing more viewpoints.