This mansion on the Grand Canal—"the location couldn't be better"—was once part of an eighteenth-century palace. From the outdoor whirlpool,...

Once a Medici family residence, the hotel has a collection of Renaissance art and an 11-acre private botanical garden. Perfect-scoring rooms have...

Located "near the best fashion shopping imaginable," this fifteenth-century neoclassical convent has rooms in pastels with sycamore furnishings. Some...

On eight acres of olive, citrus, and magnolia trees bordering Lake Garda, this summer house was Mussolini's final home. "There is a transportive...

"You leave the bustling Piazza Tasso behind" when you enter this hotel above the Gulf of Naples. Frescoes and Biedermeier furniture fill "myriad...

Close to Portofino, the Belle Époque hotel that has hosted Haile Selassie has pastel rooms and "a grand staircase that leads into the gardens...

"Watch the world go by" from this former sanatorium built by a Scottish doctor near the Piazzetta. Front-desk staff are "a bit affected"; spacious,...

Once the vacation home of nineteenth-century aristocracy, it still celebrates "excessive luxury." From the ferry to Bellagio, the yellow-stucco hotel...

At this sixteenth-century Palladian villa on a flower-filled slope, the stunning main lawn "has lounge chairs overlooking rolling hills" and olive and...

Guests remember the "restful elegance and charm" of this property atop the Spanish Steps. Late-nineteenth-century interiors are done in shades of...

A stay at the top-scoring property in Europe begins on the right note when perfect-scoring staff "address you by name as soon as you arrive." The...

This cliffside complex "cascades down to the sea and has lemon groves and coast views." Rooms display multicolored Vietri ceramics, and the Romeo and...

Looking out from this red-roofed hotel on the Piazza della Repubblica "is like opening a book with pictures—you're swept into the Firenze scene."...

This property is split between a hillside main structure and the Splendido Mare on the piazzetta. "Stand on your balcony and take in the view of this...

Staff at this "quiet, intimate" Tuscan-style retreat provide "attentive service without being intrusive." These coastal villas have rooms with wood...

"Chiseled into a cliff overlooking the beautiful Mediterranean"—a perfect-scoring location—this "crown jewel" has flower gardens and a...

"You are treated like royalty from the moment you arrive" at this Moorish-Baroque former summer house above the Bay of Positano. Most of the...

"For the convenience and accommodations, there is no other hotel I would stay at." It comprises two pensiones that merged in the 1800s, and the rooms,...

"If I could stay in only one hotel ever again, this would be it." The former twelfth-century palace is set 1,000 feet up along the Amalfi Coast, "a...

The 1568 summer estate is "like a magnificent palace." No two rooms are alike, although all have velvet and silk brocades. "Room 510 has the best view...

A former Franciscan monastery set in the hills, it offers "a wonderful experience in a historic building." Rooms are decorated with antique...