Rome

The joy of waking up in the heart of the Eternal City comes at a price: Italian hotels have the highest room rates in Europe, and the fact that Rome in particular is a seller's market has done nothing to raise standards. But things are slowly changing. Though the high prices remain, a slew of new options has shaken up the scene. The arrival of design hotels, such as post-Deco De Russie, sexy Aleph, and the relentlessly contemporary Radisson, has forced many old standards to rethink and revamp. The danger now, of course, is that design itself may fall into a rut: We're not wholly convinced, for example, by the much-hyped new St. George on swanky Via Giulia, with its dull, neutral decor and frosty staff—though we're hoping both improve with age. The other major novelty is the arrival of the B&B—a category unknown in Italy before 1999. Unlike their American cousins, some Italian B&Bs are quite luxurious, and they have started to give midrange boutique hotels a run for their money. Value-conscious travelers should make the most of Rome's two low seasons: from November through early March (with the partial exception of Christmas and New Year's), and again from mid-July to the end of August.