A former monastery dating from the 17th century, this luxury boutique hotel has been sympathetically restored by owner Bianca Sharma; features such as vaulted celings and wooden shutters on the windows remain, but rooms are fully-furnished with antiques hand-picked by Bianca herself.

High above the Isarco valley between Bressanone and Bolzano, this hamlet consists of le tre chiese, three curious little attached medieval churches and this unspoilt 14th-century chalet, now a modest hotel.

In a relatively quiet part of the city, by the Accademia, this 14th-century palazzo is part of the Design Hotels group.

Liked for its welcome, 'quietly efficient staff' and 'excellent value for money', this chalet-style hotel is in a 'very beautiful' skiing and summer resort in the South Tyrol nature reserve, at the foot of the Dolomites.

Set 1,100m above sea level and 55 yards from ski lifts, this hotel was described by a visitor as 'a delightful, family-run hotel with splendid service. It's a nice old Alpine-style building in a beautiful, peaceful setting.

A stone-clad 19th-century nobleman's residence, modelled on a 14th century fortress, Villa Carlotta, perches high on a cliff above the Ionian Sea, with stunning panoramic views…

'We cannot think of a nicer, better-run seaside hotel,' says a devotee of this large hotel, built on the site of a villa once owned by the aristocratic Dogi family.

Suite Dellavite is not a hotel, but instead a centrally-located collection of seven different studio apartments, most of which are spacious and feature kitchenettes with fridges.

In a quietish street near the Piazza del Popolo, this Art Deco hotel opened in 1925 and later increased its size by extending into an adjacent building.

'A real bargain for Rome', 'superbly located', this old-established B&B hotel is just off Via Veneto, not far from the Borghese Gardens.

On the corner of the tiny square of this small, unspoilt Tuscan town stands Anne-Marie and Ueli Bleuler-Staerkle's hotel; from the back it commands a 'tremendous view of distant hills and mountains'.

This small town (famous for its marble sculptures), with wooded hills behind and sea stretching out in front, is a 30-minute train ride north of Lucca.

The Sersale family's summer home was turned into this spectacular hotel in 1951, and is still run by descendants of the original brothers.

A 17th-century villa which was the Russian consulate when Venice was an independent republic, this well-known pensione has a 'super position' by a side canal, near the Grand Canal at the Accademia bridge.

This hotel, set in an art deco villa on Amalfi drive, offers a genteel, old-fashioned charm, and has been in the same family since it opened as a hotel with six rooms in 1904.

High on a cliff, the pink 12th-century palace of the Sasso family, now a 'very fine hotel', has 'spellbinding views' from its terrace over the Amalfi coast.

The highlight of this 11th-century restored palace is the infinity pool – heated to a warm temperature year-round, and located at the highest point in Ravello, it has incredible views of the Amalfi coast.

In a remote setting on an 'amazing cliffside', this resort complex includes a hotel and a 'fishermen's village' (apartments), in a large botanical park on the coast between Naples and Rome.

'One of the attractions of this gem,' write its nominators, 'is its location on a junction of canals just behind the Doge's Palace.'

Built in 1808 by the King of Naples (who was married to Napoleon's sister) as a summer residence, this townhouse hotel is located in the centre of Positano.

'Near Piazza Navona and within walking distance of all the sights (we didn't use a taxi the whole time we were in Rome), this centrally located hotel is on a quiet little street and I could sleep at night with my window open,' writes a visitor.

Once a bolt hole for wealthy Venetians escaping the summer heat (plus Robert Browning, Freya Stark, Igor Stravinsky et al.), this charming little medieval hill town in the Veneto is known as 'the town of a hundred horizons'.

Owned and managed by Lorenzo Muner, Oltre Il Giardino is set in the San Polo area of Venice, just a few steps from the Church of Frari and 15 minutes from St Mark's Square.

Once the summertime day-trippers have left, Capri becomes a different place: it has 'charm, beauty, many fabulous sights'.

Hotel Casci isn't fancy, but considering the location (150m from Florence Cathedral) the rates are very reasonable and the owners, the Lombardi family, pride themselves on being some of the friendliest hoteliers in town.

The Cavaliere family's hotel is in the heart of the Italian Alps, and overlooks Mount Blanc. It's a reconstruction of a 20th-century alpine villa – every room is named after a year – and is old-fashioned in feel, with antique furniture, polished floors and period paintings

This chic little boutique hotel, which calls itself 'Rooms in Rome', is managed by Marco Fiduli. Just off the elegant via dei Condotti, and close to the lively Piazza di Spagna, it was opened by its Sicilian owners in 2008.

A former watchtower for the Knights of Malta, dating back to the 15th century, has been turned into this five-star deluxe resort.

On a cliff-top road outside an old fishing village just south of the Cinque Terre, this restaurant-with-rooms is run by its “very helpful owners”, chef Angelo Cabani and his wife, Giovanna.