Designed by renowned architect Matteo Thun, Hotel Pergola Residence is set on a hill 3 km from the ski and nature resort of Merano, but hiking trails depart staight from the hotel too.

Located in the centre of Capri but surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens, nearly all of the rooms at this peaceful family-owned and run boutique hotel have sea views and terraces or balconies.

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

A bit of a walk from Capri's small main square, Piazza Umberto, in a pleasant residential area, this small modern villa is 'stylish, efficient and vertiginous', says a visitor this year.

'Well located', at the foot of Via Veneto, this historic building is within easy walking distance of the sights of ancient Rome, 'and the classy shopping streets'.

'Excellently located', this 'beautifully kept' B&B hotel has been run for many years by its owners, the Bechi family.

Owned by the 'hands-on' Zanon De Marchi family, this 'wonderful' hotel (Relais & Chateaux) is in a village in the foothills of the Dolomites, amid the vineyards of Prosecco.

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

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.

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.

Set in the quiet Cannaregio district, this 16th-century Baroque palace, formerly an aristocratic family home, boasts gorgeous, individually-decorated rooms and suites with frescoed ceilings, 18th-century antique furniture, handmade silk wallpaper and Murano chandeliers.

Ever-popular, Simone Simoni's 'blissfully quiet' pensione in a residential area on a hilltop just north-west of Florence represents 'amazing value', say its devotees.

A former haunt of English noblemen, this B&B is a conversion of two pink colonial-style villas once owned by Sir Daniel Hanbury.

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.

On the edge of this Dolomite resort (Wolkenstein in Gröden in German) at the foot of the impressive Sella massif, this 'superb hotel', renovated last in 2013, is run by its owner, Carlo Senoner (a skiing world champion at Portillo, Chile, 1966), with his wife, son and daughter.

'Quite simply, one of the best small hotels we have stayed in.'

On the north side of the Borghese Gardens, this luxury hotel is decorated in Art Deco style, with jewel tones, period details and floor-length curtains.

Run for many years as a hotel by the Barbaro family, this former medieval convent, founded by St Francis of Assisi in 1222, has long been popular with Guide readers.

In this 'old-fashioned summer resort' on the dramatic north Tyrrhenian coast, this 18th-century 'Liberty-style' building stands in lush grounds.

A 17th-century former palace refurbished into a luxury hotel in 2013, Hotel Ai Reali is set on a quiet canal between the Rialto and Piazza San Marco.

High above the road, on the far side of the village (Sulden in German), this chalet-style hotel has fine views to the glacier and the Ortler range of mountains.

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.

In a small town in the foothills of the Dolomites (excellent for visiting the Palladian villas) stands this 'wonderful' hotel.

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.

With 'stunning views' over Florence and the surrounding hills, this family friendly hotel 'couldn't be faulted' by a visitor.

'Quiet, even by local standards', the Romanelli family's B&B hotel has long been loved by Guide readers.

In the city centre, this Renaissance palace is now a 'beautiful and gracious' hotel with 'stunning' lounges filled with antiques and art treasures, and neo-classical drawings and sculpture by Giovanni Duprè, an ancestor of the present owners.

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'.

Overlooking the Arno, between the Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizi, this 'very peaceful' B&B hotel has 'marvellous views of the duomo'.

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