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.

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.

'Wholeheartedly recommended' by Guide readers, this elegant four-star B&B hotel is on six floors, with lovely terraces and splendid views ('even from the bathrooms'), and located high above the sea (there are 300 steps down to lovely Incanto beach).

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.

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.

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'.

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

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.

'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.

You can see the remains of Pompey's theatre (55BC) in the breakfast room/bar of this small hotel run by the Cavarocchi-Mignoni family.

Owned by the Planeta family wine producer, this modern, purpose-built hotel stands amid vines and olive trees in southwest Sicily.

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.

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.

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.

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 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…

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.

'Our favourite small hotel in the world,' said one GHG reader after his fourth visit. 'Its position, above the town, gives it the feel of a private hideaway.

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'.

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

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.

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

'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'.

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.

This small Tuscan hilltop hotel, much loved by Guide readers over many years, has been owned by the famous Della Robbia family since the 16th century.

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

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.

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.