Italy Smart Splurges

Legendary, sophisticated resort in the center of Positano features beautiful guest rooms with canopied beds and terraces that overlook the famous yellow-and-green duomo of the church of Santa Maria Assunta.

If you’ve made it all the way to Vulcano and settle into this luxurious 97-room resort, you may have a hard time leaving. The whitewashed complex is situated atop a cliff in the Vulcanello section of the island, with jaw-dropping views across the sea to the island of Lipari; the best vistas are from the infinity, seawater pool. The lobby has attractive white vaulted ceilings, there’s an excellent, seaside restaurant L'Arcipelago, and a spa. Guestrooms are airy, large, and comfortable.

If you need a tranquil refuge from the glorious mess that is Rome, try this five-star hotel with beautiful landscaping and a luxurious spa, complete with Turkish-style hamam. Very close to great shopping near the Spanish Steps and the Corso.

It took seven years to convert the Renaissance-era Palazzo della Gherardesca, its 12-acre private park, and a nearby 16th-century convent into Florence's newest five-star hotel, but the results confirm that it was worth the effort. Guests of the hotel's 117 rooms (including 45 suites) are treated to all sorts of plush amenities including an outdoor heated pool, beauty and hair salon, spa, and fitness center. While all this might have been easily accomplished elsewhere, it's quite a feat that it could happen in such a historical setting, all within steps of the city's major landmarks.

The pianist on Villa d’Este’s terrace overlooking Lake Como may start summer evenings with Puccini (a former guest), but after a while relaxes into Elton John, James Taylor, or even Madonna (all three have stayed here, too, so it’s only fair). It’s this mix of elegance and openness, along with an enviable location, that makes Villa d’Este a must-visit hotel, and, for us, justifies the very splurgy rates.

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For over 400 years, the palatial former residence has successfully kept stride with the eternal lake which, as Shelley wrote, “exceeds anything I ever beheld in beauty.” In the mid-16th century, Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio acquired the land and commissioned architect Pellegrino Pellegrini to build a villa. Ever since then, nobility from across Europe has traveled to the villa for precious escape. Today that villa is a five-star hotel with the most refined of modern delights; yet the stamp of each owner remains on the estate’s hills, gardens, and rooms.

Comparable hotels dot the area, but none so dripping with fine Cernobbian antiques, such as silk drapery, paintings by Serangeli, and marble statues by Canova. Outside, sprawling gardens blend Italian Renaissance and English influences; Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales, spent five years here throwing scandalous balls and decorating the villa and gardens to suit her tastes (and remind her of home).

The warm staff will gladly offer information about every artifact (they’re used to running a sort of living museum), arrange a deluxe boat rental, or supply all the local gossip. In the spa, the atmosphere turns from decadent to transcendent: More than 50 treatments are on offer, from toning wraps to the less conspicuous AHA/BHA moisturizing treatment.

Check out the small fortress next to one of the hills (a former resident was a Napoleonic general who liked to play war games). The trek up to the little fort is quite a workout, but it offers one of the best views around. Closed Nov. 15 to March 1; best season for value: spring/ early summer.

Great Value Alternative: On the shores of Lake Garda, Italy’s largest body of water, Hotel du Lac has a kind of country-club vibe, with large gardens, a pool, and several levels of terraced eateries. From $87/person, www.limone.com/dulac

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Across from Dorsoduro on the island of Guidecca, this monumental hotel in a former grain factory boasts some of the best views over the city.

If only the Franciscan monks who put together their monastery stone by stone in the early 17th century could see it now. With breathtaking views of the surrounding Langhe district from atop a hill south of Turin and not far from Alba and Asti, this sprawling complex now ranks among northern Italy’s loveliest country hotels and as a member of Relais & Châteaux. The refined, occasionally over-the-top decor in some of the public areas was added by the count who bought the place as a fixer-upper in the mid-19th century; his descendants in turn sold it to hoteliers, and, since 2002, the whole pile has been modernized and outfitted with 21st-century amenities to receive guests while preserving the feel of an old Piedmontese estate. There's a "vinotherapy" spa with its atmospheric jacuzzis, indoor pool, and barrelful of treatments based on wine and grapes, and the fine restaurant in the former wine cellar, with brick barrel vaults and one Michelin star. The former monks' cells now count as 31 rooms (including 13 suites) spread among two floors and two buildings. Each has its own decor and personality as well as all of today's luxe hotel touches; the furniture in some leans toward plush overstuffed yellow chairs, in others cane-backed and carved dark wood, and still more find a reddish color scheme with elegant stenciled friezes.

Inspired by the Grand Tourists – the 18th- and 19th-century upper-class British travelers who made Rome an essential part of any itinerary – this 90-room Spanish Steps-area hotel has seen a number of distinguished guests traipse through its pearly doors, from Hemingway to Twain to Hans Christian Andersen. Meant to feel like a private residence, the lavishly decorated rooms are crammed with porcelain antiques, over-sized mirrors with ornate frames, and enough silk to make you think twice about leaving the room. If possible, request a room on a higher floor – one with terrace or balustrade. The hotel cocktail bar, perhaps one of the most posh spots to sip a martini in town, is a favorite haunt for local celebs.

When things in Venice get too hectic, guests head for this hotel’s private dock off Piazza San Marco and call the leather-trimmed motorboat to whisk them back to this luxurious, secluded oasis.

Europe’s first self-proclaimed seven-star hotel is situated in the magnificent Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Here, it’s all about the service: personal butlers, Bentley limousines, premium booking services, and room requirements met to the finest detail.