Hotel: The Westin Excelsior, Rome

This is one of the world's grand old classic hotels, and it's large--287 rooms and 32 suites. It has been providing luxury lodging for vacationers in Rome since 1906. It's stylish and well located with many of Rome's visitor highlights just a short walk away, and it has just about every amenity guests could want, a health club, 24-hour room service, and children's specials among them. Families are always welcomed.

Remember Fellini's famous film, La Dolce Vita? There are famous scenes of gay and straight celebs romping along the Via Veneto and having Campari and soda in streetside cafes. One of the most famous of these cafes belongs to the equally famous (some say infamous) Excelsior hotel, which is now a Westin, but no less chic. The Empire-style rooms (there are both modern and Empire, and we choose the historical versus the "Westernized" ones) are simple but exquisitely furnished with Napoleon-style furniture and sleigh beds. Views from the expansive windows down to the Via Veneto are inspiring. Bedding is silken, and a higher thread count could not be imagined. The building itself has changed little from its original Victorian-era architecture, and the lobby will remind some visitors of a Plaza Hotel/Waldorf. A grand hotel in the old fashioned sense of the word, this place is expensive but memorable.