LBloom, I stayed at the Hotel David in Florence this past October and can highly recommend it.A double room will come in below your budgeted amount, we booked directly through the hotel's website and paid in advance for a 10% discount and in Canadian dollars the room was about $150.00. It included breakfast which had bacon and eggs as well as the more typical Italian breakfast items.
Also included was a small cake in the room as a welcome gift, the mini fridge has soft drinks and water for the first day for free and in the early evening they have a "happy hour" with wine and lovely snacks, all included in the price of the room. The weather was still nice and we were able to sit outside for happy hour, it was lovely.

It is located across the river from the historical centre and we walked into the city and back which was scenic and interesting and it took 20 to 30 minutes. However if you did not care to walk there is a bus directly across from the hotel.

The staff were very helpful and gave us some good dinner recommendations.
There is an elevator, it was all very clean and charming in a lovely old villa.
Lovely sitting area downstairs with newspapers and computers you can use.
If you decide you like it I wouldn't wait too long to book it, it seems very popular.

That is a very generous budget. I rarely spend 150 euro a night double and never stay in dumps.Usually I can keep it to around $100 euro. And food can be as little or as much as you want. What do you spend when you go out to dinner at home? But even if you normally spend $100 on dinner for two, do you do that EVERY day - two or three weeks in a row? Probably not, so you don't need to on vacation either. You can mix it up, one night in a "nice" restaurant, the next in a less expensive place. You want to spend $400 a day on lodging and food, go for it. But in no way do you "need" to in order to have some wonderful food and stay in clean and well located hotels.

However, you may find it difficult to find "American style egss, bacon, etc breakfasts" regardless of the cost. That's just not common in Italy. If you really need it you'll probably be able to get it, but don't expect that kind of breakfast in most hotels or restaurants.

I meant to add that every Italian hotel I have stayed in included breakfast in the price but usually it is a continental style with fruit, pastries, breads, cheeses, ham, yogurt and cereals, juices, and coffee.

My last trip to Rome we stayed at the Hotel Raphael which was right off the Piazza Navona, very well located for sight seeing and a gorgeous hotel. I think it is above your price point though.

On another trip to Rome we stayed across the river in Trastevere at the Relais Le Clarisse which is very budget friendly and was a great hotel for the price. It was super clean, really friendly staff, nice breakfast included, lovely courtyard, great restaurants around, very lively interesting neighbourhood and an easy walk to the historical centre if you are good walkers, if not, there was a tram very close to the hotel. No need for an elevator, the rooms were all on one level off the courtyard, some maybe had 2 or 3 steps up.

I'm sorry I don't know how to include the links but these hotels are all easily found on Google.

This one is about 2 years old but is a good format to plan your budget:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/planning/budget.htm

Thanks Bob! Your link confirms what I was planning (48K-10K) with tickets, trains, rental car & fuel, hotel and meals.

We are not set on American style breakfast, but I need protein at my first meal in addition to fruit and carbs. Yogurt or cheese will do nicely. Coffee is the deal breaker - MUST have coffee 1st thing (need my GO juice!).

We are thinking of renting a car leaving from Rome and doing a couple of scenic towns in Tuscany prior to Florence, where we will drop the car. Any rental car recs? Is the drop off fee going to be outrageous? One of us can drive a stick shift, but is 6'2, will a compact car work?

Whoops! 8K-10K

Car rental- kemwel.com and autoeurope.com. Be sure to compare deductibles when comparing prices. Call them if you have any questions.

No drop off fee.

At that time of year, I suggest spending at least 3-4 days in the countryside. It is beautiful and it will be a nice relaxing break between cities. There is plenty to keep you as busy as you prefer. Stay at an agriturismo near Montepulciano or Pienza.

This is where I love to stay, located just outside of Pienza-

http://www.fontebertusi.it/eng/

Have fun!

For car rentals, EuroEurope or Kemwel (sister companies, but you can play them off against each other). Call them - don't just go online and rent. They both have great customer service and you will undoubtedly have some questions. There shouldn't be a drop-off fee. Someone else will have to answer the compact car question - we're too small/short for that to be a concern.

I forgot-

I'm almost 6 ft tall and I have no problem with compact size cars. There seems to be plenty of room to spare.

AutoEurope, not EuropeEurope (shouldn't try to talk on the phone and type simultaneously).

This is a good site to get an indication of reviews and cost. www.booking.com/italy

I would start in Venice and end in Rome. Pick up the car in Florence (at the airport if you don't want to risk a ZTL ticket) and drop the car somewhere easy to reach in Rome (Villa Borghese?) so you can avoid ZTL there. You could also drop the car in Orvieto and take the train the rest of the way to Rome.

Do you need a double room or a twin?

I've stayed at Alloro B&B in Florence between the train station and the Duomo so everything was an easy walk. It has AC and an elevator.
http://www.allorobb.it/

I've also rented an apartment in Florence, but it's about a 15 minute walk from the center (bus stop nearby or taxi if you don't want to walk). The apartments were ground floor and had AC. They supplied breakfast items for the first day and there was a small grocery down the street.
http://www.residenzailcarmine.com/

I imagine both are below your budget.

Pienza would make a good base for Tuscan day trips. There are several small hotels at the edge of the old town that would be in your budget with AC. You could walk to dinner.

http://www.hotelcorsignano.it/
http://www.anghelhotels.it/eng/relais_chiostro_di_pienza/home.htm
http://www.pienza.net/site.asp?idSito=1&idLingua=2&idPagina=3
http://www.albergorutiliano.it/intro.en.php
http://www.piccolohotellavalle.it/index_uk.htm
http://www.arcadipienza.it/

Hi, for the budget that you are talking about per night you could stay in really nice apartments that are centrally located. There are a plethora of websites that offer apartment rentals direct from the owner. I have used a company called nextaway. we stayed close to the spanish steps and had internet. plus in an apartment you can eat breakfast and make your first cup of coffee to get you going!

Also I have used AutoEurope when I went with my brother as we were driving all thorough Italy. I dont remember any of the costs exactly but I know that they were reasonable. Have a look on http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/cheap-car-hire/?source=MS as they will compare all car agencies and tell you the cheapest price. Also petrol prices in Italy right now are 1.87 euro per litre. Just to help you in factoring in costs!