BeB is far too pedestrian a term to describe these two award-winners 10-rooms each extravaganzas in old palazzi just yards from the Spanish Steps and Piazza Santa Maria Novella.

That means burying blandness in favour of original and imaginatively themed rooms. Twin this with all the warmth of a private home plus can’t-do-enough service and you’re in clover. Ancient features are axiomatic in Florence or Rome and there’s no cheating at Casa Howard; parquet and stone floors, heavy wood doors, marble chimney pieces and fine artworks. However it’s the striking decor and luxurious little extras that turn a stay here into a treat. 'Casa Howard provides the charm of a private house with the standard of personal service you would expect from a 5 star hotel.'

Casa Howard has 10 rooms and 2 suites of a magnificent Palazzo, at walking distance between the train station and the elegant area of the city. Many of the rooms have working fireplaces and it is possible to combine some of the rooms to create large private suites. A Turkish bath, a library bedroom, heated bathroom floors, wi-fi, sat TV, hot just baked hot croissant and just squeezed orange at breakfast… all contribute to ensure a comfortable stay for the most demanding guests.

There is a room for families with a climbing wall and a Walt Disney video library. Small dogs are welcome in some rooms. Guests are hard pushed to decide between the impressive Drawing room in soigné black; the lavish Oriental room with its emperor-sized bed, the Hidden room and its erotic and sunken bath tub, or the comfortable, impressively tome-lined Library. There’s even a Turkish bath exclusively yours when staying in both the Studio and Garden room.

Exclusive and fashionable, all the Casa Howard provide the charm of a private house with the standard of personal service you would expect from a 5 star hotel: parquet or lacquered floors, beamed ceilings, satellite TV, tea making facilities, air-conditioning, Ginori china...