Some other great resources for train info are www.raileurope.com and www.trenitalia.com. I'm not sure what the French version of Trenitalia is but there is probably a link from RailEurope.

My wife and I did a 20 night Starwood/Starpoints tour of Italy back in September with 5 nights at the Rome Westin Excelsior and 3 nights at the Florence Westin Excelsior. We wish we would have stayed more in both cities.... We did not go to the St. Regis, but were extremely pleased with our upgrade to a fantastic suite at the Westin and for the Platinum Amenity(points not an option) we chose the Local Gift which was an excellent book of Rome accompanied by a DVD. In Florence too we did not go to the Grand, but were happy with the Westin. Location is not an issue for either because they are across a small square from each other and are within walking distance of major sites.

One quick note: if you want to see David or the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, reservations are mandatory and should be made WELL in advance. People said they were in line without a res for 3 hours and did not get in to see David. I could go on more, so if you want additional info, send me a Private Message.