When in Rome... try to avoid having the same experience as everyone else. I’d returned a second time around to get an insider’s guide to the city and to experience guaranteed luxury.

First stop - the five star Regina Hotel Baglioni, located on the famous Via Veneto, once famous for the Dolce Vita, café life, and where movie and music stars cogregate.

At the height of a global economic crisis, it may not have seemed like the best idea to splash out on a luxury five star hotel stay especially as this hotel caters most famously for glitterati including George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Natalia Imbruglia.

However, luckily the Regina Hotel Baglioni caters just as happily for non-famous budget conscious visitors like me by providing luxury with an Italian touch, albeit on a smaller scale. A standard double room will set you back just £125 per person, per night.

Those with serious cash to splash (we're talking around £1,600) can reserve the Panoramic suite which contains all the luxury extras including a lot of Italian marble, huge terrace, jacuzzi and bar area, perfect to keep any pop star happy.

The Regina Hotel Baglioni should be on the list of Rome’s essential sights. In fact it lies across the road from the former Queen's Residence. The grandeur here is immense. And as the suited-and-booted doorman holds open the front door, you’re immediately made you feel right at home not just by him, but the friendly reception staff. Refreshingly, there is no snootiness or stuffiness here. The treatment here would be the same for Madonna as it was for me.

The hotel is the perfect blend of modern and historic with attention to detail in every corner. Even silk tapestry is used, rather than wallpaper, as well as antique and art decó furniture. Decorated throughout with impressive statues and paintings, the lounge area resembles a typical Italian art gallery, while the restaurant and bar area oozes with modern day style and finesse.

The hotel has also started a programme of organised tours, including fresco painting classes and private visits to the famous Sistine Chapel. However, if you have time to plan, then pick up the most recently published guidebooks by the Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com). The Rome City Guide provides in-depth information for everything worth seeing, while the miniature Rome Encounter is small enough to keep in your pocket, and contains essential sights, with added comments and opinions given by locals.

While the guides are great on their own, time was short so I enlisted the help of a local travel guide to show me around.

Find all the city’s best tour guides in one place on www.ourexplorer.com. Tour Guides booked via this website ensure a more unique and authentic travel experience and supplement any guidebook.