Classic Hotel

The location is superb, with parking available and about a 20-minute walk to the main gate of Firenze’s old town. From there, follow the road toward Ponte Vecchio and the other main squares, which are roughly another 20 minutes away. The hotel was very clean, the rooms were a good size with well-equipped bathrooms, and breakfast had a nice range of choices.

The staff were friendly and helpful, and the location works well if you have a car. It’s a 20-25 minute walk to Ponte Vecchio. The rooms felt very old and small, and the cleaning was poor. Breakfast was just okay, so don’t expect too much.

The villa is in a leafy, quiet part of town, yet only a few minutes on foot from the city. Our room was large, comfortable, and elegant, with the feel of a beautiful historic home. Breakfast was simple and served in a lovely garden. A perfect base for seeing Florence, whether you arrive by car or without one.

I picked this hotel for its location near Florence’s historic center, and that part worked well. It’s around a 10-minute walk to the old city walls and about 30 minutes to Ponte Vecchio. The Boboli Gardens entrance is right beside the walls, and the hotel has free supervised indoor parking, which is handy if you’re driving. The rest was disappointing. The room had dated furniture and a worn carpet, and there was dust everywhere. On the first night I wiped down the bedside table and wooden bed frame myself. Housekeeping did come in daily to change towels and replenish toiletries, and the bathroom was reasonably clean, but a tile above the door was missing and added to the neglected feel. There was no refrigerator in the room. We brought a cooler, then found the power was switched off during the day, apparently to save electricity. One evening we returned and couldn’t turn on the lights until reception manually switched the power back on for us. Breakfast was very limited and the quality was questionable. There were only two kinds of cold cuts and no cheese, the machine coffee was poor, and the pastries seemed store-bought. Juice and water came in plastic cups, though coffee had ceramic mugs. Breakfast was in the garden, which might have been charming, but more than 10 pigeons were around. Staff tried to keep them away by feeding them, which just got them flying around and bothering people at the tables. The room price was attractive for Florence, but that doesn’t make the mediocre cleanliness or poor breakfast acceptable.