Hotel Embassy

Getting around Florence and reaching the train station was easy from this location, and breakfast had a good range of items. Don't expect bacon or sausages. The apple juice was like Sunny Delight, and I wouldn't bother with the coffee in the urn. You can ask staff for a fresh coffee at no extra charge, and I recommend the Latte Machiato. If the trams outside are noisy, opening the window and closing the shutters made the sound insulation better. No bath robes, but there are slippers, all in large sizes. There's just one plug in the room, shared by the fridge, kettle and your phone. The paper cups are tiny, practically eyewash baths. Finally, the local authority has imposed a Tourist Tax of €7 per person per night.

Noise from neighboring rooms, the plumbing and outside made it hard to sleep and affected our comfort throughout the stay. The room also had visible maintenance and cleanliness problems, including moisture marks above the bed. Whatever caused them, they should have been dealt with before the room was assigned, especially for a hotel presented at this level. The front desk staff were polite and acknowledged the problems, saying management would review them. Later, management refused any commercial gesture, pointing only to the non-refundable booking terms and not addressing the quality concerns. For the price, this level of room condition, comfort and complaint handling is unacceptable. The hotel doesn't meet the 4-star standard I expected and doesn't deserve its 4-star rating. I wouldn't recommend it.

We were traveling with three other families and had rooms with three single beds as well as a suite with two bathrooms. The breakfast wasn't a huge selection, but it tasted great, and our teens ate plenty and were happy. We also really liked being able to walk from the train station and to almost everywhere we wanted to visit. The elevator took some figuring out since the floor numbers didn't match the room numbers. Our only other issue was leaving an iPad in one of the rooms. We called the front desk from the train to Milan, and they replied by email right away and handled it without hassle. By the time we were back in the States, the iPad had arrived at home.

The staff were welcoming and hospitable from the start, and made me feel at home. Breakfast was excellent too, with plenty of buffet choices for different tastes. I had a wonderful stay at Hotel Embassy and highly recommend it.