FH55 Grand Hotel Mediterraneo

Our room was spotless, though fairly ordinary, and the only view was what looked like air conditioning machinery outside the window. The hotel is well equipped for business guests, with garage parking, several conference suites, and other facilities, but it’s far from ideal for tourists, at least a 30 minute walk from Florence’s attractions. Even so, we enjoyed our stay. Service was a real highlight, from the welcome to the staff in the bar and restaurant. Breakfast had a huge selection for different tastes and needs. We also had a very enjoyable evening in the delightful Arno restaurant, with a lovely atmosphere, good food, and good service.

The staff were friendly and helpful, and the rooms were nice. We liked the restaurant, though it was a bit pricier. The bar food didn’t impress us, and the pizzas were disappointing. The one strange thing is that you can’t iron clothes in your room. You have to take each item to the laundry room by reception to use the iron. Otherwise, we had a great experience and would stay again. I’ll remember to bring a travel iron next ti.e.

We were happy with how clean the hotel was, and the shower got wonderfully hot. It took us a few tries to get the water coming from the overhead shower instead of the hand sprayer, but we worked it out. There wasn’t a bathroom counter for toiletries, which was a small drawback. The lobby is lovely, and every staff member we met was friendly. Our room had Florence-themed wallpaper featuring the Poseidon statue, plus a cute mural lit by little lights behind the bed. The location made it easy to walk to Santa Croce square and from there to the other plazas, museums, and the Duomo. We felt safe walking back and forth, even at night.

The breakfast buffet was the best we had at any of our hotel stays in Italy, and the staff were helpful and spoke English. Still, I wouldn’t book here again because it felt too far from the city centre. There were roadworks right in front of the hotel during our stay. Our room also felt a little dated, and the sleeper couch had been unfolded for some reason, leaving us with very little space.