Rinascente

The location was fantastic, right in central Pisa, but I left after just one of my two booked nights because the stay became too stressful. Communication was nearly impossible, since I don’t speak Italian and the owner didn’t speak English. I felt they were controlling about how I used the facilities. I wasn’t given a key for the main building, so the owner had to buzz me in and seemed unhappy when I arrived at 10pm. They also seemed angry that I had taken my bedroom key from the building. The shared bathroom was very basic, and there was no WiFi as described. It wasn’t a good stay.

The rooms were comfortable, quiet, and dark, and we slept better here than anywhere else on our Tuscany trip with our two little kids. Pina is such a sweet, genuine person. She’s 97, and since I speak Italian, we could talk. Check-in and check-out did take a while, but spending time with her made it worthwhile. Staying there felt like being in a Renaissance dream. We booked after reading the reviews, and I’d recommend it. You won’t regret booking.

We arrived late and exhausted, only to find out our booking had been cancelled at the last minute. Another group had run into the same problem. We couldn’t communicate easily because we don’t speak Italian and they don’t speak English. We travel often, and this kind of last-minute cancellation had never happened to us before. The place didn’t look well maintained, and from other guests’ reviews it seems we may have avoided a terrible stay. We paid a bit more for somewhere else at short notice, but the facilities there were much better.

She was friendly when I arrived roughly on time, but she’s 98 and speaks no English, while I know very little Italian. Google Translate only helped so much, and we also managed with a little French, but eventually we got through check-in and received the three keys. It was definitely a unique experience! The WiFi wouldn’t work, even while I was looking at the router. The shower was tiny and cold, and its pressure jet was broken.