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Hotel Torre Guelfa in Florence: a quirky but fun splurge.

During our recent one week stay in Florence, we stayed at the Hotel Torre Guelfa, Borgo SS Apostoli 8, about a 15 minute walk from the train station. The location is fantastic, on a relatively quiet street about a block and a half from the Ponte Vecchio, and a couple of blocks from the Uffizi. There are many places to eat within minutes, and a tiny convenience store right across the street from the hotel.

We had stayed here way back on our first Rick Steves tour in 2009, and Stan has always wanted to return. One of the attractions, in fact, the thing that Stan remembered most vividly, was the tower, or Torre, in the hotel. It rises above the hotel, 72 steps from the 3rd floor up to the tower bar, then another creaky, winding staircase up to the top. The view from there is magnificent, especially at sunrise and sunset. (Well, I’m assuming it’s great at sunrise; I know it’s wonderful at sunset.)

Ever since we enjoyed a magical evening under a full harvest moon in October of 2009, Stan has wanted to stay there again. And so we booked it.

This was a splurge for us, but since we had decided to spend a full week, and since we knew Florence with its outrageous crowds and multiple attractions would be exhausting, we asked for a nicer room, with either a balcony or a terrace if available.

Have you seen Rick’s Italy guidebook, where he mentions in the hotel list for Florence the Torre Guelfa? He says something like “If you book early enough, you may get room 315.” And we did! I didn’t ask for it, not knowing what it was, but when the person with whom I was communicating sent my request on to someone else at the hotel, the answer came back ”315 is available for her dates.”

Our section of the hotel has an elevator – evidently there are some parts that don’t. Up to the 3rd floor, then follow the winding hall, past a lovely lounge, past the door to the breakfast room, and we finally found the door to 315. We unlock the door and… stairs! A narrow flight a stairs that seem to go straight up, then a sharp turn to the left – more stairs, then we pop out into the room. There were only 22 stairs, but it seemed like more, especially that first time.

So let me describe the room. (I wish I could include photos here.) The room was big, 25 square meters, according to the website, and somewhat worn. It could have used some sprucing up, but was clean and pleasant. To the left is a 4-poster bed, with small lamps and tables on either side. (Lots of pillows. What do people do with all those pillows?) There’s a window by the bed, that overlooks the red tile roof of other parts of the hotel.

On the west wall is a small luggage stand, a lovely old wardrobe, and a more modern cabinet with coffee and tea makings on top, and a small fridge inside. The south wall has a small table under a window; there’s a straight backed chair at the table. The bathroom is in the southeast corner of the room, and it’s … ummmm… colorful? You have to go up a fairly tall step to enter. The floor is turquoise tile; the walls are covered with alternating lavender and cream colored tile. After my initial shock, I decided I liked it. There was a decent sized shower, a lavender sink, and a toilet. There were plenty of towels, which were replaced daily, if I recall correctly.

Now, the south wall faced the terrace. The window over the small desk (table) looked out onto the terrace, and next to the table was a door leading out to it. The terrace was huge, perhaps a little narrower than the room, but much longer. There was a full set of porch furniture, with chairs and couches, as well as a low table. The sides of the terrace were filled with large flowerpots, full of blooming plants and small olive trees. It was magnificent. We spent a lot of time out there, especially in the early morning or late evening.

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6480 posts

The room rate did include breakfast, and the breakfast was amazing. I had to smile every morning; whenever someone came into the room for the first time, they stopped stock still, looked around, and said “Wow.” The room is large, on two levels, and beautifully furnished with heavy tables and chairs. The breakfast buffet is vast, with cereals, at least 2 kinds of eggs, 4 or 5 cheeses, cold cuts, hot meats including their famous bacon, lots of fruits and vegetables, 2 kinds of bread, 4 or 5 kinds of rolls, yogurt, and various savory choices. Oh, and there was a separate table just for sweets, mostly beautiful cakes and pastries. Hot beverages are served by the attentive staff. You can help yourself to juice, water, and milk.

The spread was lavish, the service was excellent, and the food was good.

The rest of the staff was just as helpful, as we found over the course of our stay. There are some lovely public areas, as well.

Now, I know from our previous stay that not all rooms looked like ours. In fact, our 2009 room was decidedly plain, as well as small. And there was one maintenance item – not dangerous, just annoying – that we brought to the management’s attention, and they acknowledged the problem, but didn’t fix it

From their website, https://www.hoteltorreguelfa.com/en/index.php, it’s obvious that there is a wide range of rooms located in various hallways, levels, and corners of this 700 year old historic building.

We did enjoy our stay there. Would we stay there again? Probably, depending on our finances at the time. Would we ask for room 315 again? Probably; it was lovely, even showing wear and tear. Would we recommend it? That depends. The location is great, the staff is great, the breakfast is amazing, the tower and bar are delightful, but … it is pricey, certainly the most expensive hotel we stayed in on this trip, and maybe ever.

It is worth taking a look at, though. If your finances allow, and if you don’t want everything spruced up and modern, check it out. Oh, and evidently there are rooms in the annex that are more modern, and may appeal to other travelers.

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2631 posts

I stayed there on a Heart of Italy tour in 2017, and it was one of my favorite RS tour hotels ever. I was in a small single room, loved the room, the whole hotel and the location.
I know other posters didn't like this hotel, but I don't recall why.

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8825 posts

69 stairs. That was how many stairs it took to get to my room at this hotel. While it was a nice hotel in many ways, those 69 stairs remain my most lasting impression.

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362 posts

We stayed there as well in 2018 (Heart of Italy tour) and loved it. I don’t remember what floor we were on, but our room was spacious and gorgeous (canopy bed, lots of windows). I’m not a fan of elevators, so I took the stairs, my husband took the tiny elevator, and we both remember all the stairs to the beautiful rooftop. We would stay again in a heartbeat. If I am remembering correctly, the current owner wrote a short fiction book, and a copy to take home was left for everyone in our rooms. Thanks for the memories!

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6480 posts

I figured there'd be a range of opinions on this place. When we were there in 2009, some of the folks on the Best of Florence tour loved the hotel, others hated it. I thought it was fine, although I was annoyed that our maintenance problem wasn't addressed.

In case anyone wonders what I consider "pricey," we paid €269 per night. That included breakfast, and at the exchange rate this past summer came to about $300 per night. It's not much more than we paid for our Venice hotel the previous week, but easily more than double what we paid in Gdańsk, Kraków, and York on the same trip. Our London hotel, the next most expensive, was just under $200 per night.

When we were there in 2009, we stayed an extra week or so in Florence, but not at the Torre Guelfa. We moved to a much less expensive place that no longer seems to exist, unfortunately. It was dirt cheap, halfway between the Duomo and the train station, and the proprietor greeted us with a bottle of wine.

I will say that when we were checking out of the Torre Guelfa this time, I reminded the desk clerk that we had had some drinks at our 2 visits to the tower bar. He printed it out, and tore up the bar bill! When I raised an eyebrow, he said "You've been here for a week; we can pay for your drinks." Nice touch. It cost them almost nothing, but we will always remember it.

Oh, and yes, there were two copies of the owner's novel in the desk drawer, one each in English and Italian. And the owner himself was on the premises. He asked us more than once if we were enjoying our stay.

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1963 posts

My daughter and I stayed at this hotel on the Venice, Florence & Rome tour in 2010. Our favorite also was that tower bar where we could sit with a 360 degree view of Florence and drink prosecco and eat potato chips. The large room before you climb to the tower was also a nice room in which to rest after a busy day of touristing. It remains one of my favorite Rick tour memories.

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2738 posts

Wow, nice. This reminds me of at least two other Rick recommendations, one in Rome and one in Sevilla. Open the door and steps!

I also realized that the large flowerpots are an easy way to arrange different configurations on the terrace for various uses.

Posted by
3498 posts

Nice review Jane! We go to Florence in the fall, staying at a different place, but I’m making a note of this one in case we return.

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6480 posts

Tammy, I'm working on my Florence trip report, and will definitely have some restaurant recommendations for you!

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3498 posts

Jane, wonderful! I still have a few openings for dinner there. Already have some reservations made for Venice, Bologna and Verona.