We need easy access to a train station that can get us to and from the Santa Maria Novella main station easily, plus the airport easily.
We would like to pay no more than $100/day.
And a place that has 'character'.
Thanks for any suggestions,
Barbara
When looking for rooms in cities anywhere in the world, I start by looking at Booking.com. In Florence, they have almost 1700 properties, in every location and every price range.
I go to the top and filter the properties by price--lowest price to highest price.
Then I go down the room list looking for accommodations with high customer ratings. I also read what their customers say about the individual properties.
Despite staying in low price places, I've never had a bad experience from properties rated high.
And there are a number of B&B's and Guesthouses listed.
Go to
www.bedandbreakfast.it
Click on Cerca (search) and type in
Santa Maria Novella
or type in another point of interest as I can't tell what exactly you want to be near.
Several pages of B and Bs will come up. B and Bs get farther away from point of interest on successive pages. Clicking on the picture goes to the information page. There are several pictures for each B and B, and a map (click on mappa) shows the B and B relative to the point of interest.
If you don't know Italian, correspond in English in the contact area provided. Many B and B owners know English. Be sure you understand which floor your room will be on. This is Florence, lots of very old structures double as house and B and B, no elevators, lots of stairs.
Be aware that In Italy, their first floor is actually our second floor. Their second floor is our third floor. Our main floor or first floor is Zero in Italy.
This is Florence. These places have a lot of character. Prices should mostly be in your range. Some may be higher. Florence can be expensive.
Thanks everyone - this gives me a plan to go about finding us a place.
Barb, I added info on how Italy counts floors. Very important.
I wouldn't limit myself to the train station area. Arriving, you can get a taxi at the station; departing, your hotel can call a taxi, and for €10-15 you can get door-to-door service from your hotel to the station. Note that if you call a taxi, the meter starts when the driver gets the call, so it adds a few euros to the fare - well worth it for the convenience, particularly with luggage.
Here are two that are very, VERY close to the train station. Not the Ritz, but not bad either! :-)
They are located in the same building. I made a reservation for Fiorita, but when we arrived they switched us to Desiree. Maybe they are family members, good friends... in any case, our stay at Desiree was just fine--we wanted by the train station and something inexpensive. If these are things you must have, I can recommend Desiree first-hand.
Yes, in fact, Google:
hotels near Firenze Santa Maria Novella
and several economical 1 and 2 Star hotels will show, among the 3, 4, and 5 Star hotels in that list.
Hi Barbara
This is not a B&B but this flat is fabulous - for 2 people - close to the station, overlooking Piazza Santa Maria Novella, wonderful hosts - great value - we love to stay here when we visit Florence
Home Away Rental 11939
Enjoy Florence -
Joni--
If you're talking about the Benvenuti's place (Anna-Maria is the mother) one floor up facing the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, you are correct. It is fabulous--less than a block from the train station. We spent five nights there in March and enjoyed every minute. Windows open wide to the piazza, where in the afternoon we would snooze & listen to guitar or accordion music below. Here is the VRBO link:
And it's in your price range as well.
Enjoy, Barbara!
