Florence hotel

Mary, I have not stayed there but www.tripadvisor.com shows that this hotel is rated #23 out of 461 hotels in Florence. Not bad. Looks great. Location is great. Room rates look to be 200Euro/night and up. A bit pricey but it may be worth it. Compare to 145Euro/night for the Tourist House Ghiberti B&B which is rated #20 out of 473 B&Bs in Florence (Wife recently stayed there). I didn't like the "Smoking Living Room" feature noted on the hotel's web page. Makes me wonder if any of the rooms are smoking rooms.

My wife and I are budget travelers. In a relatively expensive city like Florence, we'll be looking in the 80€ to 100€ range.

When I'm researching rooms, I'll often go into Booking.com and sign into the city. I'll filter the rooms by price. Then, I'll go down the list until I find a customer recommendation that's very high versus the other accommodations in that price range.

I often will check TripAdvisor.com to see what people have been saying about Booking.com's accommodation.

I've heard of Hotel Santa Maria Novella, however it's out of my price range. We had a room 1 block from the Florence train station last year for about $110. This year's it's pushing $200. There are reasonable priced hotels in Florence if you look close.

Mary, I have found tripadvisor to be a very reliable source for hotel feedback. Just make sure you read the most recent reviews AND reviews from the same time of the year you will be travelling.

I did not stay at this hotel but went in to use the rest room which I might add was gorgeous. The SMN hotel looks very upscale. The price does not seem too much for what it offers. But we are usually into booking budget type hotels. The location is good and it is only a short walk to the Santa Maria Novella Pharmacia which should not be missed.