Florence Hotel

CAT,

I really enjoyed my stay at Hotel Aldobrandini which is in a fairly central location in Florence, not far from Firenze S.M.N. station. It wasn't luxurious but very comfortable and the owner was fantastic (he took care of the reservations for the Uffizi and Accademia for me, which sure helped).

Happy travels!

We stayed at Hotel Pendini, a Rick Steves pick. It's in the heart of old Florence, about half-way between Uffizi and Academia.

It's old and nothing fancy, but it's not expensive considering its excellent location. My TripAdvisor review is HERE.

Here's a second opinion on the Hotel Pendini, I posted this on Trip Advisor back in 2007.

"This is my second review and while my first review was based on a visit back in 2002, this one is current. Many of the bad reviews for this hotel are based on the fact that the rooms can be so different (for the same price range). This time instead of having a large room overlooking the Piazza Republica, we had a smaller room with the smallest bathroom you could imagine (some of the other writers described them in their reviews)...imagine a small bathroom with a shower head in the middle and an drain in the floor...guess what...they weren't kidding. The second thing that was different this time was that the staff was not helpful in getting reservations at the Uffizzi or at the Academia....(on our first stary they took care of everything). The final negative experience was that they demanded payment in advance (I'm convinced that they do this to avoid having people check out early or cancel entirely once they see some of the worst rooms). The hotel occupies the 3rd and fourth floors of a great old building...the rooms on the square are large with great views and large bathrooms (odd numbered rooms 205 through 211) and I think odd numbers 111 or 113 through 121 on the thirdd floor (but you need to confirm this with the management). I would not recommend any rooom except these and be aware that the 3rd floor does have a strong odor (could be mold...or worse)

After an exhaustive search, and not being able to book the hotel I really wanted again for my dates, Albergio Firenze, we are going with Hotel Maxim as recommended in the RS guide, which I noticed he recommended later. Got to that Hotel entirely outside the RS guide.

Hotel Il Bargellino (in RS book) is simple but nice, and the owners are terrific. It's a short walk from the train station, and within easy walking distance of museums and restaurants. I paid 85 euro for a very large double room in May. Their single rooms are 45 euro. I'll be staying at Il Bargellino for the last part of your visit to Florence, so maybe I'll see you there.

I like the Hotel Casci on via Cavour.

We always stay at the Hotel Dali near the Duomo. Clean charming rooms, delightful helpful owners, unbeatable location, great prices. Marco and Samanta will make your museum reservations for you if you desire. There are many great cafes, a coin laundry and shops nearby and you can walk everywhere from here.

Do request a quiet room in the back if street noise bothers you. Double with private bath was 80 euro or shared bath 65 euro.

www.hoteldali.it (if that's not right just google hotel dali florence