Florence View Hotel

April, I look forward to the responses you receive! I watched Giada in Italy also and wondered about finding an apartment with a similar view.

Kathy

April, I look forward to the responses you receive! I watched Giada in Italy also and wondered about finding an apartment with a similar view.

Kathy

These are lovely apartments situated along the river by the bridge.

http://www.rinascimentopalace.com

Try http://mobile.hotellascaletta.it
Great hotel, wonderful staff.
Rooftop bar with views.

We also stayed 2 weeks ago at Sweet Home Boboli (booking.com) very nicely appointed apartment. Views from rooftop terrace of the Boboli Gardens, but probably not great for December.

Wow, these are all excellent suggestions! I really like the suites at Scaletta and they are a great price! The apartments are also lovely and the location is perfect!

Thank you. :-)

If you would consider staying in Fiesole, a short ride above Florence (on the No. 7 bus, I think) the Villa Bonnelli has gob smacking views of Florence below.

Thanks Norma. That is a stunning view. We won't have a car and were wanting to stay in Florence though.

I just stayed here 2 weeks ago and is what you are looking for.
B&B with amazing view from a huge private balcony setup with tables and chairs for sunset dining.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/567646
Pricing is within your budget, the house/B&B has nice grounds you are free to explore. Think they only rent out at most 3 rooms and at the time we were the only guests staying there. The Yellow Suite is their best room and has the best view.

Suzanna the host was very welcoming and her staff prepared a great breakfast every morning included in the rate.
To get the view you want you need to be on this side of the Arno, away from the city walls.
The B&B was connected to an old roman footpath and is a lovely 10 minute walk to the city walls from the B&B.
On the down side:

The way back to the B&B from Florence center is quite the uphill climb, we did the walk one night and another evening choose to take a taxi from the Ponte Vecchio back to the B&B, which was reasonable (10 euro or less I believe)
The view and location are very near to both Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato al Monte (kind of in between the 2).

...and Norma got her star back!

That looks like a wonderful apartment too! It's just a bit too far out of town for us though. If it was summer, I would be inclined to stay there, but without a car and chances of rain and cold, and getting dark early, we would prefer to stay in town.

Thank you though! I have it bookmarked for the next trip. :-)

Hi April.

I actually stayed at Hotel La Scaletta back in November. It was one of the best places i stayed during my trip to Italy. The staff was nice. The location was very convenient to Ponte Vecchio and to Piazza Michaelangelo. The beds were very comfortable. It was great to be there. I am going back to Italy this summer with my family and was hoping to stay there again. But am reconsidering as we are 9 and it might be better to find a nice bed and breakfast!

I'm booked at Hotel La Scaletta for May. This thread confirms my choice.