Hotel/BB in Florence

I can't comment on Katti House, but I've stayed at Il Villino and highly recommend it. www.residenzailvillino.com/

I know you are asking about Katti house, but I feel I have to respond to the TripAdvisor angle. If RS is happy enough with Katti house, know that it will be exactly as described. I've used RS suggestions for 15 years (personally and professionally) and he's never flubbed a description/review in his guidebooks. He tells it like it is.

You have to take EVERY review on TA with a grain of salt. It might be the most useful tool consumers have to check out hotels, but it is flawed to some degree because the reviews are all subjective, and no objective reviews are included. You have to know and understand the type of place you have booked. You have to know what is typical for that type property and for that city/country in general. I read TA reviews all the time (I'm a professional travel agent and use TA and another professional review source to compare notes) and some of the loudest complaints I find are from people who were simply uneducated about the kind of lodging experience they booked for themselves. An Italian B&B quite often resembles nothing similar to the warm and fuzzy and cozy experience you might find in the Napa Valley or Martha's Vineyard or Charleston, SC. There are some gems that are top notch, but there are just as many that are quite simply a room in someone's home, and all that implies. There may or may not be any public lounges to sit and converse with friends outside your room. Breakfast? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe in a breakfast room/kitchen, maybe pre-packaged in your room. There is no consistency from one property to the next. Check-in and check-out times are often restricted. At no point are they run like a hotel. Too many TA complaints that I have seen written are about these kind of issues...traveler expecting something that is just not going to happen based on the category of property they chose. So you have to know what you are getting AND weigh how that jives with what you ultimately expect.

We have stayed twice at Hotel Johlea and liked it--90 euros last time. It is more of a B&B and does include a decent breakfast. Has lots of charm with every room different, lots of nooks and crannies, roof terrace, and fine location--last room overlooked a quiet courtyard.