My wife and I will be staying in Italy for 6 days in July. We found a place in Florence we are interested in staying at for 3 nights on Expedia. Our only worry is that there are no reviews online for this location, on Expedia, or elsewhere on the internet. It is called "Mulino di Firenze" and apparently has just opened up. This is our first time traveling together in Europe and we just want to make sure that the place is on the up-and-up. Has anyone heard of this place? If not, what are your thoughts on staying at a place that does not yet have any reviews online? Too risky? Here's the website.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
1317 posts
I haven't heard of this place but I do have some thoughts.
1) If no one is the first person to stay/review a property, no property will ever be reviewed.
2) There are hundreds upon hundreds of hotels in Florence, many of which have good reviews.
3) While TripAdvisor might not have any reviews, they do have a forum which very likely has a Destination Expert. The Expert might be able to at least tell you if it's legit, looks nice, etc. The destination expert for Sicily is an absolute treasure when it comes to this sort of thing.
In the end, I think it boils down to you & your wife as travelers. Are you picky or do you just want a place to lay your head? Are you adventurous or want a sure bet? One disadvantage is that you are going in July, which means finding an alternate place at the last minute could be problematic if this one doesn't work out. What do they require for payment? If you have to pre-pay everything, I'd be very leery.
Posted by
OP
Chattanooga, TN, USA
7 posts
I will look into the Destination Expert. That is wonderful advice I was unaware of. We are not picky travelers - we are just a little worried that the place is legitimate and not a scam or something. If we book that vacation package, it would be through Expedia, which would mean that payment would be required up front. I will look into their cancellation policy, both Expedia's and the Mulino di Firenze. Thanks for the feedback.
Posted by
Palm Beach, Florida, United States
536 posts
Michael - Here is one that I have personally taken people to as well as stayed at Myself. Excellent and reviewable!! And a great location
http://www.hotelbretagna.net/
Ciao, Greg
Posted by
Morrison, CO, USA
893 posts
Michael,
I, too, rely heavily on reviews especially when I'm headed to a city that I'm not familiar with.
I agree with Liz that I would definitly not reserve with a new hotel that I had to prepay. I don't want to fight about a refund.
I did check the website that you included, and the one thing I noticed is that the hotel doesn't look like it's very close to the city center where most tourists spend their time. We walk a lot in Europe and this looks like at least a bus ride each way to me. I like the idea of checking with the destination expert.
Please let us know what happens with the destination expert and I hope you have a great trip!
Is this the only place that you could find occupancy?
Posted by
Norfolk, USA
255 posts
I think that I would shy away from a hotel that I had to pre-pay that I could not find any reviews of. In fact, I tend to shy away from any hotel that I have to pre-pay unless it is a well known chain here in the U.S.