I love Pisa as it's a vibrant Italian city with numerous underrated attractions, such as the National Art Museum of San Matteo, the Palazzo Blu, the ancient Jewish cemetery, the old market area, Piazza dei Cavaliere, as well as the Piazza dei Miracoli. FWIW, architecturally the Tower is a sideshow and the Duomo and Baptistry are the center rings. There are no real good or bad neighborhoods for staying, although I'd avoid anything too close to the train station. Most of the hotels are away from the center, but the Royal Victoria Hotel is on the Lungarno which is the famous stately riverfront so a front facing room would provide nice views.