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Where to stay Florence?

My adult son and I have decided to stay in Florence for 4 or 5 nights. Can anyone suggest a quiet neighborhood , a budget hotel or pension with air conditioning, and not too far from transportation.

Also, I am open to the idea of staying outside of Florence - a train stop or two away.
Thanks!

Posted by
339 posts

You might try looking on Cross-Pollinate.com. They have many places to stay. Just put in your dates and requirements (private bath, air conditioning etc) and there will be a lot of places. Photos, maps and reviews are there for all the lodging and they are very good people to work with. I have stayed at many of their places and have been very happy with them. We are going back to Florence, Rome and Venice in the fall and are using them.

Posted by
15560 posts

In Florence I always stay at the Archi Rossi Hostel, in the annexe - it's a 5-minute walk from the train staion, and about 10 to the Duomo.

Posted by
40 posts

If you don't mind a curfew, my very favorite place to stay in Florence is at the convent of Oblate dell'Assunzione, on Borgo Pinti, 15. It's a lovely, historic building built in the true Florentine style: nothing to look at on the outside, but really amazing on the inside. It's on a very quiet street in a quiet neighborhood, yet just a few blocks behind the Duomo and a quick walk to Santa Croce and the Ospedale degli Innocenti.

I love the location, the sisters are incredibly kind and generous, there's a gorgeous garden out back, and a nice simple breakfast included.

The drawbacks are that the sisters don't speak any English; just French and Italian (or at least they didn't the last time I stayed there), and there is an 11:30pm curfew. We stayed there with a group of students on our study abroad trips, and I have to say, no one batted an eye at the curfew. If you request it, they'll give you a room with air conditioning that turns on at allotted times. The rooms are lovely and airy, and there are en suite options. I found the prices incredibly reasonable, too. Really great on a budget.

Here's a link to learn some more about them if you're interested: http://www.sanctuarybbfirenze.com/

Posted by
388 posts

If your goal is to see Florence, logistically it makes more sense to stay in Florence than outside as you will be paying to get in each day. Ricks's Florence 2014 guidebook has lots of recommendations for places to stay all over the city. Here are a few near the train station and a few further from the center you might consider.

Near the Train Station
[$$] Bellevue House is a third-floor (no elevator) oasis of tranquility, with six spacious, old-fashioned rooms flanking a long, mellow-yellow lobby. It’s a peaceful time warp thoughtfully run by the Michel family (Db-€110, Tb-€120, Qb-€140, 10 percent discount if you book direct and stay two nights, no breakfast, air-con, free Wi-Fi, Via della Scala 21, tel. 055-260-8932, www.bellevuehouse.it, info@bellevuehouse.it).

[$] Albergo Margaret, homey yet minimalist, doesn’t have a public lounge or offer breakfast. Run by the Cristantielli family, it has seven tidy, simple rooms (D-€40, Ds-€60, Db-€75, 10 percent discount if you book direct and pay cash, extra bed-€10, air-con, free Wi-Fi, near Santa Maria Novella at Via della Scala 25, tel. 055-210-138, www.hotel-margaret.it, info@hotel-margaret.it; Francesco, Anna, and Graziano).

Hostels away from the Center
These two hostels, northeast of downtown, are a bus ride from the action.
[$] Villa Camerata, classy for an IYHF hostel, is in a pretty villa three miles northeast of the train station, on the outskirts of Florence (€24/bed with breakfast, 4- to 6-bed rooms, members pay €3/night less, private rooms available, free Wi-Fi, self-serve laundry, Viale Augusto Righi 2--take bus #11 from the train station to Salviatino or bus #17 to Via Cento Stelle, tel. 055-601-451, www.aighostels.com, firenze@aighostels.com).

[$] Hostel 7 Santi calls itself a “travelers’ haven.” It fills a former convent, but you’ll feel like you’re in an old school. Still, it offers some of the best cheap beds in town, is friendly to older travelers, and comes with the services you’d expect in a big, modern hostel, including free Wi-Fi and self-serve laundry. It’s in a more residential neighborhood near the Campo di Marte stadium, about a 10-minute bus ride from the center (200 beds in 60 rooms, mostly 4- or 6-bed dorms with a floor of doubles and triples, €16-18/dorm bed, Sb-€45, Db-€60, Tb-€70, Qb-€80, includes sheets and towels, breakfast and dinner available but cost extra, no curfew, free guest computer, Wi-Fi; Viale dei Mille 11--from train station, take bus #10, #17, or #20, direction: Campo di Marte, to bus stop Chiesa dei Sette Santi; tel. 055-504-8452, www.7santi.com, info@7santi.com).

I hope this helps some.

Posted by
161 posts

Hotel La Scaletta-- they have modernized the rooms since I stayed here, but they are all still huge, from the looks of the photos on their website:
http://www.hotellascaletta.it/
It is right next to the Boboli Gardens! From their terrace, you overlook the entire garden. This is a long-time run hotel, in the family, really nice. Just down the street is the Osteria Cinghiale Bianco with its traditional Tuscan menu--
http://cinghialebianco.com/
and Mama Gina--
http://www.mammagina.it/ENG/index.html
... both wonderful restaurants. Just across the street is where they make the hand-painted paper. A quieter location that on the side of the bridge with the train station, church, and galleries., but it's such a small city center, and a short walk from side to side.

Laurel