If I had not been travelling with 50+ university students and been completely clueless to the fact that this is a group/tour hotel, I probably would've booked a place like this! The first impression it makes is a very good one... in fact when I alighted from the coach and walked into the hotel to check in for the group, I took around the lobby and reviewed my booking information as I thought we might be in the wrong place. None of our other hotels on the trip looked nearly as nice as this place. I'm going to break this down:
Pros:
Breakfast - it is continental, but there is so much choice
Facilities - the whole place is very modern... breakfast room/bar with a fish tank above and very large lobby for people to hang out in, so they aren't bothering the people in the room next to them
Rooms - they are pretty nice... the bathroom was very chic with two shower options of the overhead nozzle or the handheld nozzle that was... again very modern. Loved the mini-fridge so I could keep my water cold.
Location - close to the train/bus station
Cons:
Facilities - it is a group/tour hotel, as I said before. Not just groups/tours, but student groups... when we were there, another group of about 40-50 pre-teen/teens (between 11-14 years old) were staying there as well. Fortunately with groups like that, there are usually curfews.
Rooms - you can still hear a lot in your rooms, the rooms (at least mine was) are quite dark, and taking a shower can also mean drenching the rest of the bathroom. I ended up using the handheld shower nozzle so I could control the water from spraying all over as the glass only goes half way across the shower area.
Location - it is on a very busy street. While Florence is not huge, the hotel is located a bit of a walk from the major sights of the city. For many of us, that isn't a problem, but if you do decide to go out and come back later at night, it can be a little dodgy and as a single female, I would feel a little uneasy.
Staff - I didn't find the staff very friendly or helpful even. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that I came in with 50+ university students, but we are paying customers, so a little hospitality would be nice. When we asked questions they always seemed hesitant to help us and they don't really explain the policies to group leaders. I say this because there were some French teachers checking in just after I had finished sorting my students out that were frantically discussing what they were going to do because a damage deposit had to be made, but none of them wanted to use their card or had the cash to do so. In my own experience, they did not tell me that my students needed to check out of their rooms half an hour before departure as they send staff around to check the rooms. This year, while I was not on the trip, my colleague said that they were asked to go around to all of the student rooms and document any damage before checking in. Having worked with many hotels/hostels, they usually send these kinds of policies ahead of time so 1) we know and 2) so we can organize the students accordingly.
If the staff could work on their hospitality and consistency with group policies, I would be willing to give them five stars, but until them, this place is a solid four stars. read more