Hotel Hermitage in FLorence
May 26th, 2000, 02:34 PM
#2
Guest
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My husband and I stayed at the Hermitage in February and would definitely reccommend it. The location is great -- almost directly across from the "entrance" of the Ponte Vecchio -- and within very easy walking distance to the major sights. Our room was relatively spacious (based on descriptions of other hotels that I've read on the forum), well-appointed and overlooked the Arno. <BR> <BR>There is a pretty rooftop garden with a nice view of the city (it was a little too cold when we were there to take advantage of it). I think that you can have breakfast there in nice weather and imagine it would be a great way to start the day. What we came to know as the "typical" Italian hotel breakfast (rolls, cheeses, cold meats, etc.) was included in the cost of the room but you could also order eggs (can't remember what else!) off a menu for an additional charge. <BR> <BR>The staff were just terrific. They gave us wonderful restaurant recommendations, made phone calls to shops to try to track down things we wanted and went way "above and beyond" to help us deal with a train strike slated for the morning we were scheduled to leave. And then there was the lovely bottle of wine the owner gave us as we were leaving.... <BR> <BR>If you'd like more detail or have other questions, let me know. Have a great time in Florence! <BR>
May 26th, 2000, 04:20 PM
#3
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Jennifer, <BR>Dede's descriptions are right on the mark! You can breakfast on one of the upper floors and get a fine view of the city while doing so. Rooms are ample and quiet considering the street noise prevalent in Italian cities. The staff is tremendously accommodating and fluent in English and by all means do follow up on their restaurant recommendations. The hotel is located not 30 yards from the Ponte Vecchio and is an ideal location.
Nov 28th, 2000, 01:54 PM
#5
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Not sure how the others managed to get spacious rooms, but our room was quite small, one of our smallest in Italy. Not that we minded, as it had two large windows to the Ponte <BR>Vecchio, and it was beautifully furnished and decorated. Breakfast on the roof was wonderful, although you need to keep one hand free to chase away the pigeons. The staff was exceptionally nice and although we had a difficult time arriving by car, they took our car for us, parked it God knows where, and brought it back to us when we were ready to leave, which was great. A very nice hotel. The only negative I had is that whenever we asked about dining suggestions (really wanted comments on the list we already had) they discouraged us about all the ones on our list, saying they were all too touristy and really pushed for one place in particular out in the country. We stuck to our choices and loved all of them, mostly found them the least touristy places we saw in Florence. Everyone we talked to who followed their suggestion thought their place was overpriced, nothing but tourists, not very good, and certainly not worth the trip out to it. Seems it is owned by the same people as the hotel, or some other relation. Don't fall for their sales pitch.
