MarciaK

My 2 girlfriends and I will be spending 2 nights in Florence in mid-May. We wanted to see if any of you travelers had recommendations for hotels in Florence. We are really looking for a little hidden treasure that may be "undiscovered" by most travelers. We don't want a big, establishment hotel, but something that would give us the flavor of a great Italian neighborhood location. We are good walkers and are willing to walk a distance to all the main sites. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance for your help!
Marcia

agedude

Hello Marcia,

I was looking for Florence hotels last night for a trip later this year. Anyway, not sure this qualifies as a "little gem", but I found this place and it looked great:

http://www.expedia.com/Florence-Hote...-9456b93124ff&

I used the 15 - 18 May as the dates. Being very frugal (cheap), I looked at Hotwire.com to see what kind of deal I could get and it it available for $165 a night. It says it is a 15 walk to the center of town and has a shuttle if you don't want to walk. Personally, I'd pay $165 for a 5* villa vs. $125 for a 2* in the town center. Here is the hotwire link, it is the 5* in the southeast area and has great reviews on tripadvisor:

http://www.hotwire.com/hotel/results...nId=1&sn=sn3_3

tuscanlifeedit

agedude, that certainly looks like a nice place, but would be too far out for me. If we were to place the Duomo at the "center" I would eat my shoes if someone could make it there on foot in less than 30 minutes. Busses would be useful, but only to a certain point. Google says 27 to 30 minutes on foot, and that's downhill. I've done the uphill on a few routes, and it is only for the healthy.

MarciaK, there are so many places to stay in Florence, at any budget. Do you have an amount you'd like to spend?

A search here for Florence hotels will give you myriad choices.

AndiM

My mom and I were very happy with Hotel Dali - just a little past the Duomo. We stayed there last June and found it very comfortable. http://www.hoteldali.com/ We walked there from the train station. It is nothing fancy but was clean, cute, and in a neat old building with a tiny elevator. There was a nearby restaurant (recommended by the owners) that was really fabulous! It did not include breakfast but did have a fridge and nearby grocery stores. We enjoyed the little nearby cafés for breakfast. Have a great trip!

330east

Hotel Tornabuoni Beacci?

RonZ

We always stay at the Hotel Pendini.

nytraveler

Agree that a budget would help.

We always go for as central as possible - trekking around residential neighborhoods is not what I am paying for in Florence.

Dukey1

You really expect someone here to know about some "undiscovered" place? Look at the Orologio in Florence. Within easy walking distance of just about everything. And the elevators work and more than one person can get in them, too.

kybourbon

With only two nights, you need to stay central and anything central isn't undiscovered.

>>>Personally, I'd pay $165 for a 5* villa vs. $125 for a 2* in the town center. <<<

Stars do not mean quality. They are tied to specific amenities for each star level (elevator, restaurant, etc.).

Maltesec

Hotel Europa http://www.webhoteleuropa.com/ the website is old fashioned but the hotel is sooo romantic and in a very short distance from Duomo square. It's worth to be discovered.

travelhorizons

JK Place.

hikrchick

Tourist House Ghiberti. http://en.touristhouseghiberti.com/ Basically around the corner from the Duomo. I got the recommendation here from several trip reports. My DH and I spent 5 days of our honeymoon there in 2011. We loved it. Great breakfast, too.

Tabernash2

My notes from our stay in Florence at the Relais Cavalcanti, which I think you could classified as relatively undiscovered:

"We took a short cab ride to the Relais Cavalcanti. a very charming little 'hotel', at Via Pellicceria, 2. It occupies one floor of a building located near the Uffizi gallery, in a very good central location. Because my daughter had just finished her semester in Florence, she was able to recommend her favorite location in town for lodging.

The Relais Cavalcanti building has been in the same family's ownership for 100+ years, the owner/manager of the new-ish Relais is Francesca. She said she inherited this one floor of the building, so she recently renovated it to create a little hotel. It's relatively new, with beautiful tile bathrooms, showers, etc.

The rooms are very charming, and good-sized. It was 120 EUR for our double/twin, with private bath, which included a 10 EUR upgrade for the better view. Francesca did provide a 5 percent discount for payment in cash.

You have the feeling of entering a very nice, private Italian home, when you unlock the Relais door and smell the potpourri set out on the beautiful tables in the hallway and entry way. It has a small elevator and a/c, too. No breakfast is served, but even better I think is that they have a beautiful little dining room/kitchen that is open 24/7 for guests. You have always available the makings for coffee, hot chocolate and tea, plus containers of pre-wrapped pastries and dessert cakes. That's about as much as you get in any Italian B&B for breakfast, and this way you can serve yourself whenever.

One evening we bought wine, cheese, bread, and fruit and enjoyed our own private time in this beautiful room.

The only thing to be aware of at Relais Cavalcanti is that the first floor of the building is the Old Stove Irish pub. The good news is that it's a decent little place for panini, and has free wi-fi. However, it attracts a lot of students and young people, so it is quite noisy into the early morning hours. Our room window was directly above the pub's patio, with a nice view of adjoining rooftops. The double windows, plus the wooden shutters, can block out about 90 percent of the noise from the pub below. I found that I could also turn on the a/c fan in our room, which would then totally cover any outside noise.

Francesca also cautions her prospective guests that she does not staff a 24/7 front desk. She is there during posted hours, mostly till 6 p.m., and has an emergency number on the door. But she is careful to tell guests that hers is not a hotel with full-services at night-time.

I highly recommend the Relais Cavalcanti."

NYCFoodSnob

<i><font color=#555555>"You really expect someone here to know about some "undiscovered" place?"</font></i>

Can anyone really expect anything mentioned on the internet to be classified as "undiscovered?"

<i><font color=#555555>"With only two nights, you need to stay central and anything central isn't undiscovered."</font></i>

This is true. There are no unknown "gems" in the city center. However, there are a few hidden gems that don't get mentioned very often. I don't know the precise reasons why. It's possible some gem hotels don't need publicity. And travelers who love their gems don't want to share their jewels with strangers. They want their favorite room-with-a-view to be available next time they call. There are a few gem hotels in Florence who maintain a steady flow of very loyal customers.

A little healthy research will expose all of Florence's gems. Your budget will dictate which one you can afford.

May is a VERY popular month to be in Florence. The best rooms in those "little gems" probably won't be available just three months away. Every gem hotel in Florence has its share of off rooms. Be prepared. The clock is ticking. Don't fret too much, the anxiety is not worth much. Two nights in Florence goes by with the bat of an eye lash.

MarciaK

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions!!! My friend just booked us in Hotel Pendini. She has stayed there before and I know it will be wonderful!
Thanks again!
Marcia

ChgoGal

I really enjoyed my stay at the Hotel Casci. I was solo, but the hotel offers a triple room. Great location, an easy walk to the train station and the Florence Cathedral/Plaza del Duomo. Not luxury, but very clean and comfortable. Have a great time in that beautiful city.
http://www.hotelcasci.com/

McDBrennan

I've stayed at the Hotel Bodoni three times over 25 years and it gets better each time. http://www.hotelbodoni.it/eng/
This is a small hotel whose rooms occupy a few different floors of a nondescript building about five minutes from the Duomo. Rooms on the upper floors are best.
They have free wi if, a terrace with beautiful views and an *amazing* breakfast. It is family run, and is quite a bargain. I've never encountered other Americans there (it was recommended by an Italian business associate the first time I stayed there).
Check them out on TripAdvisor, then try booking through booking .com fir a bargain.

didoanderson

We stayed at the DEI MORI a few years ago and really loved it. The hosts were superb,so helpful and delightful with advice and suggestions, the rooms were charming. It is located on a small quiet alley, around the corner from the Duomo...perfect for us. Price was reasonable, too. The only possible drawback was that it was up several flights of stairs, not an issue for us, but could be for others. I have recommended it to many other people and all have been happy with it.

kakt

Tourist House Ghiberti right behind the Duomo was wonderful. In as very old building, but everything is updated and lovely. We stayed there a number of years ago (before wi-fi) and even then, each room had a computer for our use. Rooms were large by European standards. Great location

stb

2 years ago we've stayed at Hotel Sila and enjoyed a lot! Very central hotel, near to touristic places. Good relation price vs quality.