cheap but nice hotel in florence
 

hello, I am looking for a cheap but nice hotel in Florence. any suggestions?

Consider the Hotel Hermitage, 1 Vicola Marzio; telephone 287216; fax 212208. The hotel is within 100 feet of the Ponte Vecchio on the Duomo side of the bridge and perhaps 250 feet of the Uffiizi galleries. Double room with bath and breakfast will be around $125-$150. The hotel has some of the best views of the city from the sixth floor terrace: Ponte Vecchio, Duomo, the Arno and the Palazzo della Signoria.

Staff of young women from all over Europe can direct you to good dining. We were directed to a restaurant in one of the streets of Via del Parione (Via del Purgatorio, perhaps) and had a superb meal.

In 1995 the Sunday travel section of the New York Times said "Given its location, the efficient, helpful staff and its overall charm, the Hermitage may be one of Florence's best buys". Based on our experience, we'd agree.

Wes, <BR>How far is the walk from the Hermitage to the Duomo? Do they have a rooftop terrace? Should I request a room with a view and if so which view should I request and do the rooms have balconies? Thanks for your help. Patty

Thanks for your advices

The hotel is on the banks of the Arno right at the Ponte Vecchio and about seven short blocks to the Duomo. The Uffizi Galleries are just around the corner from the hotel, not 50 yards away. There is a sixth floor terrace in the Hotel Hermitage that offers the views of the Ponte Vecchio, Arno, Duomo and Palazzo della Signoria. The terrace is planted with climbing roses, holly and other flowering plants. The windowed breakfast room is on the fifth floor; adjacent to it is a lounge area the overlooks the Arno. None of the windows have balconies. If you make phone reservations, you should ask about rooms available with views.

<BR>Wes, the Hotel Hermitage sounds like it is sitting right on top of the Hotel Quisisana e Ponte Vecchio, where we stayed on our last trip to Florence in 1995. I would describe it as being right beside the Ponte Vecchio, a few hundred yards from the Uffizi, with a fifith or sixth floor terrace overlooking the Arno. The windows in our room opened over the top of the Medici walkway. I understood the hotel was heavily damaged in the bomb explosion in the alley behind the Uffizi, and that repairs would take a year or longer. Is this an adjacent building or did the QePV reopen under a new name?

Neal, we first visited the hotel Hermitage in 1993. It was subsequently listed in the New York Times Sunday Travel section as recently as March 1995. Your description and mine appear to be identical, don' they? The hotel, under the name Hermitage is still listed as such on the webcrawler travel page for Florence and described as we have. Coincidentally, our room also overlooked the walkway to the Pitti Palace on the Arno side. I wonder if the Hermitage's address, Vicoli Marzio 1, differentiates it from the QePV?

Neal, <BR> <BR>What bomb explosion are you talking about and when was it? Does this mean safety is compromised in this area? Thanks for your help.

I suggest Hotel Aldini, in Via Tornabuoni, on the second floor just in front the Duomo. Small nice hotel, quite cheap and friendly. Web-site> http://www.pronet.it/hotelaldini. 15 minutes far from the city-centre Villa Natalia Hotel is another nice place, very quite in a restored and elarged old Villa. Address: Via Bolognese,106. Tel.+55 490773, fax 470773. <BR>

Patty, in October 1995 (I think I have the date right, but it's at least close), a car bomb was exploded in an alley behind the Uffizi. The explosion happened early in the morning and was intended to do damage to the museum. The group that acknowledged responsibility for the blast was railing against the Italian government. It was the first such incident in Florence in many years and there have been none since. The Quisisana e Ponte Vecchio, unfortunately, had one of its wings in the same alley and the blast reportedly took off the back of the hotel. Florence is safe; the bombing was a travesty that damaged many works of art.