Has anyone ever stayed at the Diana Park Hotel in Florence? Wondering if it is a good location as far as sight seeing?

This hotel is a good distance outside the center of Florence. You would probably take a bus or taxi every time you left the hotel to reach the places you wanted to see. I would expect it to take at least 40 minutes to walk from this hotel to the historic center. For a first-time visitor to Florence who wanted to maximize their time, I would look for other options, especialy if you stay is a short one.

I'd look for something closer to the center, but is there a reason you were looking specifically at the Diana Park? I do see it gets rather uniformly good reviews on TripAdvisor. Few reviewers complained about the location, and some mentioned the easy bus service to the historical center. But at least one person reported the hotel was far enough away that he/she didn't want to go back before dinner. That wouldn't work for me. I like to relax a bit, shower and change before heading out again for the evening.

What's your budget?

The Diana was about $350 for 4 nts. Now someone has suggested Delle Tele, which seems to have great location, but the reviews stink. Sure would like location and good review for under $500 for the 4 nts. Any suggetions?

Make that offer to Il Villino and see if they take it.

Would you consider an apartment? How soon is this trip?

http://www.viadelleterme.it/english/rates.htm

That was the wrong link. I believe that apartment is above your target rate.

Here is a link to a list of small, family-run hotels in Florence that offer reasonable rates. One is the Casci which is very popular with some Fodorites. I would carefully check the comments on the hotels at TripAdvisor. Some hotels in the historical center have noise issues (church bells, traffic, etc.).

http://www.activehotels.com/1/3/smal...hotel-florence

My brother and I stayed there in 2004. there is a bus stop right outside but it does take about 30-40 mins (with stops) to get to the center. The hotel advertised 18 min walk to the river but we tried our first day; going back was all uphill and it took an hour! After that we used the bus. Hotel was nice, quiet, breakfast good, and we did get to see a more residential side of Florence which was nice. Down side - no place close to eat and often we were too tired to bother taking the bus somewhere for dinner. If they had a restaurant that served dinner it would be nice