My husband and I will be concluding a 2 week vacation in Florence for 3 nights before we fly home. One of our days will be spent on a tour around Tuscany so we will have approx 1 1/2 days in Florence. I am trying to decide where in Florence we should stay.
We will be there in August.

We tend to like to stay a bit out of the way of the major tourist areas (usually at B&Bs) but still want to be in a location that offers plenty of character, restaurants, cafes.
I have been looking at The Oltrarno and San Marco areas. Specifically
B&B Monte Oliveto (in Santo Spirito area)
Home in Palace (San Marco)
Palazzo Guadagni (The Oltrarno)
Also looking into Il Guelfo Bianco which is in main city center

The endless internet reviews are making my head spin and would appreciate any guidance and opinions on either areas and/or specific hotels/ B&Bs.

Thank you!

We stayed at Hotel Accademia in Florence. It is within walking distance of the train station, duomo, etc but on a quiet side street. Many (at least our two rooms)face a courtyard so its very peaceful.

I wouldn't rule out the center since you have such a limited time. The historic center is pedestrian only in most areas so very easy strolling around. The Oltrano will have traffic on most streets.

1865 Residenza D'Epoca in San Marco Santissima Annunziata, Florence an intimate property featuring elegant rooms with frescoed ceilings well located and rated reviews honest on www.booking.com for me 150 euros last. Beware all the fake reviews owner culled rankings on Tripadvertizer and the many
apartment touts that troll here. Never wire money always pay with CC.

Happy Hunting!

Hi Kristin,

like you i went round in circles looking for somewhere to stay in florence, and eventually ended up here: http://www.residenzacasanuova.it/ it's about € 100 per night for a double with breakfast.

although the area is not fashionable, [it's just north of Santa Croce] the B&B is very elegant with lovely large rooms, and a terrace where you can look out over the city. very friendly owners too - Beatrice organises tours of the neighbouring market which are very interesting and include lunch. it's certainly got plenty of character - lots of neighbouhood shops and cafes, a little theatre, the market, and it's about 10 mins walk to the Duomo.

AtKristin, I don't know the accomodations listed by you, but as far as areas, I definitely prefer San Marco over the Oltrarno. Though Florence is small, public transport is lousy, and you'll have to walk more than you'd love to, for example in the evening (to and from the restaurant, after a long exhausting day full of sightseeing...) - and San Marco is handier both to most of the sights and to the center proper; plus public transport is much better than in the Oltrarno, at least as far as bus lines (waiting times are another story, but that's true for all of Florence).

This is excellent insight, thank you so much!

We stayed four days and three nights in Florence at this wonderful B&B
www.relaiscavalcanti.com
The two sisters who run in, Anna and Francesca, speak English well and are very accommodating.
They are on the fourth floor of their building near Piazza della Signoria. There is a small elevator. Security is good - one has to use a key to enter their floor.
Breakfast is provided, but not served. There is a breakfast room with cereal, pastries, coffee, juice, tea, etc

Adding that we were able to walk everywhere we went: Uffizi, Boboli Gardens, Bardini Gardens, Accademia (David), Duomo. I highly recommend the Rick Steves Renaissance Walk, available free on iTunes.

I like the Oltarno, and the Palazzo Guadagni is very well located in my opinion, especially as you say you prefer to stay in slightly out of the way locations. You can easily walk over the bridge to the center--shouldn't take much time at all. And of course you will want to see the Brancacci Chapel at the very least in the Oltarno.

I like San Marco too and have stayed near there. In fact, I consider all these areas--except perhaps for the B & B Monte Oliveto, and that's only because you say you'll only have two days in the city proper--very walkable/easy in Florence. But maybe not in August. Make sure your hotel has a/c.

Have a great trip!

Santo Spirito. Everywhere is walkable. Double check they have A/C. Avoid anywhere on the first page of Tripadvisor: they're pretty much all DIY reviews.

Ok, so this one is a bit leftfield, yeah a bit wacky, but avoid ALL review sites and simply use google. Find a hotel/b&b and look at the website really closely. Has it been made with care and attention? Do you like the style? Do you like the photos? Do you trust your judgement? Then go for it. I find this method works at least as well as using any review site.

We also enjoyed the Relais Cavalcanti. Can't beat its central location.

If you are foodies, this place is lovely, across the main bridge and just past the boboli gardens so a bit less touristy but still less than 10 minutes walk to the center. Some of the best food we have ever ever has what eaten in this B&B, cooked by the lovely owner- we ate there every night we loved it so much.

There are only two rooms though. If you do go, you should definitely have dinner there one night!

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_R...e_Tuscany.html

HG001London- that B&B was suggested, I looked, LOVED it, tried to book and they are closed the month we will be there! Finding that out is actually what started my internet research meltdown.

Interesting about avoiding first page of Trip Advisor. Do you think that is more for the hotels than the B&Bs? Good to know, though. That site is definitely my main decision-making go-to.

Has anyone heard anything about La Dimora degli Angeli?
http://www.ladimoradegliangeli.com/

Atkristin, oh that is a shame that is their month away, (they actually told us about that when we went because they cant bare to leave it with other people that might not provide a good service to their guests. I'm sure you will have no problem finding something nice

Interesting about tripadvisor.....i have a slightly different story...

When we were there in Florence the owner was a little upset about a recent event situation they had and ended up one night telling me about it one night when we spent ages chatting....

They had been number 1 b&b for a long time (were there when we booked) and suddenly one day they were pushed to the second/third page. They contacted tripadvisor as they had had no bad reviews to prompt this and did not understand it. Basically they got a couple of reviews that had been written by guests from their computer (in the main room for you to use at pleasure) while they were the B&B. Completely legitamate reviews but because these two came from their PC, it aroused suspician. The owners had to send emails to tripadvisor everyday to try and persuade them that they were legitimate reviews and in the end contacted the people that had done the reviews and asked them to write an email to Tripadvisor.

The owner even trecked up to milan or somewhere relatively far when she heard a tripadvisor rep was coming to try and convince them of the truth as her emails were just ignored. It had gone on for months and months until they finally believed them. However this also happened just after the owners had opted out from paying a service fee to tripadvisor which allow users to book directly from the site. The owners had no difficulty filling the two rooms and had built up to number one spot so did not want to spend the extra money to tripadvisor. It was shortly after this that all the above occurred and they have never returned to the top again...

It was such a shame hearing the story, you could see how upset the lady was...they both work second jobs and felt like all their hard work had been cancelled because of this. They had not got hlf the bookings they had the previous year and seemed really upset and worried about it.

I for one can vouch that this is one of the best places we have ever stayed and totally totally deserved number 1 spot but has unfortunately been pushed out for reasons out of their control. They truly cared about you, and did everything they could for you. The lady would spend hours apon hours each night cooking if either of the two rooms wanted the dinner option. They worked unbelievably hard at there day jobs as well as the B&B and were amazing genuine and thoughtful hosts.


The worst review they have ever had is 3/5 and that was just one and something like 178/185 are 5/5. They seem to be back up to number 6 now but its been a few years since our trip so i dont know how long they had to spend at position 18+ while they tried to prove their innocence.

hi HG -

you've summed up why one shouldn't rely blindly upon TA, but use one's own judgement. there can be any number of reasons why an establishment is, or isn't, at the top of the pile.

of course some places aren't on it at all - i always have a look at google maps to see what I'm missing on TA.

yeah, i remember at the time i was so angry i was going to email tripadvisor myself.

its a really odd/tricky weird one-as i booked the number 1 spot...had an amazing time that justified the number 1 spot but then left hearing a story feeling tripadvisor had a very different side to it and was way more deceptive then i had realised.

But.....I have been to lots of other number one tripadvisor spots and not been let down on any occasion so i confess i do look at it but then revert to booking.com and venere to see the reviews there. I guess its about getting a balanced view.

I just would say not to entirely dismiss the ones on the first page as some will genuinely be as good as they read but just to be careful with getting other opinions

Going back to the original question, from my experience I would say that each of Florence areas have their own strengths. I particularly enjoy staying next to Arno river, as I'm able to admire the entire city silhouette. in this case, staying in a hotel with a view in Florence is fundamental and I would recommend a visit to http://www.themostperfectview.com/florence-hotel-views/

Florence is a relatively small city and one easily explore several attractions regardless of the area where they chose to stay. Should you prefer to relax and still be close to the city, then Fiesole, up in the hill, might be a perfect fit.