I will be traveling next May in Italy and would like to find a hotel outside of Florence near the A1 and Scandicci for an overnight stay. Has anyone stayed in this area or has a recommendation. We will be coming from the Cinque Terra area and have to return a rental car early the next morning not far from the train station in Florence .

I have no experience at this hotel/villa, but it gets uniformly good reviews on Tripadvisor.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...i_Tuscany.html

charlotte - not really an answer to your question, but you might want to reconsider the rental drop off in Florence. Most of central Florence is a ZTL (traffic limited zone) enforced by a network of traffic cameras. Many folks have been reporting that even with the best directions they have been driving off the permitted routes and getting caught by the cameras. The violations come months later and rack up a hefty fine for each infraction.

You might be able to drop in either La Spezia, Pisa or Lucca and take the train in.

I'm not sure I understand. Couldn't you return the car the night of your arrival and stay in Florence for the night? If you have concerns about driving into Florence to return the car, it is easy to return the car at the airport and then take a 25 euro taxi or the 5 euro bus into the city (10-15 minutes). I can't imagine staying near the A1 when the city center is so near and so much more rewarding.

Thanks for the suggestions. I can vouch for the violations for driving in the wrong places in Florence. I received one summer of 2007 for turning around in an area that was not permitted. I had already turned around before I saw the sign. I received the violation notice four months after I got back to the states--$136.00. I think dropping the car off outside of Florence and taking the train would suit me best since it would not involve driving back into Florence. If that is not possible I will probably drop it at the airport (also a good suggestion and much easier than in the middle of Florence). Thanks.