Hello all,
Has anyone stayed at the Hotel Tornabuoni Beacci in Florence? I've read some good reviews about it but was wondering if it is disabled accessible? They have a youtube clip on the website which shows a flight of stairs to the reception area which I know is pretty common in Europe but it would be great to know if there's an elevator to all areas as well. I've also sent an email to the hotel to inquire directly but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask here as well!

Thanks in advance!

I haven't stayed at this hotel, but if you look at the floor plans at this page (link below) of their website you'll notice there are stairs at several points in the hotel. The elevator stops appear to be at landings between floors (not unusual in ancient buildings), with steps either up or down to the rooms. There may be a few rooms that have direct access to the elevator without stairs. If you explain your needs, the hotel should be able to accommodate and/or be honest about the hotel's layout.

http://www.tornabuonihotels.com/visita_ing.asp

I am going to Beacci tornabuoni on Monday the 12th - I will write back and tell you on the 20th if that's not too late for your travel plans, my sister is in a wheelchair, I've got a trained eye for handicap travel in hotels and restaurants with her.

Thanks to both of you! Happyinnewyork, please let me know how your experience goes when you return. Bon Voyage!

I have stayed at this hotel and I don't think it will be the best choice for you. The hotel is full of short flights of stairs, including to the breakfast room. The hallways are pretty narrow. We had to go 4 flights of stairs up and down just to get to our room. If memory serves, there are also a few stairs to enter the lobby of the building to the elevator that you use to access the hotel. There are also stairs to access the beautiful roof garden/table area.
Sidenote:
The hotel was in a good location but otherwise we found it to be over-rated. (I think it depends on what room you receive.)

Thanks Lynn. The hotel wrote back to me to say that some of the rooms do not involve stairs but they didn't say anything about the rest of the hotel (eg breakfast room) so your comments are very helpful. One of the reasons I was considering this property was its proximity to Santa Maria Novella where we will spend bit of time on our first day but I will start researching other hotels in the neighborhood. Thanks again!

Perhaps Adler Cavalieri or Hotel Santa Maria Novella if you need to be near the station.

The Westin would be a great choice for accessibility but is pricey.

We stayed there in March and unfortunately had to check out after two nights. Although location was great and hotel lovely (there ARE lots of short flights of stairs inside as mentioned before) - there was NO water in the shower. the first morning was minimal and the second was barely at all. We ended up going a very nice place that would have been out of the budget in the planning stage but was really priceless in the end - the center of florence is relatively small and manageable so I'd say if you have special needs, go for the max your budget allows so you won't be inconvenienced. With all the stairs in the city itself (museums, etc), you should make your hotel experience as comfy as possible!

Thanks Bisou - will you share the name of the hotel you wound up staying at that you liked so much? Thanks!

Hi, Just back from Florence. It's a lot of walking, and MUST wear flats. The hotel beacci tornabuoni is a great location but previous posts are right, there are a few short steps up and down into the rooms. Even if you take the elevator to your room (our's was room 213 - great spot - (as long as they don't have a wine-tasting conference in the conference room just outside the door till 11:45pm
it was a large room with a sitting area but we still had 3 steps down into our room itself. and there are lots of stairs all over the place to get into the breakfast room, roof view, etc.
check out the Hotel Bernini - went there for drinks, all ground level floors I think, great location, and really nothing in Florence center is far from anywhere else! You just have to walk to get there.

Lots of attractions have stairs - I am glad my legs held up! LOL
good luck!

I've stayed there and liked it, but it is not particularly near SMN station in any case. The area is much nicer than that near the station.

The Pendini is in Piazza Republica. There are one or two steps to get into the lobby, but then you take an elevator to the hotel floor (if I remember correctly it's the 4th floor). Once you arrive there, most of their rooms are on that floor...no steps. If you make a reservation, tell them you need a room on where there are no steps.

rosaleendark, sorry for the late reply, i ended up at the Savoy on the pizza della repubblica - it was a lovely luxury boutique hotel, and for the remainder of our trip (3 more nights) was fantastic.

rosaleen:

On a visit to Florence last month we stayed across the street from Beacci(on Tornabuoni Street) at the Hotel La Residenza at the recommendation of none other than the yong and beautiful EKSCRUNCHY (above)...now you can't get any better than that. We had a very nice three night stay there...and the classic caged elevator was perfect for us. Because of a bad knee, I walk with a cane. There is a very nice bar and lounge, free use of their computer room, excellent buffet breakfast included, and a rooftop terrace overlooking the city. The rooms are very spacious, bigger than usual bathrooms, efficient housekkeping. What more can I tell you...

www.laresidenzahotel.com

stu tower