I am going to Florence in March and am looking for an inexpensive place to stay. I've done a search on the forum but can't find much information on these hotels:
B&B Peterson
Hotel La Gioconda
Hotel Le Cascine
Hotel Machiavelli Palace
Has anyone stayed at any of these or have any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Hi.

I don't know the places you mentioned but you may wish to take a look at this place.

classichotel.it/index-E.htm

You will see that it is a bit of a walk into town but the stroll is short and the location is excellent for being away from the crowds and getting a different perspective of the city. Look at their on-line maps and you'll see many attractions in the area.

The hotel is a fine old mansion with a lovely room for breakfast.

You're welcome and good luck.

I've stayed at the Hotel Il Perseo which is a block from the Duomo. The room and bathroom were large and the staff was friendly. We had an inner, courtyard room which didn't have a view but allowed us to leave the window open without street noise. The hotel is on the 4th and 5th floor of a building with an elevator. The price for a double room with bath is 75E to 95E. Here's their web site:

http://www.venere.it/firenze/perseo

We stayed at the Hotel Alessandra in Florence and enjoyed it very much. Our window looked out at the river. Breakfast came with the room and it was very good. I'm not sure it fits in you "inexpensive" category, but I thought it was very resonable. We had a quad room (traveling with my husband and two teenage sons), room was spacious and in-suite bath was large.

Have you checked the reviews for your choices on venere.com and tripadvisor.com?

I'll go out on a limb here and guess that you already know Ira highly recommends B&B Peterson.

As Rookie says I recommend B&BPeterson.

See my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

I stayed at Hotel Globus and really liked it. It is about 5mins from the train station and 10mins from Duomo. Unfortunately, the hotel lobby is on the 1st floor and you have to walk up 1 flight of stairs to get to the lobby. But once you get to the lobby, they have an elevator to take you further up to the rooms. Here's their website:

http://www.hotelglobus.com/english/vision.htm

I will be going to Florence this June and I have booked Hotel Beatrice. It looks reasonable at least on paper. right next to train station, 3 stars, with breakfast. Online you will find it around EUR135. I called and they offer me a king-size bed for 120 including tax. Maybe others can comment how good/bad the hotel is.

If you realllllly wanted to go inexpensive, my 2 friends and I stayed at Locanda Starlight. We shared clean bathrooms with 3/4 other rooms. But they were very clean and well kept.

Regina at the front office was really helpful and drew us a map and the good places to eat etc.

I dont remember the exact amount but for triple we ended up paying less than $90/day

More important than the hotel might be the location of the hotels. Are they near SMN, San Lorenzo, or San Marco?

As others may have mentioned you might want to check venere.com--hope this helps.

Lil

t for celfen

Thanks for all your replies! I have stayed at Hotel Casci before (which I thought was perfect) and I just booked that so that I have something, even though I was looking for something a bit less expensive. I will be there for 2 weeks and am visiting friends who live a block from the duomo so was looking for something fairly close to them. I am still checking so if anyone has input or suggestions they would be appreciated. Thanks again!

A very nice place we stayed last fall is the Relais Cavalcanti (www.relaiscavalcanti.com). A double room was 110-120 Euros/night. Well located, a block from the river and from Piazza della Republica, it's run by two young sisters who have evidently renovated a couple of family apartments and done a great job.

You might want to take a look at Hotel Lombardi, a 2-star on V. Fiume, just off Nazionale. The two times I reserved a single there, they put me in a double, one with a balcony. Their rates for a single for March are less than the Casci; you may be able to talk them down a bit if you're staying for 2 weeks. The front desk staff is very pleasant. I would recommend emailing the owner, Vincenzo, directly if you want to discuss rates, rather than booking through their reservation system. Good luck with your decision.

We were very pleased with Hotel Soggiorno Battistero. Stayed there a couple of years ago. It was like coming home to your own apartment right on the piazza at the Duomo. I sure this would be less than 100 Euros per night. Only downside is that it's on the 3rd or 4th floor and no elevator

Here's their website:

http://www.soggiornobattistero.it

You will find lots of favorable reviews on www.tripadvisor.com

topping

We're booked into the Corona d'italia next weekend--will review for you--3 star, our deal was 300 euros for four nights, but hey, it's FEBRUARY

In April of 2003, my husband and I stayed at the Hotel Balestri. It was a last minute decision to make the trip to Florence, but I really think we got lucky. The Balestri is in a great location if you want to be a short walk from everything. Our room was clean and comfortable. We loved the location because it was central but not in the thick of all the tourist hotels. The staff was friendly and helpful. The price was the best part, even though we booked last minute...very affordable.