Hotel Calzaiuoli
 

Has anyone ever stayed at this hotel in Florence?

http://www.calzaiuoli.it/

I've considered it in the past. I found no feedback via a text search here, but there is quite a bit on tripadvisor:

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

Also, I think Karen Brown reviews it on her site.
Fluffy

We have been looking for accomodations in Florence (December 29-31, 2003) between 100 and 200 euro. We are finding that rooms are more costly during the holidays. After some SERIOUS searching I just booked a reservation for Hotel Calzaiuoli on www.utell.com ("superior room three singles" for 150 euro).

Wondering if anyone might provide insight / feedback on this hotel. Its location seems GREAT and the rate seemed quite reasonable for the location. Questions about this hotel are: Are they clean / comfortable rooms? Is the staff friendly? Are there rooms or floors that I might request to have a better view or a more quiet sleep? (I understand the hotel is on Via Calzaiuoli - quite a busy thoroughfare.) Thoughts or comments anyone?

KenMi,
When you come back, please post a review - we booked same hotel for May next year. There is very little info about this hotel on this board. Thanks and have a nice trip.

xyz99

Unless we hear something seriously negative, or we come up with an unbeatable deal on some other location it looks like we will stay with the our planned reservation. I will post a message on our trip, and provide our details of Hotel Calzaiuoli when I return in January.

Still wondering if anyone else has an experience they might like to share on this Florence hotel - I tried e-mailing the hotel last week but still have not received a reply.

In the meantime I did find a positive review on Frommers website (Hotel received a star from Frommers). It seems current as the post noted Frommer's Italy 2004 as its source. Anyway, here is the website, and to save time the review is found below the website:

http://www.frommers.com/destinations...cfm?h_id=26603

"Midway between the Duomo and the Uffizi, this hotel enjoys a fabulous location. Although the building is old (it was a home in the 1800s) and the location is historic, the interior has been modernized in a minimalist contemporary style. Its Pietra Serena staircase remains, however. This four-story hotel has an elevator to bring guests to their rooms, which are medium-size, with functional modern furnishings and good beds. Some rooms look out over the festive street scene (with its associated noise) or out back (either over the rooftops to the Bargello and Badia Towers or up to the Duomo's cupola). The recently renovated bathrooms are immaculately kept."

Here is what three people had to say on Trip Advisor

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...e_Tuscany.html

I spent a few nights at the Calzaiuoli in October. Here are my thoughts:

location: it is very centrally located to sites (between duomo and uffizi), shopping (near the straw market), etc. But, some downsides to this were the noise (we were on the fourth floor facing the via calzaiuoli and still had some noise from the crowds esp. in the morning, etc.) and the very touristy nature of the restaurants and cafes in the immediate vicinity (read: restaurants with pictures of the food displayed out front abound). That said, there were also some very good restaurants in the area (let me know if you want some recommendations), and all in all I think the benefits of the location outweighed the costs, but that is a personal preference issue and Florence is small so you could really walk anywhere very easily if that is not yours.

rooms: the rooms were very clean, charming and tastefully decorated. We got a special rate and thus got one of the smallest rooms in the house (or, at least i assume it was one of the smallest, as it wasy tiny). I would definitely spend a bit more and get a larger room next time. We barely had room to move around our suitcases. The bathroom was very clean and modern with a smallish shower (but no tub in our room, which was fine for us, except we had to be very careful not to flood the bathroom when we showered due to the lack of shower curtain, which is common in italy).

breakfast: the breakfast room is quite cheerful but the food was pretty unappealing. we skipped breakfast at the hotel after we found a great cafe around the corner where most patrons were italians.

service: the front desk might have been the weakest part of the hotel. there were one or two very helpful employees, and there were one or two that were not at all. one would pick up a phone while we were talking to them, and then proceed to have full conversations as if they didn't see us anymore. but they will get the basics done (i.e., make reservations at the museums or for day trips, etc., but don't expect anything above 3 star quality on that point). Also, the reception area in general is very small and not very attractive, but we didn't find that a problem.

All in all, for the money we paid, I think I would go there again, unless I could get a room at the Beacci Tornabuoni for under 200 euro/night. (check their website www.bthotel.it for specials, as most hotels have specials running for late fall/early winter). We walked by it and into the reception area a couple of times and it seemed much more charming and gets rave reviews seemingly everywhere.

hope this is helpful.