Does anyone have any recommendations for Florence hotels? I am a single woman, mid 30s not trying to break the bank and traveling alone to Florence for the first. I plan on being able to walk from the train station but yet still want to be in a good area in Florence. Appreciate any suggestions!

>>not trying to break the bank<<

No one knows the size of your bank . . . What is your actual budget?

Are you walking from the train station with your luggage?

I believe it is easy to get a bus from Florence SMN to Tourist House Ghiberti, which I would recommend. But there are probably good places a lot closer to the station.

Last time I was in Fiorence I really enjoyed the Residenza Il Villino.

It's very well located near the Duomo, has nice rooms, good, friendly service, a lovely little courtyard where breakfast is served. Prices vary depending on when you visit.

Use booking.com to locate an affordable b&b or hotel within walking distance of the train station. You can put in your actual travel dates, your top price limit, and filter the search to show you only hotels that have wifi or air conditioning or non-smoking rooms, whatever is personally important to you. Then you can look at pictures of the rooms & read reviews. You can also book the hotels through the website, with or without a cancellation policy.

There is a map on the website that will show you how close to the train station an available hotel is, and what else is available nearby.

Just so you know, the touristic center of Florence is not big and a taxi ride to and from a hotel is not much money. Less than 10 euros. The train station area of Florence is not the nicest or most convenient for sightseeing, so you might want to look for a hotel further away, even if it means spending less on a room.

We stayed at Hotel Casci a few years back and it still gets great reviews. It is very close to the Duomo, but quiet. The staff was super nice. We walked from the train station with luggage, about 10 to 15 minutes. Book directly with the hotel. Rates are much better than through any of the booking sites.

We walked easily to Tourist House Ghiberti from the train station with our clunky rolling suitcases in about 10-15 minutes. It's a quiet street although across from the hospital. Few people walk by so maybe you'd prefer a more populated area. If so, check hotels near Santa Maria Novella.

We liked both Mario's Hotel on Via Faenza and Hotel Albani Firenze on Via Fiume. The first one is a 3 star property and the latter is a 4 star property.

Buon viaggio,

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions!!!

I stayed at the Hotel Alba Palace in March and recommend it. It's on the street leading towards the Duomo from the train station, literally a 5 minute walk. I have to say I was pretty impressed, especially for the price. I describe it and have some photos of it here: http://andiamo.zenfolio.com/blog/201...art-2-florence