1-hotel casci
2-Palazzo niccolini al Duomo

Hi 2,

The casci has gotten a lot og good reviews here.

Have you entered the hotel names in the "search this forum" box?

From reviews, location and description, I would not choose the Casci. It does get good reviews and would likely be a good choice for budget travellers. I have walked it several times and it is not on a street that I favor.

The Niccoli is well located and looks a bit more upscale. Since I prefer that to budget accomodations, it would be my choice.

The Casci is THE budget hotel in Florence. I agree that the location is not the best. Not too bad, but not ideal.

While I do not think the Casci is an expensive hotel, I would certainly not rate it as budget (the going rate I think in high season now is at laest 150 Euros per couple).

Having said that, I have been there FOUR times and obviously love it there. It is a small family-run hotel, the family who run it are seriously fantastic and accomodating people. It is immaculately clean, really you can seriously eat off the floors, I think it is located perfectly - about two blocks from the Duomo, almost around the corner from the Accademia, and a less than 10 minute walk to Ponte Vecchio, etc. (why is this not considered a good location?).

I do not know the other hotel you ask about but I do know that my next trip to Firenze (not yet planned) will include the Casci.

I second the glowing recommendsation for Casci

My husband and I stayed there in May 2007 and it was great . Really big room. Great big bathroom. Breakfast was very good for Italian standards. Excellent reception staff. Two mins from all the attractions as stated.

This hotel is absolutely spotless. They offer free internet access.
For 150 a night i highly recommend it .
We are in our 30's , used to travelling and stay in all prices ranges when travelling. There is so much to see and do in Florence you spend very little time at the hotel anyway!

Enjoy your trip!

I am glad to read the good reports about the Casci. I should amend my statement above; I considered it for a week's stay in fall 2001 but for me, the location was not ideal, as I like staying closer to the Arno for closer access to the Oltrarno side. (I ended up that trip at La Residenza.) I don't particularly like the area of the Casci for restaurants or shopping, either, although as mentioned it is very close to the Duomo and also close to the Accademia if my memory is correct. I certainly agree that 150 Euro is not budget, but probably represents excellent value for Florence. From the reports you got it sounds like a good bet.