Sampaoli - Florence, Italy 

I stayed for one night, but arrived at 7am on the overnight train from Nice. The staff e-mailed me in advance and were kind enough to let me leave bags, have a shower and change clothes, even although it was too early to check in. I had a single room, which had a reasonable bed (double) for a hostel, with ensuite bathroom. The room looked out on to neighbouring back yards and, at one point, there was a bit of noise from them, but not late at night. There was free wireless internet available throughout the hostel and they had two computers for those without their own. The hostel is a little hard to find, not being obvious from the street. You will be looking up the street for a hostel sign, but there is none. Go to door number 14 and look closely - you will see Hotel Sampaoli on the doorbell. Ring it, and you'll be let in, once you climb the considerable stairway to get there. Staff are extremely friendly, helpful and chatty. You cannot go wrong with a stay in this place, if you want a hostel, but remember it is not a hotel, despite the name.

Booked 3 night stay through Hostelworld.com, We arrived by train from Rome and the hostel was no more than 5 mins away. We booked a private ensuite room and were shown into our room before having to check -in fully. Then we got to encounter one of the two best hotel staff we'd ever meet (we meet the other later) we were sat down to check in, and then given a map of Florence, next we where shown where all the main sights, where to eat for dinner and for lunch, where to shop and where to go for a drink. They even rang ahead one night to check how busy a restaurant was before we set out walking there. Next we were given what was probably the best piece of advice, stop eating only pizza and pasta, there is so much good food in Florence! The facilities while limited by hotel standards where still great. We even had a DVD player in our room and a selection of DVD's available to us, for when we'd taken in too much high culture! We had a wonderful stay here, and with such friendly & helpful staff it felt like being welcomed into someone's home. If (when) you decide to stay here make sure to ask for their recommendations!