Hotelerina - Florence, Italy 

I didn't read TripAdvisor reviews before booking Hotel Erina...and I'm pretty happy of my choice! The hotel is completely refurbished and shows a nice and personal style. The real plus of this small hotel was its location, 10 minutes from Florence main monuments, and a stone's throw from CAF tours I really appreciated (don't miss the Chianti, I want to live there one day!) Very spacious (completely different from European standards), spotlessly clean rooms. The staff seemed really polite and always at disposal (I'm not the kind of traveler with 10 thousand requests, though). I think this is a great choice for families and travelers that seek comfort most of all. If you're looking for luxury, please see somewhere else :)...

I have to tell you after reading these reviews I almost called my travel agent to get our hotel changed. I'm very glad I didn't! We arrived at the hotel a few hours before check in time at the hotel (3:30pm). They were kind enough to clean our room first and have us in by 1:30. After reading the review we were vigilent about bad smells and other unsanitary problems...we didn't find any of these problems. There was a bad smell a few hotels down though. The hotel is very close to the train station and is just outside of an area where buses park..so I am not suprised that such problems could exist. However, no problems on the day we were there. The room was beautifully decorated. Large and clean. In fact, we were given a triple room for the price of a double. The shower was tiny, but this is not the first time I have seen such a small shower in Italy. The bathroom looked new and was pleasantly decorated also. Breakfast was ok, simple but good enough. Staff was helpful in regards to questions about how to find places. We were given a map with directions. Various tourist information was made available. The only problem that I should mention is that I did find ants in the room. About 1/2 an hour before we were to check out. I did have sweets in my backpack..which may have attracted them...but I was dismayed none the less. No apologies were made for this problem...just a comment about letting the manager know. If I were to stay again I'd look really close for ants before checking in for good!