Morandi alla Crocetta - Florence, Italy 

Previous reviews seem to hit the highs and lows of this place. While not scenic in location, the hotel is a value and is 5 minutes to the Academia (David) and the Duomo. that, in and of itself makes this a very good hotel at which to stay. Staff were hit and miss. Ricardo was a great source of information while others showed various levels of helpfulness and pleasantness. We had Room 30 which has a balcony - fairly well sheilded by greenery. I must say, and it's beyond the control of the hotel, it does not help when the building next door is under major renovation and the work starts at 7:00 a.m. The room was spacious but we had just come from a hotel in Venice which had beautiful, crisp, high thread count bed linens so the cottage like bed spread was a bit of a step down. Oddly enough, one of the staff almost tried to convince us not to go to La Giostra for dinner. He seemed to have no patience for the "Prince" who owns the restaurant. We went anyway and had one of the most memorable dining experiences of our trip. Skip the breakfast. While similar in make up to other hotel breakfasts on out trip, it was not as good and not worth the 11 euros per person. Walk three blocks to the Piazza di San Marco to a patisserie and start your day with a latte and pastry for 3 euros. We were there the first week in July and it was 30 to 35 every day. A/C worked fine and I did not detect any sort of musty or mildew smell anywhere in the hotel. Our rating was average, but on the high side of average. We would probably look for another place for our next stay but keep this site in our back pocket for insurance. There was nothing terribly wrong; it just didn't have any sort of wow factor.

Very nice place to stay that's close, but not too close to Duomo. Fairly quiet side street about 5-10 minute walk to Duomo. Rooms are clean and comfortable. Internet access available. Beds comfortable. Nice amenities. Very helpful staff. Only negative was that the air conditioning was not yet turned on. The night air was cool enough, but there was no screen on the window, so a few mosquitoes made it in. Overall, very nice place.