The Westin Excelsior - Florence, Italy     

My husand and I spent 4 wonderful days in Florence and stayed at the Westin Excelsior. From front-desk check in to being seated at dinner, the staff welcomed us with open arms. Having traveled quite extensively, I thought I'd seen hospitality, but what we experienced at the Westin was beyond our expectations. Our room was plentiful in both size and ambiance. Normally I don't sleep well when we travel, but the mattress/bed was perfect. The restaurant / bar had a wonderful broad menu. We happened to be visiting during Carnival (their halloween) and the entire hotel was completely transformed into a true carnival, streamers, the whole 9 yards. It made our trip all the more magical. We enjoyed our stay so much the day before we were to leave we approached the front desk and asked if we could extend our stay another day. She never flinched - clicked the computer a few times and said "ok - you're in!" I can't Wait to go back!

We used points to stay at the Westin and, for the points that we spent, we were disappointed. No amenities like free breakfast (which many hotels in Italy provide) and the conceirges were not very helpful. For example, we asked them to call a local number to confirm the pick up location of a wine tour we signed up for and, instead of assisting, they sent us over to the hotel across the street to use the business center which charged to use the phone - I believe it was 7 euro - for a 1 minute call. Bottomline, save your points and use them somewhere else where they go further.