Soggiorno Battistero - Florence, Italy     

We were in Florence over the holidays and booked late. We were looking at nearly 500 Euros a night before we found Soggiorno Battistero. The most important criteria to us at the time was cleanliness. But, now that we've stayed there, we learned about a lot of other things that contribute to a comfortable stay. I can understand why so many people rate this hotel so highly, but it's really not worth the savings. POSITIVES * Location * Kelly tries hard * It's cheap * We didn't see any pests If that doesn't sound like enough, it's because it's not. OTHER CRITERIA (NEGATIVES) Furnishings were sparce...that's to be expected and accepted. We didn't mind. Just be ready. Breakfast was poor -- even for Italy. At first I was impressed by the oven fresh muffins. After three days of my wife telling me that they were from the microwave, on the fourth day Kelly's husband didn't take the time to nuke it for 10 seconds and it was cold like a rock. Nope, they weren't fresh after all. But the other interesting thing is that although the rooms were non-smoking, the breakfast trays reeked of cigarettes...every day. The bathrooms were barely clean. The Ikea shower curtain showed its age and was moldy. A towel on the floor was hung back up. The clean towel rack was lined with dust from the Renaissance. We had a back room that was far from quiet as some reviews suggest. Because it's in the heart of a tourist zone, we heard restaurateurs throwing out their trash for what seemed like all night. Then the bums came in and the sound of glass bottles and the sorting of trash added to the din. Sheets were clean. Blankets...? The most troubling part of the experience is the management's insistence on coming into our room EVERY day (despite our requests not to) and even rearranging our things. I stay at over a hundred hotels per year (I'm a consultant) -- I've never seen anything like this. Managing a hotel in a place like Florence is EXTREMELY difficult work. This place tries, but not nearly enough. In the end, the savings weren't worth it. This place would be PERFECT for a backpacker under 25. But, it was a mistake for anyone who can afford a comfortable stay.

Here are my impressions Plus Location, location, location! Good value for the Price, rooms are clean and quiet. Kelly is very friendly and helpful. Not so great (but wouldn't stop me from booking here again). No TV in the room, on the 3rd floor no elevator. Beds and pillows are hard but that seems to be normal in Italy all of the 3 places we stayed were like that.