La Casa del Garbo - Florence, Italy     

We spent three nights at Casa del Garbo in the Gemma Suite, and it was outstanding. The room looked exactly as it does on the CdG website. We arrived on Anniversario di Liberazione (the April 25 celebration of Italy's liberation from the Nazis), so the Piazza was hopping from morning till the wee hours. However, the suite had excellent windows, and we were never disturbed by any of the revelers. Virgilio, who prepares the breakfast and is otherwise as helpful as can be, was delightful. The breakfast was fruit, juice, croissants and other breads, as well as ham and cheese. It was just right to get us started for the day. The suite is beautiful and had an amazing multi-head two-person shower that was lots of fun. There was a two-person dining table with a kettle and teabags, but no coffee, so take your own if you can't wait until the 8:00 AM breakfast is served. There is a computer in the breakfast room for guests' use, or if you travel with your own notebook, as we did, Virgilio will get you set up with a network cable in your room. There is no elevator and the rooms are on the first (second to us Americans) floor, but, frankly, with all the eating we did in Italy we were grateful for the stairs. However, if you have mobility issues, this may not be the place for you. There are numerous restaurants around the Piazza, but only one had really great food at a great price. It's the last one on the same side as CdG and is the furthest establishment from the door of the B & B. We ate at three others around the Piazza and they were fine, albeit touristy, but the food wasn't excellent and they were a bit overpriced, we thought. From the train station, it's a 10-minute or less taxi ride to Casa del Garbo and although the Piazza is basically a traffic-free zone, the cab will bring you right to the door. It was lovely feeling as though we were staying in our own little place in Florence, rather than being in a big hotel. The service and price were terrific, and we recommend it highly.

spend 4 nights in the lovely house during October I can find virtually no fault at all, maybe except the lack of a lift, but hey...what do you expect from a totally renovated but still traditional house in the dead centre of Firenze? all the personnel there tried their best to make our stay unforgettable (Giovanna Elvira, Tomaso and Virgilio) and I have to deeply thank them. the room (Eleonora) was very well spaced out (the bathroom almost brand new with the nice touch of jet shower) and had definitely a glimpse of luxury luck was that our stay was in the mid weekdays and had had the whole 1st floor by ourselves only a couple of points to look after: the breakfast could be a bit richer -however no major complaints there-, and secondly since we had well informed that our stay was part of our honeymoon, a touch of flowers or a small bottle of prosecco could highlight an otherwise excellent hospitality all in all defo a favourite little spot all over Italy