La Gioconda - Florence, Italy     

This dump was classed as a 3* hotel but it was no better than 1* and I'm being kind at that. First impressions were not great - dirty carpeting, no lift and stand-alone air-con that was noisy. The room was very basic and the bathroom though en-suite was cramped. After walking around central Florence and seeing other 3* hotels it was clear to us that this was a hotel well below that standard and so we checked out and moved up the street to another hotel.

Me and a friend just returned from a three night stay at La Gioconda and to be honest it was better than i expected especially for the reviews ive seen on here. Check in took literally one minute and we where off to our room, which was surprisingly big for a standard European hotel. The hotel is very easy to find, especially coming from the train station. The hotel is a short walk from anywhere you need to go in Florence, and to top it off there in an internet cafe right around the corner that provides cheep and reliable internet. I very much recommend this hotel for its comfort and its great location. You can’t go wrong by choosing La Gioconda.