My wife and I are working in Basel, and will have 5 days between the end of that job and the beginning of another in Monza, Italy.

Dates March 13 - 17.

We are thinknig to spend a few of those days in Firenze. In the past we have always been working there and accomodation has been chosen for us at the three star level.

This is for ourselves. We are thinking something more upscale ... in the middle of the nicer range. Something near the center or nearby neighbourhood.

Any suggestions? All appreciated!!

Best wishes.

This hotel was advertised on Luxurylink.com, and thus I bookmarked it for some future trip.

http://www.florencepalace.it/

I've not stayed there, but it looks pretty enough.
Rita

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Teacher49:
My wife and I are working in Basel, and will have 5 days between the end of that job and the beginning of another in Monza, Italy.

Dates March 13 - 17.

We are thinknig to spend a few of those days in Firenze. In the past we have always been working there and accomodation has been chosen for us at the three star level.

This is for ourselves. We are thinking something more upscale ... in the middle of the nicer range. Something near the center or nearby neighbourhood.

Any suggestions? All appreciated!!

Best wishes.</font>

Hello
I don't have any recs for you. I will be in Florence though and wanted to know if you would like to meet up? Email me if you are interested. I am looking for a place in Rome for a night and are facing the same dilema as you.

The Hotel Torre Guelfa. We were there last year in March or April and fell in love with the place. It's a block or two from the Ponte Vecchio, walking to just about everything, buile in the 1400's, has the tallest private tower in the city, the staff was great, the room we were in was huge, can't say enough good about it. I believe it's only three stars, but it's worth giving up luxury for the charm of the place.

They have the barest of webpages over at http://www.hoteltorreguelfa.com/ , we had the room in the middle picture at the bottom of the page.

If you do a google on torre guelfa

http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&c2coff=1&safe=off&q=torre+guelfa&spell=1

You will find lots of other sites about it, all the guide books, etc. This page

http://www.florenceby.com/torreguelfa/pages/gallery.htm

has some views from the tower, which with a good bottle of red, sunset and the ringing church bells is probably one of the most beautiful spots on the planet.

Obviously, I'd go back to this hotel in a heartbeat.

You might try the Westin Excelsior in Florence on the Piazza Ognissanti. I walked a lot from there. They were very helpful in getting me a taxi at 4:30 A.M. on my departure day.

The room was very large, nice marble bath w/separate toilet/bidet, ample closet space, and the "Heavenly Bed" they boast really is just that.

Telefono: (39) 055264201 - Telefax (39) 055210278 Internet:www.westin.com

I envy anyone who is going to spend time in that glorious city. Have a wonderful time!

Last time I was in Florence, I satyed at the Mona Lisa. It is only a few blocks to the Duomo, and it has a lot of history and charm associated with it. The room we got was part of the old carriage house associated with the estate... and it had its own garden. The staff was also great and pointed us to some fantastic restaurants.

We just got back and loved staying at the Bernini Palace ( http://www.hotelbernini.com/ ), the only complaint I had was that they didn't have a restaurant. But they do have a very nice bar with decent bar meals (sandwiches and salads mostly) for that first night you're too tired to walk down the street.

But go ahead. Walk down the street. You can't go wrong eating at Alfredo's or Buzzino's. Not expensive and just awesome food.

Check the promotions on the web site. We ended up with a budget hotel rate in this lovely upscale hotel.


[This message has been edited by thejanet (edited Feb 13, 2004).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Teacher49:

Any suggestions? All appreciated!!
</font>

Have you considered an apartment? There are many excellent ones right in the central area for very reasonable rates.


------------------
ChgoBob

[This message has been edited by ChgoBob (edited Feb 13, 2004).]

Thanks to all!

We have a month to go here in Basel, so I will check back from time to time to see if new ideas pop up.

Best wishes.

This may not be as full of ammenities as other hotels, but my wife and I stayed at the Tourist House Ghiberti, a bed and breakfast ran by a young couple. It is right next to the Duomo. The rooms have nice beds and have a computer hooked up with high speed internet service.

We enjoyed it very much and recommend it whenever we are asked about Florence

I recommend the Plaza Luccehesi. It's on the River Arno and the staff is so incredibly gracious and the breakfast absolutely can't be beat. Plus, fantastic soaps!

http://www.plazalucchesi.it/default.asp

Gratified to see your post Spigman. Usually go Hyatt, but FLR has none and I found the luxe hotels pricey so I have the Ghiberti booked starting the day after Teacher leaves.

Thanks to all who replied. We are almost done here in Basel. We made our train reservations today, and will choose a hotel tomorrow!

Best wishes!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Dorlee:
You might try the Westin Excelsior in Florence on the Piazza Ognissanti.</font>The Excelsior is generally called the best hotel in Florence, and costs USD 500 per night (and up) ... not quite "middle of the nicer range" that the OP asked for. But I will say that it is worth the price (one of the few hotels that is good value at this price point) and worthy of consideration.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by number_6:
Originally posted by Dorlee:
You might try the Westin Excelsior in Florence on the Piazza Ognissanti.</font>The Excelsior is generally called the best hotel in Florence, and costs USD 500 per night (and up) ... not quite "middle of the nicer range" that the OP asked for. But I will say that it is worth the price (one of the few hotels that is good value at this price point) and worthy of consideration.



I stayed there last year and paid around $180USD and it is the wonderful place people say it is. Only problem though is it's on the "right" bank. Might change your thought processes if you stay there. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/biggrin.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by parnel:
I stayed there last year and paid around $180USD</font>

How and when did u find a $180 rate? We'd all be lining up to stay there at that rate!

I recommend the Grand hotel, a luxury collection hotel and a very romantic place.
www.starwood.com (http://www.starwood.com)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by doglover:
How and when did u find a $180 rate? We'd all be lining up to stay there at that rate!</font>

Called the hotel while travelling in Italy and that's the rate they gave me.....it was early October 2002.

I enjoyed the Regency and it was terrific. It is a few blocks away from the main square, but it is an ultra-luxurious boutique hotel with superb service. Have a great time!

The Hotel Savoy is directly in the center of the city...it is also an amazing hotel. The staff is great and it is not too large. It's not cheap, but I got a pretty good deal when I was there.

I stayed at the Plaza Lucchesi a couple of years ago for a week. I didn't think it was anything special, just an average three-star. The staff was nice, true, but the very best thing about the Plaza Lucchesi is that it's less than a 10 minute walk from the best gelateria I've ever been to (and I have done extensive research on gelato http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif ): Vivoli! (http://www.vivoli.it/vivoli-en.html)

Try the bitter chocolate-orange.

[This message has been edited by Kitty Hawk (edited Mar 08, 2004).]

if you don't mind a ride on the train - i would reccomend staying in Bologna (the fat) great food..
this hotel is opposite the station and was very very good. for $100 - and it only takes 40mins to florence.


http://www.starhotels.com/default.asp?prj=main&sec=star&menuid=1243

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by CheapSk8:
I recommend the Plaza Luccehesi. It's on the River Arno and the staff is so incredibly gracious and the breakfast absolutely can't be beat. Plus, fantastic soaps!

http://www.plazalucchesi.it/default.asp</font>

We followed your advice and found the Lucchese to be quite fine. They gave us a great room on the top floor with a large balcony looking towards Santa Croce, the Duomo and Campanele (sp?)

Breakfasts were great. It was just far enough from the center to be quiet, and yet a 10 minute walk at most to the Duomo.

Thanks for the tip.

I am looking for the Plaza Lucchesi for this coming November... 2008... anyone have any more recent thoughts on this hotel... Vivoli still around as well?

Can't help on the hotel, but vivoli was certainly there in May.

It's amazing how you don't think about the place for months, then just read the word and all the images and flavors come flooding into your head.

Given that this thread is 3+ years old, let me move it to our Travel->Italy forum for more comprehensive, up-to-date info and discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

I just stayed at Hotel David and used www.booking.com for it.

Strongly recommend it.

I just stayed at Hotel David and used www.booking.com for it.

Strongly recommend it.

You strongly recommend booking.com or the Hotel David or both?

I just stayed at the Westin Excelsior and really liked the location. I did not enjoy the scads of American tourists in the lobby bar demanding things of the waiter, after trying so hard to speak italian it was so depressing to listen to. However, the hotel was very lovely and close to the train station and the Avis so it worked for us.

I used cash and points. Good use.

I would even consider staying on the other side of the Arno (altarno?) next time.

lala

My wife stayed at the Hotel Brunelleschi and absolutely loved it.

http://www.hotelbrunelleschi.it/

You should be able to book cheap rates through local agencies.

When I was in Florence way back in October of 2005, I stayed at Palazzo Niccolini al Duomo; Via dei Servi, 2; Florence 50122; Tel: 011 39 055 282412

Looking over my past itinerary which I can't believe I still have, the room rate for two beds was 250E per night and the rate included VAT, Service and Buffet Breakfast, free internet. The frescos on the ceilings and everywhere else are beautiful.

Location was great, right around the corner from the Duomo (as the name suggests). I believe this hotel is one featured in the Small and Elegant Hotel collection.

OT, I remember it raining ALOT while I was there.

I stayed there last year and paid around $180USD and it is the wonderful place people say it is. Only problem though is it's on the "right" bank. Might change your thought processes if you stay there. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/biggrin.gif

The link above doesn't work for me.... I like the Westin Ex too, it is around 350 euros ($520) for your dates though. I think $180 is not a typical rate. We are there in early Oct it would be 460 euros ($675), but we are using pts.

The link above doesn't work for me.... I like the Westin Ex too, it is around 350 euros ($520) for your dates though. I think $180 is not a typical rate. We are there in early Oct it would be 460 euros ($675), but we are using pts.

Look at the dates on the post, parnel posted in March 2004, meaning that s/he is referencing costs from 2003, when the US$ = c. 1.25EU.