landstuhldoc

Stayed here for three nights - Nice hotel , yet a bit quirky.

Good - Abundant free parking next to hotel, rooms have nice hardwood floors, flat screens with good channel choices (BBC/CNN/Cartoons) Upgraded to exec floor w/lounge privileges. Lidia in the lounge was very helpful and accommodating. Shuttle was on time. Room service quick and food was very good.

Bad - No interconnecting rooms (I had asked for this in the reservation and didn't realize this would be a problem), shuttle doesnt work between 1230-1500, location is remote, weird bathroom shape with privacy issues....

All-in all - I'd recommend staying here as it is not terribly expensive although I don't think this property is worth using a Level 6 award .

jabez

Neither do they. It's a level 5.

landstuhldoc

I got the info from the flyer talk HH Master thread which lists Hilton Metropole Florence as a category 6 :
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=462405

You might want to correct the error on the website. ^

Bmoney

Last month I spent a week touring around Italy in Hiltons in Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan. I had never been to Italy before and was on a goal to see as much as possible and to burn up my cache of Hilton Points.

I started in Rome and worked my to Milan, stopping in Florence and Venice along the way. I will be writing trip reports for each hotel and city with the following as my report on the Hilton Metropole.

The Hilton Metropole in Florence is a new modern hotel on the outskirts of town. Arriving from Rome via the train, the Metropole has a shuttle the runs at the bottom of every hour. It picks you up right outside to the left of the main entrance of the train station. It takes about 20-25 mins with traffic to reach the hotel. The shuttle drop-off point is only 10 min walk to the Duomo and quickly puts in into the center of attractions.

The hotel is very modern highrise for which you can see when as you arrive in the shuttle. It does seem to be in a residential area with very little options to explore around the hotel. Check in was very quick, pretty much no different than any Hilton here in the States. The rooms are small, think of New York, but very new age. The key to the door is one of those RFID type that you need to wave on the sensor on the right side of the door. I had room 1403, which faces the Duomo. As you enter the room, there will be a slot where you need to insert the key to turn on the power to the room. Took me a min to figure this out!

The rooms have a nice glass bathroom, and amenities, a small TV; almost too small. They have working desk, with internet access. King bed was comfortable with nice sheets and pillows. There is pool in the basement with workout room, but I didn't use them.

As a Diamond, I was given the exec floor access which is really nice. On the 16th floor (it might be the 15th, but it is the top floor) you have straight view to the Duomo with 2 outside patio areas with tranquil waterfalls. Seeing how this was February and it was raining the most of the time I was there, I really didn't get to enjoy the outside area, but I'm sure in the summer time it will be nice. The lounge is stocked with small snacks, beer, wine and water/drinks. They have a nice size plasma tv to watch while chilling. There is a computer with free internet access, and unlike the other hotels, there was no need to login or show a passport. For nibbles, it doesn't compare to the Cavalieri.

The restaurant on the 2 floor is a nice touch, an I had a good meal there the first night. It's only open for dinner, which starts at 7pm. Prices were reasonable with a dinner for one running about 50 euros (appetizer, and wine included into price.)

For a Cat 5 hotel, it was nice, worth the points but you do lose the ambiance of being so far from the city center. The shuttle does run pretty late, but keep in mind you will be waiting outside the train station for an hour if you miss it.

Let me know if you have any questions.

pauleeepaul

Good trip report, and consistent with my observations from several stays 2-3 years ago. The pool and fitness room were not finished yet then, and the lounge was not opened, so it sounds like things have improved. It is a little remote from the centre, but is a value compared to the properties with comparable facilities that are better situated (surprise )

There is an existing thread on this property that this one could be merged with for ease of search.

BigE

We also stayed at the Hilton Florence Metropole recently, but with a somewhat less positive experience. The hotel is looks nice from the outside and the views are great, but the rooms were, IMHO, a cut below usual Hilton standards - small with unimpressive decor. Maybe the executive floor rooms are better (as a Gold, I didn't get an upgrade to the executive floor). Breakfast was pretty good and internet was 10 Euros/day (no free internet in the lobby). Lounge is open only in the morning on weekends. The location is dull, although there is a small mall next door. Yes, there's a shuttle that takes 15-16 minutes to get to town, but it only goes once per hour, with a long break in the middle of the day, and sometimes fills up (happened to us..definitely get in line early). We also had a lot of little problems, such as being overcharged at check out, not being given breakfast coupons, and being told that the hotel restaurant was the only one in the area.

Next time, I'd probably stay at a property closer to town, with free internet.

servus

I'll be in Florence next week. Any recent experiences?

Thanx in advance.

servus

My stay at the Hilton Florence Metropole:

Check-in: rude Front Desk agent - unacceptable

Room: small but fancy and clean

Breakfast: no variety, awfull coffee, rude service - unacceptable

Luci Della Citta restaurant: rude waiter, good risotto, awfull salad - try the Pizzeria accross the street instead

Shuttle Service: worked well for us

Check-out: friendly, fast and accurate

HHonors credit: Stay hasn't been credited to my account. No reply to my emails - unacceptable

I can't recommend this hotel. Stay away!

jabez

As a counterbalance, I found the staff very pleasant.Room is a bit strange (window into the bathroom) because of an engineering error during construction. The breakfast was fine ,but we didn't eat at the restaurant.
Returning late at night is problematic. Like the Cavalieri, the shuttle stops early. Florence at night is womderful and we never wanted to leave early (afterall most dinners start around eight and goooo ooooon).
The taxi cost is high and the city bus is sporadic. We had a city pass so took the bus. It,at night versus daytime, does not go all the way to the hotel. It goes to the mall next door then head backs.
I plan to return despite the negatives. it's a very good usage of HH points in a great city that's quite expensive for nice accomodations.

sharkey

I am planning to stay at the Florence Hilton next month. I will be arriving at the airport at 6 pm. How do I get to the hotel? Should I take a train/airport bus to downtown and then try to find the Hilton shuttle, or is there an airport bus that will take me to the hotel?

pauleeepaul

The hotel shuttle runs to the train station. I suggest a taxi from the airport. The Hilton and the airport are on the same side of the center, where the train station is. I would say the taxi is between 10-15 euros.

jabez

We took a taxi. i don't remember it as too expensive.

YOWCDNFF

Same here, took a taxi from the Airport to the Hilton when I was there in August. Short and relatively inexpensive ride. Given that the shuttle is running about 1/hr the ride from the airport to the Hilton, via train station could be 1+ hour is you miss your connection and the savings would be marginal, if any (It may actually be more expensive via the Train station).

That said, you could always head downtown, store luggage at the train station, grab a bite DT Florence and then head back to the Hilton. I believe that the last shuttle back to the Hilton leaves the train station at 10:30pm

jabez

Also, unless you are familiar with the station, you may miss the pick-up spot.

sharkey

Thanks for the info.^
I will take a taxi.