EMB

1readyset2go, it depends on what you are doing. I stayed at the HGI Florence and liked it. But it was my 4th trip to Florence and I know my way around. We took the bus into the historic area and to the train station for day trips.
It was a great use of points and the staff is very good.
If this is your first trip there, I would not recommend it.
If you stay there, it is better than an American HGI. It's almost like a full service Hilton. Best of all, they have a washer and dryer in the basement to use.

Perche

I'm not an expert in Florence, I've only been there a few times. However, there are two Hiltons; the main one, Metropol, over an hour walk from the center (e.g., Ponte Vecchio) and the Hilton Garden Inn, about a 45 minute walk.

Neither is ideal because you will not be able to find them at 10:30 PM when you have just finished a heavy, relaxing meal, and that's a heck of a walk. You may need a cab, and the spend on cabs could eat up a lot of the savings you'll have gained from staying out there on the periphery.

I understand if it's about points. If that's so, go for it. If not, it might be better to try and stay in the city center.

PWMTrav

IMHO, one of the best parts of being in Florence is the walkability. Sleeping far away from the places you want to visit means you'll either spend more time at the hotel, or too much time shuttling back and forth, both for lack of convenience.

1readyset2go

OK good to know. It will be our first time so maybe I better look elsewhere. There are a ton of hotels as I scrolled through the list on TA and I just saw the familiar Hilton name amongst many I don't know (and we do have some points) and thought it might be good- guess not. Normally I stay at a lot of SPG but the rates at the Westin are a bit more than I want to pay.
Back to the drawing board...

1readyset2go

Any suggestions for $150-250 USD range?

PWMTrav

What month?

1readyset2go

mid to late sept

PWMTrav

As in right now? Or next year? If you mean right now, I'd honestly lean toward finding something on VRBO. If you need a quad, some 2BR apt may sleep that many.

1readyset2go

Next year! The op needs a quad not us. I just chimed in on this thread because I saw the Hilton mentioned and wanted some feedback on it as it was also on my radar.

I had originally thought about this place http://www.torrebellosguardo.com/ but it is a little more than I wanted to pay. I know it is a bit outside the city but the views were really incredible. I also thought I wanted to have a day off from all the museums and art (that is really more my wife's thing) and that would have been a great place to relax and enjoy the scenery. Does anyone have an experience there? Would it be a good splurge or a good choice for our first time in Florence?

Then I started looking at the chain places in an effort to save a little $ that I am familiar with like Hilton, and Marriott. As I said before it would be nice to find something for $150-250. I could be happy enough with something in the vein of a Hilton Garden Inn, Marriot Courtyard, and Sheraton. Thanks

Perche

You mentioned having a day off from all of the museums and art. Are you planning on staying in the historic center, then moving to this hotel for one day?

If not, I personally wouldn't stay at Torre Bellosguardo as my trip base. Also, take their photos and website with a grain of salt. The hotel link you posted indicated that it is, "only ten minutes by car" to the heart of Florence. Maybe at 2:00 AM on the back of a high speed motorcycle.

It's on the outskirts of town, almost three-quarters of a mile from the nearest bus stop. Walking, it's at least 35 minutes into the heart of the city, longer on the way back going uphill. I wouldn't go there just because they advertise that they have the best views. If you want views head to Piazza Michelangelo an hour before sunset.

In my opinion, if it is your first time going to Florence you want to be in the historic center. You want to walk out of your hotel and be confronted with such a selection of places to have your morning coffee and pastry that you don't know which one to choose. You don't want to be on the outskirts of the city in a hotel literally located in a park. As it says on their website, "you will be far away from the noise of the city, and will be immersed in the silence of the park and its trees." Who goes to Florence for that, except perhaps those who are on a honeymoon and don't plan on leaving the hotel much?

I don't have specific hotel recommendations. The few times that I have stayed in Florence I've always rented an apartment. The feasibility of renting an apartment versus staying in a hotel depends on the length of your stay.

Perhaps it's not such a good idea to over rely on TripAdvisor. It is well known to be systematically biased. The ratings have a J-shaped curve, meaning almost all reviews are overwhelmingly positive. They are not spread out on a bell-shaped curve, as they should be, because the average place is, well, average. Due to known social and other types of biases almost everyone thinks the place they stayed at, the place they ate at, was above average, if not the best in town. It's obviously not possible for 90% of the restaurants in Florence to be better than the average Florentine restaurant.

People are predisposed to positively rate something that they purchased, rather than to think that they just ate an average Florentine meal and are staying at an average Florentine hotel.

For example, TripAdvisor lists 460 hotels in Florence. Of those, 437 have been reviewed. The hotel ranked dead last was still given four stars by the readers! It has 102 average-to-excellent ratings, versus 105 negative ones. In other words, half of the people who stayed at the hotel that TripAdvisor indicates was the worst one in the city still thought it was an average or better hotel!

I would take TripAdvisor ratings as just a very gross starting point, unless you just want to have an average trip, especially when it comes to restaurants. Fortunately, you have one full year to sort it out.

1readyset2go

Wow! I had no idea. they sure do make it sound like it is close! Thanks for that. Seeing as I do not know much of anything about florence I was using TA as a gross starting point as you mentioned and then trying to find a few to look into further from there. Your points on TA rankings system is true and I don't really rely on the ranking as much as it gives me an a starting point of what is there and where.

Sounds like the historic center is where we need to be. I appreciate all the comments. This being our first time in Europe we are a bit overwhelmed trying to slowly learn the ins and outs of a very foreign place. This is all very helpful thanks!

JMN57

Make sure you Google map potential hotels and then get the time to walk to the center/various places. That will at least allow you to screen out places that are far from downtown.

Being in the correct location in Florence does make it easier to slip into its rhythm. Even the two Westin properties on Piazza Ognissanti, which is not far from downtown, presents a little too much overhead in getting to downtown. Personally, I like staying Oltrarno. It's an easy & charming walk to the Uffizi across the Ponte Vecchio and I find the neighborhood very comfortable. We'll be there in early November.

PWMTrav

OK, since I have you confused with the OP, let's start over. What are your requirements for next September? I get the $150-250 budget. How many people. Are there any must-have amenities?

1readyset2go

Yeah I kind of took over this thread from the OP after he found out the Hilton was not for him. He needed a quad-we don't.

There are two of us-my wife and I. Location: sounds like we need to be near the historic center from what ever body is saying so far for the convenience factor. I know Europe is not big on A/C but I am. I really need a cool room in order to really sleep, so that is an item. We only speak english so I hope we are able to get around without too much problem. We typically stay at Westin's or CY's type places so something comparable to what those are like in the US. We will not have a car. We are using rails and taxis to travel thru the country. We are looking at 2 or 3 nights in FLorence and after that we are headed to Rome. We don't really care if the place has a spa or pool or room service either (at least not on this trip )


The Florence Westin does look lovely but its around 600 USD. If you had a place in mind that was very special I could stretch the budget some but that seems a bit much.

Thanks!

PWMTrav

They don't have their rates loaded out into September yet, but if you can swing it, try Hotel Lungarno. Their rates are loaded through July, and the end of that month is 248 euro a night. That's peak season, while mid-to-late Sept isn't, so I'd think it may be in your range at that time.

http://www.lungarnocollection.com/en/

I'm talking specifically about Hotel Lungarno, they have some other properties that will be on that site too. I can't speak for any of those, but they're expensive

I've stayed here and it's a nice place. Not over the top with amenities, but it doesn't have to be. The hotel's restaurant is actually pretty decent if you're into that - we ate there on arrival since our room wasn't ready. It's also located Oltrarno, which is on the other side of the river from the historic center, maybe a 10 minute walk to the Duomo. Oltrarno is a nice area, not quite sitting in the middle of all of the tourists, but Ponte Vecchio is right there. It's walking distance to some of my favorite places to eat and drink in Florence, many of which are on that side of the river.

I'd definitely send a couple sans children here. We were there on our honeymoon as well.