GONE : left SPG Sep 27, '13: Sheraton Firenze Hotel - Florence, Italy [Master Thread]
Nov 6, 2013, 7:57 am
#121
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: europe
Programs: EX˛-*wood platinum, EX-hyatt diamond, sixt platinum, hilton silver, leaders club, esselunga verde...
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Does anyone know what happens with the hotel? Closed? New chain?
Nov 24, 2013, 5:28 pm
#122
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: EWR Ionosphere Club, LAX Clipper Club, Still Traveling Global, yearly BIS miles
Programs: EAL Silver Wings, I-Club, Flying Colonels DL, WorldPass PLat from the olde Meatball and PE SMARTbank
Posts: 1,988
It's sad that they are leaving. Yes, it was older, on outskirts but Cat 2, had free shuttle to the centre, nice grouds and cheap nice restaraunt. Free abundant parking too. Nice base to drive around in Tuscany -- while staying there we also went to Pisa, Bologna, Sienna and Verona. Now we are stuck with Cat 6 & 7 in Florence. One needs a million of points to do what we did in 2009 for almost 4 weeks in Italy (between Cat 2 to 5). 
Both Venice and Florence are Cat 6 & 7 only.
Both Venice and Florence are Cat 6 & 7 only.It seems like SPG is getting greedy only interested in CAT 6/7 hotels and not providing a wide coverage.
Yes its hard to do biz in Italy. These owners can be difficult. Yes, these hotels often fall short of US expectations from those familiar with new suburban buildings in the USA. But with Genoa, Bologna, and Florence gone SPG actually looses more than its already small footprint in Italy and Europe; it looses customers who need locations everywhere they travel too. Why should I worry about chain elite status if there are so few chain hotels, and they are steeply overpriced compared to the local offerings?
Nov 24, 2013, 6:28 pm
#123
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: EWR Ionosphere Club, LAX Clipper Club, Still Traveling Global, yearly BIS miles
Programs: EAL Silver Wings, I-Club, Flying Colonels DL, WorldPass PLat from the olde Meatball and PE SMARTbank
Posts: 1,988
Still open, lots of their biz is tour buses so that will go on. They also own several large non chain hotels in Rome and the Sheraton Bologna.
As a guest this is quite a surprise move for everyone, I wonder if spg kicked them out?
It is going to make doing biz in Northern Italy that much harder.
As a guest this is quite a surprise move for everyone, I wonder if spg kicked them out?
It is going to make doing biz in Northern Italy that much harder.
Nov 25, 2013, 6:19 am
#124
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: Everything is refundable
Posts: 3,727
We all know that Firenze was closer to a two star property and Genoa had nothing to write home about. I cannot comment on the property in Bari, but the Sheraton Bologna Airport is solid, aside from their breakfast and gym.
So either the owner was not willing to invest to keep the Sheraton brand or another company offered better conditions, which happenend in Germany in the last couple of years, predominantly in Cologne.
AFAIR, the Westin Rotterdam continues to operate as an independant hotel after the lease was up.
Nov 25, 2013, 3:56 pm
#125
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 932
Still open, lots of their biz is tour buses so that will go on. They also own several large non chain hotels in Rome and the Sheraton Bologna.
As a guest this is quite a surprise move for everyone, I wonder if spg kicked them out?
It is going to make doing biz in Northern Italy that much harder.
As a guest this is quite a surprise move for everyone, I wonder if spg kicked them out?
It is going to make doing biz in Northern Italy that much harder.
Jan 8, 2014, 3:19 am
#126
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: europe
Programs: EX˛-*wood platinum, EX-hyatt diamond, sixt platinum, hilton silver, leaders club, esselunga verde...
Posts: 2,048
Mar 13, 2014, 1:04 pm
#127
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: the Netherlands
Programs: AF/KLM FB Plat, Marriott Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 84
Mar 13, 2014, 1:22 pm
#128
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: europe
Programs: EX˛-*wood platinum, EX-hyatt diamond, sixt platinum, hilton silver, leaders club, esselunga verde...
Posts: 2,048
It seems that this hotel is still operating under the Sheraton name, but without the permission of Starwood, as it is not listed on spg.com. Both this hotel and the one in Bologna are listed on www.sheraton.it, which is an outdated website of the owner I guess. The Sheraton Bologna on the other hand has been changed into the "Airport Palace hotel".
Mar 15, 2014, 2:03 am
#129
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: Everything is refundable
Posts: 3,727
The Sheraton Firenze was a dumb and looked like some 1970's NATO outpost, the Sheraton Bologna Airport had a lot of issues, but also had a lot of great rooms, pretty much comparable to the more upscale rooms you find at German Westin properties. ^
New and high quality leather chairs, spacious bathrooms incl. hot tubs and rain showers. ^
New and high quality leather chairs, spacious bathrooms incl. hot tubs and rain showers. ^
Mar 15, 2014, 2:28 am
#130
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: europe
Programs: EX˛-*wood platinum, EX-hyatt diamond, sixt platinum, hilton silver, leaders club, esselunga verde...
Posts: 2,048
The Sheraton Firenze was a dumb and looked like some 1970's NATO outpost, the Sheraton Bologna Airport had a lot of issues, but also had a lot of great rooms, pretty much comparable to the more upscale rooms you find at German Westin properties. ^
New and high quality leather chairs, spacious bathrooms incl. hot tubs and rain showers. ^
New and high quality leather chairs, spacious bathrooms incl. hot tubs and rain showers. ^
Black animals in the bathroom, brown water, shower in the bathtube, dark room, dust, dirt and lousy breakfast! Nice Palace...
Even if I know most or all german and italian Westin's I would not even one second think about comparing.
BTW: some / most airforce shelters have a better view!!!