Hilton Garden Inn Florence Novoli = Good Price for the Location

100   Recommended
King Park View
September 26, 2019 by

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Hilton Garden Inn Florence Novoli
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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King Park View

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
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Room
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King Park View

I recently had a short 2-night stay in Hilton Garden Inn Florence Novoli.  I stayed at the other Hilton property in Florence several years ago and it was ok but nothing extraordinary.  My takeaway after staying at HGI is that the hotel is best for people looking for a hotel in a good location with nice rooms at a reasonable price tag, but breakfast is an afterthought and obviously there is no lounge at HGI unlike the Hilton.  

Location

There are very few cities where I would pay a bit more for a HGI than a Hilton but Florence might be one such exception.  I booked at HGI rather than Hilton despite a slightly higher price primarily due to location.  The HGI is on the tram line between the airport and the city center so it is convenient access to both.  The closest tram stop to the hotel is station San Donato Università which is only a 5-minute walk from there.  That tram stop is about 10 minutes from the airport in one direction and 10 minutes from city center in the other direction.  This is significantly better than the Hilton hotel which is not close to the city center nor close to a tram line.  

Room

I booked the entry level room and I was upgraded as Diamond to a King Park View room.  Others have reported receiving upgrades to junior suites at this property but I checked online before my arrival and suites were fully booked so a lack of suite upgrade was not due to a lack of willingness to upgrade to suites on the hotel’s part.  

This is not an aging Italian hotel by any means; the room looked crisp with hardwood floors and glass furniture and glass closet doors.  The bathroom is on par with more recent HGIs in other parts of the world and it was fine.  The view was not bad although the balcony and its concrete wall was not the most inviting place plus there were no chairs outside anyway.  The only negative I would have to say is that the bed sheet had some kind of blood stain which is unacceptable and should normally be impossible for housekeeping to miss.  

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Dining

From past experience I often find that several HGIs punch above their weight regarding breakfast where I often end up being positively surprised when comparing to similar level brands on Marriott or Hyatt’s side.  That said, I am sorry to say that this HGI did not impress.  There was nothing wrong but several HGIs have a little something special while this one was entirely forgettable.  Since I often have good food in Italy, this would be one of the last cities where I would think an HGI would disappoint in terms of breakfast but unfortunately it was the case.  The one positive however is that the restaurant environment is bright and airy plus it was not crowded at all.  There are also tables available outside for people who want to enjoy the breakfast outdoors during good weather.  

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Overall

Overall I had mixed feelings about this hotel.  Given the location I think the price is generally quite good and unless you want an executive lounge, I would recommend this one over the Hilton as a tourist.  As an extra bonus it seems Diamond members can get decent upgrades upon availability which is normally not the case at other HGIs which are technically not part of Hilton’s upgrade program according to terms & conditions.  The major downsides are that they should up their game with an improved breakfast and I would question whether the housekeeping bungle was a one-off event for me, or a recurrent problem at this hotel due to sloppy staff.  

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