Originally Posted by
1readyset2go
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
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.