Ringway Rambler

Mrs RR and I have just returned from a week at this property. We used it as a base for day trips into Florence and other towns in the area. Being a relatively new hotel with little info on this forum, I thought a review was in order.

The hotel is situated in the northern suburbs of Florence, a couple of kilometres southeast of Peretola airport. Located on Via Sandro Pertini just off Via di Novoli, the hotel is part of an urban regeneration project that will feature a green landscape, underground parking, apartments etc. The Hilton is the only completed building so far; if you like building sites, then this is the place for you!

We arrived mid-afternoon and it was chaos, the approach road to the hotel also serves the surrounding construction sites. Site workers use all the surface (free and not many) parking spaces and as a result, there was no option but to use Hilton’s underground car park at €10 per night. If you arrive late evening, there will be plenty of space; beware though, by 7AM, you may find your car blocked in by a site operative, delivery truck or worse still severely damaged by passing site plant. For peace of mind, we chose the underground option each night.

Check-in was one of the quickest and best I had ever experienced anywhere. We were allocated a high floor room; this appeared to be where HHonors members with status were placed. We got vouchers for free breakfast as per the ‘Your Way’ option and a daily voucher for two free bottles of water from their pantry by reception.

The hotel has three floors; our room was on the third, away from the lifts at the end of the corridor – just as my profile. Having stayed at several Garden Inns in the USA, I was not disappointed. Once in the room, it is easy to forget that you are next to a building site, the windows are double-glazed, offering good soundproofing. The rooms have the feel of quality, just like Hiltons elsewhere in Europe.

Key features of the room (in no particular order) were:

Room key slot for room power
Digital control panel for in-room fan coil unit (heating and cooling)
Do Not Disturb LED external to room (controlled by button on ventilation console)
Garden Sleep System bed
Window blackout roller blind – electronically controlled from bedside lighting console
Glass topped bedside tables and work desk
Free high-speed internet access – contact reception for logon code and password
Ergonomic ‘Mirra’ chair by Herman Miller
Wall mounted flat-screen TV
Wooden floor
Wall mounted luggage rack
Safe
Glass fronted wardrobe c/w internal lights
Coffee facilities
Empty fridge for personal use
Leather armchair
Designer bathroom clayware – surgeon’s trough wash hand basin
Designer drench shower – approx 200mm (8 inches) diameter!
Bidet

In general, the hotel appeared to be in a feast and famine situation as far as occupancy was concerned. Some nights were very quiet indeed with only a handful business or tourist guests. On others, we found it to be completely rammed; this was when Insight Vacations and Trafalgar Tours used the property for their coach excursions, both arriving and departing at antisocial times of day and making noise whilst doing so. If planning an early breakfast, it may be well to consult the excursion board in the lobby. If these guys are all in breakfast when you are, be sure to be inconvenienced. Likewise, using the lift was problematic when luggage for forty people was being transferred from room to coach, all at once.

As previously mentioned, the hotel has a pantry, which is adjacent to reception. The usual drinks, snacks and toiletries can be bought here. As with other Garden Inns though, a microwave is not an in-room amenity. Instead, one is located in the pantry for the heating of a TV dinner prior to taking it back to your room.

For those travelling without a laptop, there is a business centre in the lobby area. A small room, accessed with your room key, has two workstations, a fax and a printer. When a tourist coach was in residence though, queuing was evident to use it, in an uncivilised manor.

For those of you with too much energy, there is a well-equipped gym on the third floor. Again, access is by room key.

Breakfast was excellent and exceeded expectations. Although Continental in nature, additional egg, bacon, sausage and hash browns were offered. The entire spread (including tea/ American coffee) is self-service, although we were offered waiter served Cappuccino or Espresso on each visit. For those in a hurry, the usual lobby tea/coffee to-go facility exists with Italian cakes.

We did not use the restaurant for dinner because we ate out each night. The local area is mainly residential but does have one or two good places to eat. They’re not too flashy, but it’s still good food and much cheaper than the centre of Florence itself. Try Modiva at 120/122 Via Baracca Francesco.

Getting into Florence can be done in a taxi – there’s always one or two lurking around the hotel entrance. It’s more fun and cheaper to use the bus though; the number 22 leaves from outside the Star Hotel on Via di Novoli every ten minutes, takes ten minutes – cost €1 a journey. Buy tickets at newsagents/tobacconists BEFORE getting on. A large supermarket to the rear of the Star Hotel is handy for filling that in-room fridge with beer and other goodies!

All things considered, a very nice hotel indeed. It was very handy for the type of itinerary we had – out all day, every day doing the tourist stuff. When the surrounding developments are complete, it will no doubt offer more in the way of eating out. Having stayed at the Florence Metropol before on business, I would rather stay here again if the need arises. A quality hotel without all the fuss, much handier for the airport and with great potential for the future.

Looking forward to more HGIs in Europe….

RR