Hilton Garden Inn Florence Novoli {ITA}
Oct 24, 2014 | 2:53 pm
Oct 25, 2014 | 9:14 pm
Jun 7, 2015 | 9:10 pm
Looking at arriving/departing by train, family of 4 adults, so we'll have two rooms. I'm the only one with any Hilton status (Gold) so contemplating the Hilton vs HGI. Have a booking at the Hilton but the HGI is within 10, so cost is not an issue. Thanks for the insight.
Sep 19, 2015 | 1:59 pm
Is breakfast at HGI better than Hilton (beyond the Hilton being in a "lounge")?
I am trying to decide between the 2 using points to stay.
Jun 27, 2018 | 2:42 pm
The staff is very friendly and willing to help. The breakfast was okay, nothing special stands out but I am glad to have breakfast included. No lounge, just breakfast in the restaurant.
There is a mall next to the hotel within walking distance for dinner. There are some stores there and a few place to eat including a sushi place, Old West West (think of LongHorns steakhouse), and College House. There is another Asian place across the main street. We took the bus into the city in the morning.
The bus stand is 5-7mins walk from the hotel across the main street. Cost is 1.20 Euros and the hotel will sell you tickets for cash. The bus ends at the city center so on the way in no need to worry about what stop to get off. Just make sure you validate your ticket and keep it with you. We did get checked one day.
Taxi to/from city center is 15-20 Euros. Ended up taking the taxi as we were tired at the end of the day. Taxi to/from the train station is about 20-30 Euros depending on time/luggage/# of people, etc. No problem getting a bigger taxi at the train station if needed; we found a mini-van taxi at the curb. Hotel will also call a taxi for you if needed.
Walls are paper thin so if noise bothers you then request a room at the end of the hall.
We didnt have any problems with the A/C.
My only gripe with the hotel is they recommended a restaurant in the city for good Florentine cut meat. We went to it thinking it would be an authentic restaurant since we enjoyed our Florentine cut steak in Rome. The restaurant was full of people from the US, the prices where high, and the food not so good. It wasnt right next to the Dumo or anything obvious like that as well. This was disappointing experience.
Jun 28, 2018 | 12:01 am
Looking at arriving/departing by train, family of 4 adults, so we'll have two rooms. I'm the only one with any Hilton status (Gold) so contemplating the Hilton vs HGI. Have a booking at the Hilton but the HGI is within 10, so cost is not an issue. Thanks for the insight.
Feb 15, 2019 | 2:18 pm
The tram line is free for the first 2 weeks and takes about 11 minutes to both SMN station and the airport, plus a 4 min walk from the stop to the hotel.
I paid 59 + 5 tax. There is some construction going on next to the hotel which includes some works on the road. I did not get the room I chose on online-check in and because of some manhole every vehicle had to drive over it was extremely noisy. The windows could not be opened.
The room layout is a bit awkward. The light switches were not intuitive, and not all lights could be controlled from the bedside. I never managed to turn off the bathroom light so I just closed the door.
Several power sockets did not work. Because my adapter is large, I could not have my laptop plugged in at the same time as the table lamp.
I received free breakfast and 750 points. Not so many hot items but lots of cold cuts, salad items and pastries, which were all good quality. For some reason fresh orange juice had to be ordered as a separate item (not charged, to be clear) but concentrate was available at the buffet. Various egg dishes could also be ordered.
There were only two tables of two seats both in the far corners, so solo diners just sat at opposite ends of 6-person tables.
Overall I liked the Hilton better, but the HGI's location is much better. If the Hilton was located here I wouldn't stay at the HGI at all.
Jul 9, 2019 | 4:30 am
Construction work almost finished, so no disturbance on Monday morning.
Tram very convenient to both centre and airport, ticket machine at tramstop, price 1.50 EUR.
Also stayed at the Hilton but location more difficult to reach by public transport if you want to avoid ripoff taxis.
Jul 23, 2019 | 12:37 am
Construction work almost finished, so no disturbance on Monday morning.
Tram very convenient to both centre and airport, ticket machine at tramstop, price 1.50 EUR.
Also stayed at the Hilton but location more difficult to reach by public transport if you want to avoid ripoff taxis.
Jul 31, 2019 | 8:15 am
However it isn't far to/from the centre on the tram where there are plenty of places to eat and drink
Sep 26, 2019 | 7:22 am
Hilton Garden Inn Florence Novoli
Hilton Garden Inn Florence Novoli = Good Price for the Location (10 Photos)
Hilton Garden Inn Florence Novoli
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 Universit 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 hotels 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.
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 Hyatts 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.
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 Hiltons 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.
Mar 7, 2023 | 11:15 am
