LLM

If you walk along the river toward the Ponte Vecchio there are also cafes with the take-out option. It's the equivalent of 2-3 blocks.

SST

Thanks! Found the one down the street towards the city centre. It is sublime. Excellent pastries, friendly service, about €8 for two for two caffe lattes and two pastries-- perfect for a light breakfast, then out to sightsee. Kudos to FlyerTalk, as usual.

SST

As of my trip last week, Florence is, IMHO, the best cuisine in all of Italy. Be sure to try the Bisteca Fiorentino, essentially a huge well-seasoned steak cooked rare with olive oil added. Best beef I've ever had in Europe. I wolfed these twice in a week, glad my cholesterol is under control. You can get it many places, but don't cheap out.

Two wonderful dining places we found in Florence (and we didn't have a mediocre meal the entire stay) were located on the nearest street that parallels the river Arno, Via de Santo Spiritu, on the other side of the river from the Excelsior and one bridge toward the PonteVecchio. Forgive my loss of names here, but they are at either end of this street, on the side closest the river. At the end nearest the Excelsior, there is an Enoteca/Wine Bar (my guess: it's called Il Santo Bevitore) which features small plates and a wonderful collection of wines by the bottle. The food is excellent; be sure to get a reservation, as it is very busy, especially later, and you'll want to linger. It's open for lunch/dinner.

At the other end of the street, nearer the last bridge before the PonteVecchio, is a superb smaller restaurant with a very unprepossesing entrance, up some stairs. Once you get inside, it's much bigger, and features amazing cuisine. They feature a little sort of store as well as a restaurant, and in the hidden room to the right of the entranceway, you have big picture windows to watch the chef prepare everything. It was great. Both these are reasonable, if you're used to big-city dining prices.

At the Via Benci, which turns into the Via Verdi, there were several restaurants that looked wonderful. We ate in the Ristorante Benci, which was excellent (didn't get a chance to try their little cafe next door). An even more compelling restaurant up the Via Verdi will have to wait until the next trip..... We discovered it too late. On a corner, it has both a more formal room and a trattoria. Reservations are clearly essential.

Also liked ZaZa, on the Piazza San Lorenzo, near the Mercado.

Hope your trip is a good one, and your eating is as good as ours was.

p8riotsfan

Any recommendations? What should I expect to pay for the trip. While I'm asking, how about from the hotel to Eurail? Thanks in advance, helpers!

AZ Travels the World

Which airport are you flying into? Many of the international flights to Florence fly into PSA (Pisa), which is quite a distance. In that case, you'll want to train it from PSA into Florence, which is an easy process and doesn't cost a lot.

p8riotsfan

Yikes! Um...ticket says Florence IT

Tell me this means something to you?

Flying Alitalia Boston --->Milan Malpensa ----> Florence IT

Now what ????

ned

Cab. $15

caltraveler

On May 29th I went on line to book a reservation at the Westin Excelsior Florence. I am planning on staying there in September for 5 nights. Like an idiot I confirmed the reservation with the default date of May 30th. This was an internet only non-cancelable rate. I immediately called Starwood and after talking to a couple of robots I was told to call back the next day (Monday) to talk to Customer Service. I did this and I was assurred it would be cancelled. I received a cancellation notice on my on-line account with a cancellation number of 999999999. In addition I went back on-line and made a reservation for the correct dates. 30 days later I get my American Express bill and I'm charged a one night stay by the Westin. I called Customer Service and explained the situation and further pointed out that I was at the Sheraton in SF the same date that I had erroneously made the reservation for. They pointed out that the cancellation number which I was given and is still listed on my on-line account is not valid. I then received an e-mail from the GM in Florence stating the policy of non cancelable on-line reservations. blah blah blah. Growing more aggravated, I call Customer Service again and got a very understanding, sympathetic ear. 1 week later I received an e-mail from the GM again stating that although I am prompted before I confirm the on-line reservation AND I am staying there for 5 nights in Sept, he was going to be so gracious as to credit the charge against my bill when I check out in Sept. I just got off the phone with a Customer Service supervisor in St. Thomas, Canada who said that the final authority is the GM. She said that the GM was trying to work with me but I was not willing to cooperate. I was floored by this response and told her as much. Am I missing something here?

Caltraveler

KathyWdrf

In your case, since it was simply an error on your part, I have a bit more sympathy.

But the GM DID offer to credit the one night you were charged against your stay in September! I think it is a very fair offer. The only thing you will "lose," possibly, is some Starpoints and a tiny amount of interest on the money.

If it were me, I would just accept the GM's offer and move on.

petermckinsey

I agree to Kathy that it was very generous of the GM to credit the amount to a future stay.

I have made much worse experiences with those web rates with other hotel chains and have learned my lessons (cancelling due to illness and not being refunded anything, for example).

One should always be careful when booking those rates, but then on the other hand, usually a person of average intelligence reads the summary of the booking before entering his credit card details to confirm. So generally, it's hard to imagine how somebody can book wrong dates "by mistake"...

Anyway, just my 2 cents.

- Peter

PS: One tipp (another lesson I learned from past experiences): whenever you have issues with a hotel in a large chain, call the hotel directly. First of all, the "robots" in the call centres - as you call them - have no power to take any decisions. Second of all, most issues can be resolved easier by talking to somebody actually working there...

ABG

Based on the cost of a night stay at the WI Excelsior I think it would be worth spending a few $$$ on a long distance call.

caltraveler

Peter,

Thanks for your comments although being of simple mind I'm not sure I understood you.

I am a veteran traveler of 20+ years. I have averaged 120+ room nights a year for that entire time. I have been Marriott Platinum for 12 years and recently was given Marriott Platinum for life status. I have also been Hyatt Diamond for 6 years. I am Platinum for life with AA with 3.5 million miles and I also have 1m+ on United and Continental. I make most of my reservations on-line and unlike you I have had very few bad experiences and I've never had an issue like this grow to the situation it has become. If I was cancelling due to illness or any other reason I would understand. Afterall, I contacted Starwood within 5 minutes of when I pressed the confirm button. Maybe I am a Dunce for confirming before reading but the fact is I did. No one was harmed here and it is downright extortion.

Kathy & Peter,

I'm surprised at both of your responses in regard to the GM's "generous offer." You both act as though he is doing me a favor. The fact is that I am a preferred Starwood customer, with the reservations I have made I will be Platinum before I even stay at his hotel in September. I will have made Platinum status from zero in less than 5 months. This whole episode will probably be a mute point because I do intend to stay there in September but it's the whole approach that seems entirely sleazy. If this kind of treatment is what I have to look forward to at Starwood then I certainly will reevaluate my decision to move to Starwood.

I welcome your additional responses but also I would like to hear what others have to say as well. I can't believe there isn't a ton of people out there that doesn't see the insanity in this.

Caltraveler

beachfan

I think the zero grace period Starwood hotel web offers are unconsionable. You could have already typed in the correct date, change something else and it goes back to the default date. Happened to me.

C'mon, not even a 15 minute grace period. It should be 24 hourse. Certainly most consumer purchases allow for one, even airline tickets.

Tak

I don't like the NO-GRACE period by SPG non cancellable reservation.
However, we all know that is their rule right now and we are making reservation according to their rules.

Also, status is not a issue here.
Platinum members like us have no right to cancel non-cancellable reservations. We just talk to the hotel to find any solutions, sometimes we agree, sometimes we won't.
One thing which we have to remember is the fact that we made mistake.

I think you have enough experiences to deal with hotel/airline troubles and you know GM's suggestion is not unreasonable although you may not like it.

iflyjetz

I can understand where catraveler's coming from. I've had to cancel last minute at hotels (both top of the line & bargain basement) with nonrefundable reservations, and I've almost always had the cancellation honored with no penalty.
Catraveler, the hotels are just a bit more hardnosed about the rules in Italy from what I've experienced.
However, I will tell you, catraveler, that you will love the Westin Excelsior. The staff will bend over backward to make you happy. I stayed at both the Excelsior and the Grand for my honeymoon in March of this year, and was extremely happy with both hotels. Both hotels are managed by the same company and they go out of their way to take care of their guests. They are right across the courtyard from each other; stop by the Grand to take a look.
My wife and I enjoyed our stay in Florence more than Venice, where we stayed at the Europa & Regina (in a suite with a canal view). Florence is a must on our next visit to Europe. And we'll be staying at both the Excelsior and the Grand.