Tere

Hi all! I am planning to spend my 50th birthday next May in Florence with my adult son and daughter. Any sugestions on charming hotels, modrate prices there? I love the Albergo Del Senato in Rome and would like something like that in Florence.
Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance

Teresa

5alive

This is one we stayed and really liked it. Adjacent to the Piazza della Repubblic.

Do a search of Pendini and Florence hotels and you should get many answers.

http://www.florenceitaly.net/hotel.html

Ceci

Sorry, 5alive, but the Pendini, where I stayed, is nothing like Albergo del Senato, which I know from plenty of photos and reviews posted on the net.

The Pendini is a "pensione" or B&B on a third floor of a building, and when I was there, I found it dirty. There was mold in the bathroom (and insects, too) and dust all over the furniture. It was impossible to walk on the room's carpet bare foot, because it was extremely dirty, too ( your soles get black in seconds!!).

It might be better nowadays (I was there in 1999), but notheless, it would be hardly comparable to Del Senato.

5alive

Ceci, I believe you but I am really surprised.

I stayed there in 99 and our room was really clean and the shower worked quite well (compared to other European lodgings we have stayed in). My grandma was with us and she is really picky, I just think we would have noticed if things had been amiss like that.

I also have seen positive posts from other posters since you and I have been to the Pendini. But obviously your experience was quite poor.

You do have another good point as well -- I since looked at prices and photos of the Albergo del Senato on Expedia and it seems very lovely but more upscale and expensive than what I would call charming or moderate. Another good reason for posters to give a price range of what they're looking for.

Ceci

5alive, I 've stayed there in fact in 1997, not 1999 ( my mistake). By the time (it was early January) the Pendini rate was something like 100 USD per night ( the Euro wasn't on then).

At that time, this was what we paid for most hotels in Italy, including Milan, Lucca and Rome. The hotels iin Milan and Lucca ( Centro and Piccolo) weren't pretty, but they were very, very clean. My problem with Pendini was the dirt. In Rome, we stayed at the Condotti, pretty, clean, and small rooms. The Pendini was the worst hotel where I've stayed, just plain horribly dirty. I just checked the reviews on Trip Advisor, and some reviewers also found it unclean (most found the bathrooms badly done and odor and mold in them).

I also agree that Del Senato is well above moderate, or at least for what we understand as moderate. In fact, Rome hotels are becoming outrageously expensive, even more than the hotels in Venice. So, who knows what "moderate" stands for today? Above 200 and below 300 Euros perhaps? Ha!

CarlosSandoval

try this one. www.relaiscavalcanti.com

The hotel is run by two young sisters, and it's located next to mercato nuovo.

5alive

Good to know. I will think twice about it, although we apparently were lucky.

We were on the floor with the lobby wondering if that was better kept up.

Tere

Oh I am causing such confusion here, lol.And I thonk anyone could understand by my post what I meant, I didn't mean budget.

Ok , what I meant by moderate is between 200 and 300 euros. I think charm hotels doesn't mean pensions. Sorry if you got that. I meant more upscale , like the Albergo del Senato.
Thanks anyway.

Tries2PakLite

Tere -- I can recommend the Tourist House Ghiberti and the Morandi alla Crochetta. They were both clean and charming, although in different ways, and the locations are good. Here are the links:
www.touristhouseghiberti.com
www.hotelmorandi.it

SusanMargaret

Check out Hotel Antica Torre Tornabuoni (www.tornabuoni1.com). It is a small hotel on the very smart shopping street Via Tornabuoni. We stayed there a year ago and it is truly charming. We stayed in a room with its own terrace with views of the Arno and the Duomo. I don't remember the room number, but the website shows all the rooms clearly. Breakfast in August was on the rooftop terrace, with spectacular panoramic views of Florence. I think we paid around Euros 180.

Tere

Thank you both for your sugestions, I will check them out

bobthenavigator

Yes, that is what I mean !
You have 3 good choices above that would be on my list. Let me add the Orto de Medici and the Loggiato dei Serviti to that list. Good luck !

Ann1

I would like to defend the Pendini. We stay there every time we go to Florence (almost every year). Once we had a "not so clean room". But every other time the rooms have been spotless. Ask for a room overlooking the piazza and it's an incredible experience. The staff is the most welcoming and helpful staff I have ever come in contact with. And that's saying a lot. We continue to stay there and recommend it. I might add that I am exceptionally picky about cleanliness.

BellaVita

I recently had a great experience at Relais Il Campanile, a small B&B less than 100 yards fromthe Duomo. It was clean, had lovely rooms and remarkably inexpensive. Another great place that's about a 10 minute walk from the Duomo is Residenza Il Villino.

Buona fortuna -

Megan
"Your Personal Concierge for Italy"
www.bellavitaitalia.com