Home Boutique Santa Maria Novella

Pleasant
Traveller Type: solo traveller

Very Good
Traveller Type: family with young children
  : Good location
  : Hot water was scarce, two bedrooms only had 1 skylight in the roof for fresh air

Good
Traveller Type: young couple
  : Staff was awaiting our arrival eagerly. They were very helpful. This was not our first time in Florence, but they offered a lot of recommendations. The owner talked a lot about the history of the area which was nice. We only stayed here for one night to catch our train the next day. There is no elevator so we don’t recommend this for older people.
  : Bathroom was a bit dated.

Wonderful
Traveller Type: with friends
  : Owner very friendly and hospitable and even upgraded our room without extra fee. Room was extremely clean and location was excellent.
  : Just being on the 3rd floor with no lifts and no kettle to make tea.

Very Good
Traveller Type: young couple

Very Good
Traveller Type: group
  : Host is friendly and helpful.
  : Be aware that you will have to climb several flights of stairs.

Excellent
Traveller Type: young couple
  : Clean, comfort, good location and good staff
  : Stairs .....

Pleasant
Traveller Type: young couple
  : Well insulated from street traffic noise. Very near to SM Novella railway station. Good eating places nearby. Il Giardino next door is excellent. There is a kitchen, shared with the other three rooms in this apartment. A very nice woman from Il Giardino took us up to our room in the absence of any staff in the hotel. The shelving, storage and lighting in the room were well designed.
  : As mentioned in the ‘small print’ check-in after 19.00 attracts a surcharge of up to 30 euros, and it is a walk-up facility – to 3rd and 4th floors (2 rooms on each). The staircase is badly in need of a coat of paint and the apartment itself, though perfectly clean, could be updated and brightened. The 4th floor rooms are truly ‘in the roof’ without view or windows (excepting a sealed rooflight). The smaller of these is barely larger than the double bed within it – a bed which, at the time of our stay had a broken slatted base that had been ‘fixed’ with thin loose boards. (not a comfortable night!). Sleeping in a sealed room at 4th floor level, over a communal kitchen area without any visible smoke detectors was not ideal. Although the website mentions ‘soundproofed rooms’ there was no evidence of this between bedrooms.Reading online reviews, it is clear that our experience has not been often shared by other more fortunate/forgiving guests, but we travel a lot, and believe it important that website is not misleading. Our stay was in the ‘executive double room’ which lists 35 facilities ranging from toilet paper to dustbin. We were expecting something rather splendid, which was not the case. The ‘bathroom for disabled’ is a bit of a mystery, since even if a disabled person had managed the 4-storey climb they would have struggled with the minute washroom, and shower with polished marble floor. This might be in another room, but it is still on the 3rd floor, unless there is another part of the building we didn't see. Regarding local attractions, it would seem questionable that the Ponte Vecchio is ‘right next door to the apartment’ when the destination known to most tourists is actually 1.1 km away.We would suggest that it is made clear that the rooms are not all equal so as not to disappoint guests and that the general description is adjusted. It is possible that the other rooms truly are 'executive doubles', we don't know, but not ours.

Good
Traveller Type: young couple
  : Good location. Had a washing machine.
  : Would have been nice to have instructions in English for how to work the washing machine and the coffee maker.

Pleasant
Traveller Type: young couple
  : Proximity to train station was good. Great welcome by Guilia
  : We booked the executive double room which was a very cramped room with no windows or fresh air. Just a skylight which wouldn’t open. Very small bathroom too with no shelf for storage. Up 5 flights of stairs.