Hotel Berchielli

"This is an elegant, perfectly-located hotel steps from the Ponte Vecchio. If you can, get a room with a view of the water. We were only able to get a room on the side of the hotel facing the Piazza del Limbo and the neighboring church. The church is one of the oldest in Florence, well worth a visit, and draws regular tourists groups. If you open the windows, the sound of those groups can be quite loud. It didn’t bother us; the windows are quite soundproof when closed. The room was fine if rather small, with an entry space so tight that either the room’s entry door or the bathroom door could be open at a single time, but not both. The bathroom itself was also quite small but had a bidet, a welcome and surprising fixture given the space. The shower, equipped with an excellent head, hot water under excellent pressure, was so small that you could accidentally hit the controls with your elbow while showering. This might panic an occupant who had a head full of shampoo. The room itself had a comfortable bed with good pillows, a desk, an armoir, and — critically — no coffee or tea fixings. This is fine for most people, since a full breakfast in a luxurious ballroom is included with the room. The gracious staff there would be happy to provide you with coffee on a tray if you needed to bring something back to your room for a spouse who requires that upon waking. A special callout to their extra welcoming step of providing you with morning cappuccinos with your respective names on it. I used their laundry service. Housekeeping picked it up in the evening and it arrived the next evening folded and clean by 8pm. One important snag (and why I am giving my reveiw four instead of five stars): when we were there, the hotel had recently changed their internet service, which had the unfortunate side effect of disabling their internet most of the time. This caused the front desk no end of trouble when we were there, and was very frustrating as a tourist relying on this for planning or navigation or communication. If you require reliable internet access during your stay, it would be advisable to check with them to see whether they have stabilized the situation before making a booking. The front desk staff were dignified and professional and seemed bemused when I tried to use a bit of my terrible Italian. I enjoyed interacting with them every time I retrieved my heavy and decorative room key. Recommended! With the important caveat of internet service…"

"This hotel sits on a square just back from the Arno River and a stone’s throw from the Ponye Vecchio. It’s quiet and has two lifts. Our room was spacious with large windows. The only negative was the breakfast buffet which looked good but the ingredients were of inferior quality. On this trip we have travelled all around Italy and France with hotel breakfasts being a highlight with fresh tasty breads and pastries. The breads and croissants and pastries here disappointed over three days. The bread was tasteless. The croissants were not crispy. The fruit salad was watery and probably old. This really let the hotel down. Everything else was great, the warm staff, cleanliness and efficiency of the front desk."

"I stayed in this hotel in 2019, and had intended to return in 2020, but Covid intervened. On my first visit I was very impressed, a superb hotel, lovely accommodation, friendly efficient staff, and location. The location is perfect for exploring the town, it fronts on to the river, beside the Ponte Vecchio, with a side entrance that affords a short cut, walking distance to the major tourist attractions. Lots of eating places near it. Staff are still friendly and efficient and the accommodation is still very good, the entrance and bar area is stylish and modern. Breakfast is good, and there are very acceptable nibbles available at the bar early evening. Very efficient lifts. Slight niggles this time - kettle available on request, but paper beakers? Why, in Italy, are there so few cheeses available for breakfast? And why such poor info in the room? I had to ask cleaning staff where breakfast was served, I had a vague recollection from last time it was first or second floor. But, all in all, an excellent base for a stay in Florence. I would recommend."