Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
101
story: The rooms are newly renovated and quiet despite the central location; plus
the staff is eager to please. (They even have a reserve air-conditioning system in
case the primary one breaks down.) With half-timbered arched rooms and white-
washed interiors, this is a beautifully maintained hotel--especially when com-
pared with others in the immediate vicinity, which seem to be operated chiefly as
tax write-offs by their absentee owners.
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-
€€€€
Tucked away on a small side street, the tastefully refurbished
Hotel
(Via Taddea, 8;
%
055-290905; www.hotelbotticelli.it)
has a resort
feel to it, thanks to the downright pretty rooms of this restored 16th-century villa.
Many are done in the same wash of gentle colors that the artist Botticelli himself
used, and each features a nice framed print of the artist's work, along with satel-
lite TV, air-conditioning, and a minibar. It's located not too far from the central
market and the crowded street stalls of San Lorenzo. The breakfast room is large
and airy (as is the balcony patio), and the buffet breakfast is good (so, too, is the
blessed, blessed silence of the hotel on this small side alley). Rooms go for
5
Botticelli
125
to
€
180, but you can sometimes get lodgings for below
€
100 when business is
slow. Check the website for seasonal deals; they often reward longer stays with a
5th night free.
HOTELS IN THE CENTRAL DISTRICT, AROUND
THE DUOMO & PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORIA
This, of course, is the ideal place to stay, especially if you can get the fabled
“Room with a View,” allowing you to wake up each morning to the beauty of the
Duomo and its nearby buildings. Consequently, lodgings here tend to be pricier
than those around the train station, but if you can afford to splurge, this is one of
the places in Italy where price will make a difference in the quality of your stay
(and if you can't afford a splurge, see below for two good budget options).
€
€€
The first of these is a gem, one of my favorite
pensioni
in Italy. That's
because the
Maria Luisa de'Medici
(Via del Corso, 1;
%
055-2800058)
has
all the creature comforts you could want—firm beds, thick walls, a hearty com-
plimentary breakfast—in a setting that's delightfully imaginative, quirky, and, in
an odd way, stylish. In fact, the decor here is a mishmash of many styles: You have
the wonderful bones of the place, a 1650s
palazzo
filled with funky 1960s high-
design furniture, exquisite baroque paintings on the walls, and fun modern
murals of the Medicis on guest-room walls (the place is named for the last Medici
princess). The five rooms are oversize and thus terrific for families, and the hosts
as friendly and helpful as can be. The drawbacks? Well, the cheaper rooms share
a bathroom (these cost
55
118 for a quad;
expect to pay
€
13-
€
20 more for rooms with private bathroom facilities), and to
reach the
pensione
you'll need to walk up three flights of steps. Finally, rooms do
not have phones. But aside from those minor quibbles, the place is a delight.
€
67 for a double,
€
93 for a triple, and
€
55
€€
-
€€€
Halfway between the train station and the Duomo, the
Hotel Abaco
9
(Via dei Banchi, 1;
%
055-2381919; www.abaco-hotel.it)
is a budget charmer
boasting nine rooms, each named for a different artist and done up in the colors
that artist tended to use (you can compare the color of the drapes with the framed
