Hotel Paris

For six nights, we stayed on their third floor, or half way down a floor in this labyrinthian hotel, in room 390, called The Medici. Seriously, it only has two old massive, wooden beams in the ceiling, but nothing else to justify such a grand name – how about a capricorn or the Medici’s six balls… no motif to link it to this grand name?
Now, you know the hotel dates from the 1400s (as we were told by the front desk, but read «History of Hotel Paris of Florence» for contradictory details) and maybe it has been painted a couple of times since the 15^th century, but the room’s carpet really needs to go. Strange noises from the bathroom, which almost makes it sound like there is somebody in there. Oh, I know… the ghost of one of the Medici! Probably Cosimo I who is upset that they are trading on his good family’s name…
However, the highlight of our six night stay is the breakfast room – take a look at the photos of the ceiling (and, yes, it too needs some restoration work, too). The front desk staff are friendly and available 24 hours, not that I went down in the middle of the night to check, but you can. They will gladly help you make restaurant resevations. While the internet works, most of the time – but when it doesn’t it is a pain to troubleshoot – which is surprising given the thick 15^th century walls so they must be using broadband through the electrical wiring.
Clean sheets, fresh towels, hot water, and no other complaints (see above). It is a three star hotel with three solid stars.
In short, this place has character – be prepared!

Excellent staff who were extremely helpful. Lovely palazzo with period furniture (so don’t expect it to look modern), the room was enormous with two full bathrooms, well appointed and very quiet. An especially nice touch was the package of the best cantuccini I have ever had (known elsewhere as biscotti) The ceiling in the breakfast room is worth looking at and Internet connection was good despite the thick walls. I will stay there the next time I visit Florence.

This was our favorite hotel during our 2-​week stay in Italy. It is ideally situated between the train station and the Duomo. The staff were overwhelmingly friendly and willing to help without the superior attitude we experienced elsewhere. They kindly made dinner reservations for us and suggested a lovely restaurant when our first choice wasn’t available.
The room (room 230) was large enough and clean. We loved having a window overlooking Via Panzani and our only complaints were the poor A/​C and the lack of a clock (which we later learned isn’t standard in Italian hotels). The safe in the room was helpful. We chose not to purchase the WiFi but were usually able to pick up a free unlocked signal from another area hotel. The breakfast had a wonderful selection and was held in a charming frescoed room.
We would definitely stay here again.
Visited September 2011

This hotel consists of two 17^th century palazzos joined together. Ignore the negative reviews about room conditions — ours was great. This is not a place to stay if you want things to look modern and antispetic however. Breakfast is served in a frescoed hall (probably the dining room of one of the palazzos) and is quite good. Maid service was fine. Desk personel were good with the one exception noted below.
The one issue we had was internet. We paid for a 24 hour connection but could not get on using the newer of two computers with us, We were told the line was down. However, after trying the other computer, it turned out they were using a connection which is not compatible with Windows 7. It worked with XP. We were not sure whether we we lied to or whether they are just not tech savvy enough to realize this.
Location is excellent, halfway between Santa Maria Novella and the Duomo,
Recommended but bring an older laptop,