Any good ideas for reasonably priced accomodation in Florence at beginning of Feb - old part of the city preferable and needs to be characterful.

(forwarded from a post on Lonely Planet, TT3 2003)

Regarding hostels in Florence –
try Archi Rossi, located at Via Faenza 94r, 055-290-804; Fax 00 39 0 55 23 02 601, Email: ostelloarchirossi@hotmail.com. This place does not take reservations & fills up quickly so get there early (before 9). Expect to pay 17-20 Euro for a dorm, but on your first night they might require you to pay 21.50 Euro and stay in a 4 person room and then allow you to switch to the dorm on your second day. The price includes breakfast and they even sell dinner. Expect a midnight curfew and a lockout from noon - 2:30 for cleaning.
They have free Internet access. This place fills up quickly and will be completely full by 9-10 am. If your train arrives around 6 am, make a beeline to this hostel or forget it. If they are full, there is another hostel across the street run by a guy named Ivano (check the doorbell for 3rd level). They also have a cheap café with good pizza.

also, try these:
Instituto Gould – tel – 055/212576
ostella villa camerata (HI) tel 055/601451;

7 santi Ostello (a.k.a. Sete Santi hostel, a.k.a. 7 Saints Hostel), viale dei Mille 11, tel:055-504-8452, web: 7 Saints Hostel ; Email: 7santi@eidinet.com This hostel is located in a former convent which is adjacent to the Church of the Sette Santi (Seven Saints). Expect to pay 20.70 Euro for a dorm, 25.85 Euro in a single (or 28.40 Euro for a single with private shower and sink), 41.35 Euro for a double (or 46.50 Euro with private shower and sink), or 62 Euro for a triple. From the train station, take bus # 17 (drops you in front of the Hostel) or Bus # 11 (one block from the Hostel), Take the bus in the direction of Campo di Marte to the Sette Santi bus stop (10 minutes ride from railway station). This is a good place to sleep, but don’t plan on partying inside this hostel. There are better hostel options if you want to meet people to party. Also some female travelers have said that they have found this hostel “spooky” and they did not like the co-ed showers.

Pensionato Pio X, via dei Serragli 106, 055-225-044; villa Camerata, Vialle Augusto Righi 2/4 Tel.055-601-451

or Ostello Santa Monaca (this is not so recommended) – tel 055/268338 – email: info@ostello.it, web: (They only have dorms available and they cost 16 Euro which includes sheets). If possible, try and request a room that is not over the main street, which is very loud. Also expect to hear noise from children at a nearby school. Also, they have a lot of beds crammed in the room – kind of like a military barrack, and the place is not too clean.

As for other cheap ($60/night for 2 persons and private bath) hotels, try Hotel Tina.

A good 2 star hotel is Hotel Casci

If you are solo with a higher budget, or if you are traveling with others, you can afford Hotel Medici - 2-star hotel. Expect to pay 45-70 Euro for a single, 70-100 Euro for a double, 80-115 Euro for a triple, 90-120 for a quad. (As you can see, if you and 3 others stay here, your cost can be as low as 22.5 Euro per night per person). The hotel is near the Duomo at
Via de Medici # 6. Tel: +39 055 28.48.18 / 29.10.98 Fax +39 055 21.62.02; email:info@hotelmedici.it
To walk to the hotel from the train station, you will exit the station and come to Piazza della Stazione, and walk down Via Panzani which turns left and turns into Via Cerretani. Walk about 3 blocks until you dead-end into the Baptistery and turn right just at the Baptistery (Piazza San Giovanni) down Via Roma a few blocks and turn left on Via Tosinghi. Walk a short block and you will see Via de' Medici (turn right and look for #6).

Good things have also been said about a place – Hotel Il Bargellino - one star hotel (few minutes walk from Stazione Santa Maria Novella, Via Guelfa 87, 50129 Firenze, Italia , Telephone (055) 238-2658, Fax (055) 238-2698. singles = 42 Euro, doubles with private bath = 74 Euro, doubles with sink and bidet only = 64 Euro, Triples with sink and shower only = 89 Euro, Quad with private bathroom = 124 Euro.

Another place to try is called Laconda Daniel located on Via Nazionale and is in the same building as the Hotel Nazionale.

And yet one more place is the Soggiorno Magliani. It is run by a mother and daughter (the daughter speaks English) and within walking distance to most attractions. It has seven rooms, and expect to pay 33 Euro for a single, and 43 Euro for a double. The place is near Via Guelfa at Via Reparata 1, tel. 055-287-378, e-mail:hotel-magliani@libero.it

I hope this is helpful...

Have a great visit to Florence...

Philip

'Just land the damn thing'

Buzz Aldrin to Neil Armstrong, July 1969

[This message was edited by deadstone on April 19, 2004 at 07:23 AM.]