Palazzo d'Oltrarno - Residenza d'Epoca

Arrived on a dark wet evening (not their fault!) to a rather spooky entrance hall and immediate demand for city tax in cash where previous hotels had added it to the bill at the end. While we were there the front door mechanism broke so not sure how secure it was. This had been listed as a hotel on *******, but is actually just rooms, as is the floor below. No staff present after 7pm, no optional breakfast or room service or cashless as advertised. The woman on reception claimed they kept trying to make changes to their listings but the sites don't post them - however this should be their problem, not ours. It felt like a house when the removal men have taken away most of the furniture. The room, with fresco as advertised, had once been grand but was now very sp****ly furnished with cheap stencilled furniture. No drawers at a useful height, the safe didn't work and there was nowhere comfortable to sit, and a peculiarly high bed I had to clamber on to - but comfy and clean once there. Useful fridge, generous tea/coffee provision, everything clean. The rocking bidet was a bit alarming but the bathroom was otherwise good. Our room overlooked the garden (of another property) and was quite quiet but street view rooms would be noisy. Perhaps we're just not hip enough for the cool, crowded Oltrarno district.

My partner and I stayed in this room while in Florence for a few days. Our room was very large and had a very comfortable bed closet seating area and a bathroom. That was very big. We loved our overhead shower. The bathroom had a beautiful window out to the courtyard. The building is very beautiful on the inside and inside the rooms. Do you feel like you have privacy while also hearing the city. Our room was so beautiful that we barely wanted to leave because we enjoyed being there so much. The hotel was so central that we were able to come and go regularly. We took beautiful photos inside our room, and we were truly so happy that we got that room. It almost made our entire trip all over northern Italy. This hotel was worth it for the price. We will definitely be visiting Florence again, and we will be choosing this hotel. I highly recommend this place. The service is fantastic. you can’t beat the location.

Read the reviews on Booking, which are from people who have actually stayed in this dump — which we pointed out to the nasty receptionist was listed as a four-star hotel and priced like one. The photos are wildly misleading. The garden view and entrance are for a private home; there is no outdoor space. The interior of the building is creepy and decrepit. The rooms are cheaply and sp****ly furnished. Drawers were too small for the cheap armoir and left a gap of several inches. Shower was the size of a phone booth and made of cheap plastic. Bathroom tile was mismatched and there was not a single hook. Had to request adequate towels. Nothing to eat or drink, no services provided by reception. Received a plate of napkins when we requested a box of tissues from the very put-out woman at reception. I speak Italian and have been traveling in Italy for 40 years and never had an experience like this. We checked out early and refused to pay for the remainder of our stay on the grounds that we did not get anything close to the level of service provided and the receptionist repeatedly threatened to call the police. We invited her to do so, in Italian. It never happened.

Overall, it was just good. So there’s some pros and cons here. Pros: best location, great street in San Frediano with boutiques, restaurants, cafes, trendy area of town. Right above a coffee shop and bars. Next to Santo Spirito and the river. Big room, modern bathroom, a lot of space unlike many hotels in Italy. Very clean. Cons: the photos to advertise the rooms are enhanced and do not truly depict the atmosphere of the hotel and rooms. First impression after walking into the corridor was that it was eerie. We stayed in room 2 and felt that the main room (breakfast spread room in advertised photo) was also a bit eerie due to period, historic paintings and decor. The place overall could be more decorated more bright to enhance the vibe to feel more upbeat. As others said, it was noisy due to looking over the Main Street, but personally, it did not bother me. Overall it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t my favorite and most likely wouldn’t stay here again.

There is extremely loud renovation going on one floor above - do not book this hotel if you wish to sleep after 9am/take naps during the day. I would have skipped this hotel but unfortunately no one informed me about this.

Although it is perfectly located, we strongly advise against this hotel because you can’t sleep. From the room, you can hear the buzzer every time someone comes in and out of the building as well as the people chatting. Shame not to be able to sleep when you book a hotel!

Amazing place in a fascinating city. Very good location, on the side of Arno river which has better and less touristy restaurants and bars. Beautiful rooms, very helpful front desk staff. Valet parking so hastle free even though it is in limited traffic zone. No breakfast served, contrary to earlier reviews, but there are breakfast places near by. Only downside, we made sure to book a room with Aircon but it was still used as heating - our room was on the sunny side of the house, and we could not open the windows due to street noise below, but the majority on the colder side wanted heating so we couldn't use the Aircon to cool at night, only during the day.