Carolus

I had an amazing experience at this hotel. Everyone was helpful and friendly. The reception was very helpful with information about the sights, what to do, how to get around. The staff at the breakfast were great. I forgot his name but the guy at the breakfast was so nice. Greeting me with a friendly smile, bringing me coffee. He couldn’t do enough for me. The location is also perfect. 10 minutes to the Duomo. 5 minutes to the Accademia. It is walkable to all parts of the city. I look forward on my next trip to Firenze to stay at the Room Mate Luca!!!

I’m still a little unsure what star rating to give this hotel. The price is cheaper than other hotels of a similar level in Florence, but there are reasons for that. Overall, I had a good stay, and I hope this review helps others make an informed choice. 1. Staff — 5 stars ⭐️ The biggest advantage! The staff are amazing — friendly, helpful and supportive. Every request I had was handled quickly. I requested a room on the 3rd floor and they arranged it perfectly. 2. Room — 4 stars ⭐️ Nice, modern and recently renovated. Reasonable size and bathroom. I was travelling alone, so it was comfortable for me. My room had a good view and, importantly, was very quiet — I heard no street or neighbour noise during my stay. 3. Cleaning — 5 stars ⭐️ Very clean and well maintained. 4. Breakfast — 4 stars ⭐️ Breakfast is included, which is a great plus! Obviously, it’s not a luxury 5-star hotel buffet, but it’s perfectly decent. You can definitely grab a bite and start your day without spending extra money. 5. Location — 4 stars ⭐️ The San Marco Università tram stop is only a few minutes’ walk away, which is convenient, especially from the airport, and there are buses nearby. Just keep in mind that Florence public transport can be unpredictable due to frequent roadworks and temporary closures. San Marco is very close, but the Duomo and main centre require a walk. Google Maps may say 10–15 minutes, but in Florence’s summer heat it can feel much longer! In cooler weather, I think the location would be excellent. 6. Air conditioning — 3 stars ⭐️ The AC cannot be controlled directly from the room. Reception controls the temperature and there are fixed settings. During my stay I sometimes felt too hot and sometimes too cold. The staff were helpful, but if you’re visiting Florence in summer, I would check this before booking. If AC is important to you, I would choose a hotel where you can control it yourself. 7. Taxi — important! ⚠️ I would recommend booking your own taxi rather than having the hotel arrange it. I couldn’t book through the app, so reception called one for me. The meter showed €28, but the driver charged me €34 as a “fixed fare”. I felt overcharged, and the driver was also rude and drove quite roughly. For taxis in Florence, I recommend using itTaxi or Uber so you can book yourself and see the fare. Overall: A good, clean, modern hotel with excellent staff, included breakfast and a reasonable price. Just consider the AC, summer heat, public transport situation and taxi arrangements before booking.

We found the hotel to be in a great location in Florence and it offered great value for money compared with other properties we'd considered beforehand. On arrival we were slightly confused that the doors were locked and had to be opened up by Reception, after a few days of staying there we realised why as the hotel lies on an extremely busy street. We were given keys to our room and proceeded to the lift. Upon arrival we were making ourselves at home in the room when we heard a noise from the bathroom and realised that a man who was a hotel employee was still in the room either cleaning or carrying out maintenance work unbeknownst to us. This made for a very awkward exchange given that we did not speak the same languages and, to this day we are unable to work out exactly what went on. If I were a female lone traveller I would have been very unhappy with the fact that Reception didn't inform me that there was a stranger in my room. Our room had seen a 'sort of' upgrade in decor, but the bath panel and toilet fixtures were still old, the tiling looked like it had been updated only. The range of shower products in the bathroom were good. The towels were lovely and fluffy and fresh. Our gripe lay with the TV in that it was not a smart TV and could not stream nor connect to services such as Netflix. We were forced to watch YouTube and News at night which was less than ideal. Breakfast was adequate but a lack of covers on the fruit meant flies were landing on items and, given that breakfast runs until 12pm, items may have been left lying for a while. Our AC would only turn down to 22 degrees which we also felt was unfair. Would we return? I don't think so.