Relais Accademia

Really Excellent location: 10/13 minutes from everywhere. Clean and comfortable.

The structure is located in the center a few steps from the cathedral, the owner and 'kind, the rooms even if in the center are well soundproofed, it deserves more if there were more precautions for the customer, the rooms are without fridge and television, there is a small closed kitchen that to have the opportunity to use the fridge I had to ask, the cleaning and' very poor hygiene products given with dropper and toilet paper on request, no change of towels for 5 days even the possibility of being able to clean the bathroom personally, I should have gone around Florence to buy the necessary! at my house the bathroom is also cleaned 2 times a day, sorry but the hospitality and 'much more, I stayed many times in Florence center in other apartments but I have always found more hygiene and cleanliness.

TL;DR: It was the most unhinged and alarming interaction I've had in my 70+ stays in hotels, guesthouses, airbnbs, etc over 15 years of travel and it spoiled our experience. Pros: Location is spectacular, really just a couple of minutes from the Duomo and right next to the Accademia. Place is basic but totally fine aside from the management. Internet works well. Cons: Any interactions with the manager. I locked myself out of the door into the Relais; my husband had our only key and I couldn't reach him. I messaged the manager on the app we booked through for help, asking if there was a backup key available in the lockbox next to the door and also mentioning that a second key would've been helpful for two people. After following up when there was no response for nearly an hour, I was told that "we are a guesthouse and not a hotel with a 24-hour reception", lectured for several messages about "blaming the establishment for my own shortcomings" ("forgetting" keys and not knowing to ask them for a second pair at check-in... according to her no hotels or guest houses in the world provide two keys for a two-person room unless requested), and told "if you ask for help, call because I don't check my emails every 5 minutes". Btw, I didn't call initially because 1) in the mornings when there's a long line of tourists waiting for entry at the Accademia, the sheer numbers of people in the area crash the cell signal and 2) she pretended not to understand some basic questions of ours at check in, so I thought there was a language barrier... and after interacting with her more, boy was I glad I didn't dare bother her by phone at 8 in the morning. I told her when it became obvious that she had no interest in helping how inhospitable and inconsistent with their positive reviews this behavior was, and that unleashed a torrent of contempt. She spent the next two hours insulting me over messages, culminating in calling me arrogant, telling me that I "should stay home" and "if you are not satisfied with my property, you can pack your bags". Her male co-manager or owner saw my husband later, went off on him in a really agitated manner, and called me a "little liar" to him several times (we're still not sure what I was supposed to have lied about... getting locked out? Needing help? Saying I called, even though I literally never once said I called?). My husband did see another interaction of the man's with Italian guests and he seemed to be pleasant and helpful to them, carrying bags, having a chat, etc... so maybe this treatment was just reserved for us or for foreign tourists. I'm reluctant to say it was out of character or inconsistent with other interactions before or during out stay, though, because it wasn't. When we let them know our train was running late (but still well before their check-in cutoff), the manager churlishly instructed us to hurry to the guesthouse straight from the train station because she had another check-in at a different location, didn't even offer to help carry my bag upstairs while I was obviously and heavily pregnant, and then was brusque and uninterested in answering a short question we had about the area, pretending not to understand us. It was very obvious she just wanted to get our money and get out. Moreover, a lot of small items about the place betray the continuous lack of care: missing pillow cases for second pillows (which were old and kind of gross), not enough toilet paper provided, no additional towels when requested, no napkins or paper towels or anything in the "kitchenette" provided (oh, and they later chewed us out for wiping up a spill with a hand towel... not sure what else we should've used?). All insignificant stuff that we always just ignore when we travel, but together it showed the lack of forethought and interest in hospitality that we experienced during all our other stays in Italy. Given the price of the stay and the inexplicably great reviews, I did not expect any of this.