Residence Palazzo Mannaioni - Florence

Average rating:  8.7

Guest type: Family with older children

stayed in Jun 2007

Excellent central location, within easy walking distance of the Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens & Ponte Vecchio. Cab from the Florence airport was a flat 24 Euros. We had 4 rooms for 11 persons for 3 nights. All rooms had small stovetops, dishes/utensils, and small refrigerators which kept foods cool but not really cold. Showers had good hot water and adequate water pressure and drainage. The high speed Internet signal was weak or nonfunctional the first two days, but (mysteriously) excellent on third day. All rooms had adequate power outlets, although the plugs in several outlets had non-standard spacing (requiring a second adapter). The website advertised weekly maid and linen service, but we had no problem getting clean towels and emptying trash every day. Local telephone calls (including local access numbers for international calling card) were free. Luca Antonucci (owner) is a very pleasant man whose limited English is much better than our very limited Italian; Dorianna (receptionist) was very helpful, and speaks English well. Room #52 (triple) is spacious but faces Maffia street. This is a quiet street during the week, but Thursday and Friday night were extremely noisy due to the rowdy and intoxicated clientele of a late-night bar just a few doors down the street. Motorcycles raced up and down the street, with loud conversations and singing in the street until 3 and 4 a.m. Room has A/C (ask at reception for remote control), table & 4 chairs, 4 firm single beds, small bedside closet, lots of cabinet space. Lift goes to 4th floor, then must walk up 1 flight. Square enclosed shower in bath. Rectangular toilet seat. #27 (triple): This was the nicest room of the four. It had a great view of Church of Santo Spirito, A/C, table & chairs, bathtub & shower. #23 (triple): Faces the church. High ceiling, table & 4 chairs, 3 firm single beds, armoire with good cabinet space. A/C was an in-room standing unit which was "vented" out the window. Shower was a hanging curtain encl

Guest name: Joe Fanucchi, USA

Average rating:  8.7

Guest type: Family with older children

stayed in Jun 2007

Excellent central location, within easy walking distance of Spiritu Santo Church, Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens & Ponte Vecchio. Cab from Florence airport was 24 Euros. We had 4 rooms for 11 persons for 3 nights. All rooms had high ceilings, tables & chairs, small stovetops, dishes/utensils, and small refrigerators which kept foods cool but not really cold. Showers had adequate hot water and water pressure, good drainage. Enclosed showers in 3 rooms, hanging curtain over a floor drain in fourth. High speed Internet signal was nonfunctional the first 2 days, but (mysteriously) excellent on day 3. Adequate power outlets, although the plugs in several outlets had non-standard spacing (requiring a second adapter). No problem getting clean towels and emptying trash every day. Local and toll-free phone calls were free. Lucca Antonucci (owner) is a very pleasant man whose English was much better than our very limited Italian; Dorianna (receptionist) was very helpful, and speaks English well. Room #52 (triple) is spacious but faces Via Maffia — quiet on Wed, but Thurs & Fri nights extremely noisy due to the rowdy patrons of a late-night bar a few doors away. Motorcycles raced up & down, with loud singing in the street until 3-4 am. A/C, small bedside closet, good cabinet space. Lift goes to 4th floor (must walk up 1 flight). #27 (triple): Nicest room of all. Great view of Church. A/C, bathtub & shower. #23 (triple): Faces the Church. Good cabinet space. A/C was an in-room standing unit "vented" out the window. #21 (double): A/C was an in-room standing unit, but hot exhaust just vented back into the room. A/C quit working on the 2nd night and could not be repaired. Fortunately the evenings were cool, so leaving windows open worked okay. Dorianna recommended 2 good restaurants within easy walking distance: Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco and Borgo d’Oro. Ask for local maps/guidebooks at the desk. Checkout was fast and without problems. No problem paying with VISA.

Guest name: Joe Fanucchi, USA

Average rating:  8.8

Guest type: Group of friends

stayed in Aug 2005

Appartement pour 4 personnes tres spacieux. Coin cuisine assez bien équipé ... mais frigo un peu petit. Ne pas envisager de la grande cuisine mais on peut faire des pates ... Situé proche du Ponte Vecchio et accès rapide au centre de Florence. Accueil sympa avec remise de plans de la ville et info touristiques.

Guest name: Gilles PELISSIER, France

Average rating:  8.5

Guest type: Heterosexual Couple

stayed in Apr 2005

Lovely spacious room with great views from balcony but through the wall could hear virtually every word spoken by the family in the next room. Perhaps they were just a very noisy family!

Guest name: Ann Bethune, United Kingdom

Average rating:  6.8

Guest type: Couple with children

stayed in Jul 2004

I would rate this place as 3-stars. The location was good, quiet and fairly close to major sites. My daughter may have been bitten by bed bugs. I wish there was a safe to store passports and tickets as I found in other places I stayed. Staff was friendly and gave us a nice map of Florence region on our way out.

Guest name: NB, USA

Average rating:  4.8

Guest type: Single corporate traveller

stayed in Jun 2004

Nice surrounding, near to Center, near to many nice restaurants, very quiet. BUT: Although I gave a guarantee by credit card they debit the card a week before with 30 % without any intormations. The same with aircon: If you are there they ask for 4€/day. Roomprice was 120€ to expensive for this property. Twice a year I´m staying in Florence and this was one of the badest expierence there.

Guest name: Peter Kirchhoff, Germany

Average rating:  2.4

Guest type: Single corporate traveller

stayed in Jun 2004

Nicht sehr empfehlenswert.

Guest name: Achim Siegfanz, Germany

Average rating:  4.6

Guest type: Family Group

stayed in Dec 2003

I will be the first to admit that I did not have a clear understanding of what a "residence" apartment was when I signed up for this hotel. Despite this, on this trip to Italy with my family I thought that this was plainly the most disappointing place that we stayed, and the most expensive. The biggest disappointment was the staff, who seemed very hesitant to help with the most basic things, such as calling taxis or finding english speaking movie theaters. If I were going to do it all over again, I would definately prefer a hotel for the same price, which would most likely be more professionally staffed, serve breakfast (which the residence did not), change the linen and the towels daily (only once a week here), and not have the elevator rumbling next to our room many times a night (I spoke with other residents who complained about this as well). The view of Santo Spirito is wonderful, but definately not worth the other inconviences. I will go back to using hotels and bed and breakfasts from now on, and skip the residence experience.

Guest name: MR, USA

Average rating:  8.7

Guest type: Single leisure traveller

stayed in Oct 2003

I was very happy in this place. The staff was efficient and courteous and the apartment was beautiful. I would definitely stay here again; in fact, I didn't want to leave.

Guest name: Patricia White, USA

Average rating:  9.1

Guest type: Single corporate traveller

stayed in Jun 2003

A good value in Florence, slightly away from the most touristy areas--something I liked. I enjoyed having a kitchenette in the apartment.

Guest name: BB, USA