The location, price, and cleanliness were top notch, but it is definitely a no frills place. Breakfast was sparse and stale and the front desk seemed annoyed most of the time. The heating and electricity needed some updating and it's not like the place has charm to make up for the lack of amenities. It's a good location for the money.

The Macchiavelli Palace is a modest little place in a very conventient location if you want to be close to the train station - which in Florence is adjacent to the historic centre. Nothing grand, but everything there you need. My room offered the pleasure of a little terrace overlooking the rooftops in the direction of the Duomo; the breakfast-room is of little charm but again, one can find all one needs. So - it's convenient, reasonably clean, the people were friendly and my room was absolutely adequate. For me, the cost-performance-ratio was absolutely ok.

POSITIVE:
-Good location close to Santa Maria Novella train station and a stone's throw from the Duomo and other main monuments in Florence.
-The bed was big, solid and comfy.

NEGATIVE:
-They charge you to use Internet when in most of the hotels it's free for the customers.
-The hotel descriptions says that it was totally refurbished and renovated. Not at all, because the ceilings are not in good shape, the bathrooms are inadequate and too small (my small 50 square metres flat has even a bigger bathroom)...
-The structure of the hotel is too weird with many rounded corridors. You must go up and down the stairs and that's annoying when carrying a big suitcase.
-The furniture is too old. It's appreciable that the hotel wants to keep an old charm, but having rotten, worm-eaten and broken closet doesn't help.
-The toilet stank after flushing.
-The shower screen was of plastic and not glass. It's not good enough.
-The breakfast is not too bad for the meal, but the drinks are disgusting. The coffees and teas are made in the typical machine that you can find in the corridors of the airports. If you suffer of constipation, no problem in this hotel, drinking that coffee you will head straight to away to the toilet. I swear you!!!!

Overall, I should say that I had a good stay at this place.

First of all, it is located about 3-5 minutes from Florence's train station. This was very convenient to me as I traveled between cities by train. So, arriving from Venice or leaving for Pisa the following day and Rome the day after (quite early in the morning) was not at all issue. I could easily walk from the station despite having 2 travel bags with wheels. However, such close proximity to the station and its location on a fairly busy street could be an issue at night sometimes, as you may hear a lot of noise from the street compromising on your sleep. It does get quieter later at night and remains so until early morning.

The most important reason as to why I gave lesser points on amenities and room comfort is because the sound-proofing in the facility is poor. I could literally hear every word that was spoken in my neighbor's room (not that I intended it) and as they were awake after I had gone to bed, it was too much of a hindrance for me, as I could not go to sleep for quite some time. The second drawback is that there was a constant malodor prevailing in the bathroom despite the bathroom being clean. I am not sure if it was because of a common ventilator duct traversing the floors above and below. The shower area is quite small. I am an average person and for someone who is big, this could definitely be an issue. If you drop your soap, you could find it very difficult to pick it up from the floor. However, these were not major issues to me on the whole.

My bed was comfortable. The room was clean. Mine had a balcony attached to it with a table and few chairs. I could sit on the balcony late in the evening and relax. This would be great if you traveled as a couple.

There is a restaurant/pizzeria right across the street (Trattoria, if I remember it correct) with very affordable prices and does not charge for COVER (this is a common concept when you dine in Italy, more so in Venice). This could be convenient when you return in the evening tired from sight-seeing. Or you could order food for take-out and have it with your partner on the balcony!

Staff was very friendly and helpful. They were always happy to provide useful suggestions and directions. My room was tidied every day and it could not have been kept better.

The complimentary breakfast that they provide is extremely good. This came in handy as I was mostly traveling seeing places. After a good breakfast, I could postpone my meal until early in the evening concentrating more on sight-seeing and worrying little about where or when I would eat next. If I needed, I could grab a quick bite and go on.

You could walk to most attractions from the hotel. Florence itself is not a very big city and most attractions can be visited on foot. Alternatively, if you have a driver's license for a moped, you could hire one from a place located a few streets from the hotel.

For the price you pay for this hotel, I think it is definitely worth it. If I ever get back to Florence, I won't mind staying here again.