Just returned from a stay at The Palazzo (January 2012). Huge airy apartment (Giotto) with windows overlooking the piazza. On the plus side there's lots of space and character and an easy walk to the main sights with a choice of neighbourhood eateries within a stone's throw and a supermarket and market five minutes walk away. The owners / managers are charming and helpful. The apartment is generally well appointed however there are a few buts (which is why it gets the 'average' rating) .......
1. For a top end apartment it's irritating that cleaning, heating, lighting and internet access are all extras. These can amount to some hundreds of euros over a week. Watch the power bills. Our friends had a much smaller appartment in the annexe and landed a 200 euros bill for five days while ours came to a third of that. We found our appartment perfectly fine warmth-wise (18 or 19 degrees) and brought out an extra blanket if necessary (and ours possibly had a more efficient heating system). Also basics like cleaning materials are all pot luck.
2. For a top end apartment some of the furnishings like the bedding and china were distinctly down market. Bedlinen was worn and in places threadbare and china was printed pyrex. Hard beds were great and lump free, pillows were worn and variable. There is an odour of renaissance plumbing at the front of the building - you acclimatise!
3. The second double bedroom looks out on to an unattractive light well so don't expect Tuscan views and the twin is essentially an internal room with borrowed light from the living room (which means if you have children bothered by TV noise and light it isn't ideal).
4. The biggest drawback is the noise from the piazza. Depending when you arrive it can all look peaceful and serene. However from about 10.30pm the Florentine youths gather and hang about talking, laughing and drinking (and letting off bangers and honking horns) into the small hours (near enough dawn on occasions). Also for some reason the piazza becomes a major thoroughfare as the night wears on and the accoustics are such that the drunken singing etc reverberates and bounces off the buildings. (And this was when temperatures were dipping to freezing - not exactly a climate for hanging about!). Also during the day the 'puppet man' arrived with his van and amplified music which again meant very intrusive noise. Since it was January we had both the windows and shutters closed but they are old and ill-fitting and make absolutely no difference. According to locals the noise and disruption in Piazza Santa Croce is notorious and making everyone's life a misery. The Florentine authorities are apparently trying to deal with it ....... So, if you are bothered by noise and need some respite from the bustle of Florence either get an apartment at the back or go elsewhere.
All in all, the space and location worked for us. We were hardly in during the day and some cotton wool and a deeply unattractive windstopper hat clamped down over the ears (probably inadvisable in the summer heat) meant some sleep by night three.
- Palazzo Antellesi Florence
