We stayed at Sampaoli for two nights. We booked the double private ensuite for 78 euros with an bathroom just for us. There is no photo of our room on internet and they know why. We felt like sleeping in an old kitchen. The room was very small and very dark, there were tiles on all the walls and the door was made of glass so that the corridoors light was shining into the room all night long and we reallz heared everything! Bathroom was ok. The girl at the reception gave us 2 times wrong information for parking place and for where to have breakfast. parking is available far away (15 min to walk) for very "cheap" 20 euros per day. you cant even pass by car for two minute in front of the hostel to take out your luggage because there will be some army men from the house next to the hostel screaming at you. finally we think it was an expensive stay for very little comfort. if you want to sleep quiet and if you are arriving by car you should prefer to walk some minutes more to the center of florence ...

Truly, truly, truly the most uncomfortable hotel stay I have ever had in my entire life. The bed was not a bed as much as a thin sheet over a torture chamber of springs. It is difficult to enjoy Florence if you are so cranky and miserable from not sleeping that you can't think straight (although Florence is so wonderful somehow you still manage).

For what they charge at the very least they should have decent beds. But a terrible TERRIBLE bed, no breakfast, a strange setting (in an apartment building), and a fair distance from the city centre all adds up to mean that your dollars would be better spent elsewhere.

We found the staff friendly and enjoyed being a couple extra blocks from the hustle and bustle. Some good cafes surround that seem to be less touristy and more frequented by locals, probably due to the location next to the university. A do-able walk from the train station. Our bed was pretty terrible, but that was our only complaint.

My wife and I stayed here for two nights in mid-May. Riccardo helped us pre-book an Accademia visit about a month earlier, which was much appreciated. I've read a number of complaints regarding his response time over email - I have only praise for it. The staff onsite was also helpful in providing a map and pointing out some different restaurants.

We stayed here for location, proximity to sites, and price...all ranked high on our scorecard. Walk from the train station to the hotel wasn't bad. Major sites were then just another short walk away.

Minus one star for the quality of the mattresses. We brought a sound machine so not sure how to respond to some of the other complaints about the noise.