Pros:
The location is fantastic, being about 30 seconds from the front doors of the Duomo! Everything is right on your doorstep.
Our room (106) was large and very clean. Pretty good sound-proofed windows. Fantastic century-old painting on ceiling.
Beds were ok, but nothing special.
The en-suite was a bit tight, but had a bidet, WC, basin and shower, plus a wall mounted hairdryer. All very clean.
The hotel is on the second floor, but there is an old small lift in case you're in need!
There is a small fridge in the room and another big one in reception with coke, beer and water. I didn't buy any, so can't comment on price.
There are plenty of local attraction leaflets in reception.
Cons:
You have to ask for the air con to be turned on and even then they will only do so in the evenings. It goes off at 7:30am.
No WiFi in room. You have to ask for a password from reception (so not automatically connected all the time) and then it only works very near the reception. There is a slow PC in reception if you need to access the Internet, but you still need to ask for access.
The breakfast is a terrible. One choice of cereal (cornflakes lookalike), bread rolls, croissants, Dailylea-type processed cheese, coffee from a vending machine and undrinkable orange squash. Seriously, go just outside the hotel as there are many better places to eat. I accept that this is a 2* hotel, but it would not cost much more to provide a reasonable breakfast.
The TV is ancient and tiny (14"), didn't even bother watching it.
The man on the desk, who is the manager, doesn't really seem to have his heart in the job. However, after a few days, he did become more approachable and actually turned out to be a nice guy.
In conclusion, a fantastic location and could be a great hotel with some relatively minor upgrades. If you ignore the breakfast, I would recommend staying at the Hotel Costantini.
- Costantini Hotel Florence
