I stayed at this hotel for 5 nights as a swf traveller and really enjoyed my stay. Money was ultimately the deciding factor during my trip and I found Cavaliere on a discount webite for about 35 euro a night including breakfast - during the holiday season!

Best bits: the hotel was clean, the furnishings were classy and old-style (not in a falling-apart way), my single room wasn't just a closet with a bed in it and I had my own private bathroom, I had a nice view out of my double door window, there was free wifi in my room (!), water was hot, and it was cosy and comfortable and there was aircon. The guy on reception was cute, too.

The not best bits: breakfast was rather notional - little bread rolls, coffee, cereal; there was an almost dormitory-like need to get me out of the room come 9.30am every morning so someone could clean (I like to sleep in); and it was at least a 30 minute walk to the centre of Florence.

The room was small, but as a single traveller you come to both expect and accept this, plus high ceilings lend the feeling of space, as did the light from the window. It was big enough for one person - I don't know how big the double rooms were.

The distance to town didn't bother me since I had hired a bicycle for 25 euro for 5 days (you can actually 'hire' bikes for free in Florence - they have this government initiative thing) and riding along the Arno every afternoon was one of the most enjoyable parts of my stay in Florence - definitely allowed me to see a side to the city I never would have seen on foot or on a bus. The cobblestones don't make for the smoothest ride, so park your beast somewhere and walk around until ready to move to the next place. Outside the old town are many paved bike tracks, however. The traffic is crazy, but this is good because if you're a novice rider like me you stand out less.

Also, the Cavaliere is 700 years old or something like that - true old-school architecture to withstand the floods!