My daughter and I stayed 3 nights at Hotel Mia Cara in Florence. This was our first time ever in Florence and we arrived by train from Cinque Terre so we appreciated how close this was to the train station. We found Florence to be a very walking accessible city so we never had to use public transportation even with luggage. This hotel was very clean, the rooms were modern and comfortable. The bathroom was especially nice. We overslept for the breakfast (did run down and grabbed some rolls once) so can't comment on that. There were some wonderful restaurants on the same block. We were happy with what we got for the the price we paid.

My experience with this hotel was simply horrible.

It started with the check-in. Noticing that the hotel is located in a narrow street, with reasonable traffic, I asked for a quiet room that would not face the street. The woman that was at the reception told me that she did not know if my room faced the street, but that it was quiet. Given that the hotel is a small one, with a few rooms, I could not believe that she did not know where my room was located.

The room we stayed was OK, although the lighting was poor.

Our problem started on the first night, when at 5:00am we were awakened by a tremendous noise outside right by our window. It was so loud that it seemed to be inside our room. I opened my window and saw two sewage cleaning trucks that stayed working for two hours. This, after I asked for a quiet room. I asked the receptionist if that was usual and I was told that this was done once a week and that this would not happen again that week. Another lie: next morning at 5:30am, the two trucks came back again, this time in the building next to the hotel and stayed there for one hour and a half. On top of that, we could not stand the strong smell coming from the sewage.

The breakfast was simply croissants and coffee and the person who served breakfast was always in a bad mood.

As far as the rest of the staff is concerned, except for the woman who lied to us during the check-in, who occasionally gave us some smiles, the rest of the staff seemed like they hated what they were doing. Even the person who checked us out (I think she was one of the owners, but I am not 100% certain, did not say a single word to us, other than how much my bill was.

If you want to have a good time in Florence, stay away from this hotel. It will certainly spoil your stay.

We stayed in the Hotel Mia Cara in July 2006. This was the best hotel we stayed in during our holiday in Italy and London. The Palazzo Rosa in Venice was a close second. This hotel has an automatic door in the entrance. It also has a lift which is a big plus since many of the hotels don't have that option. The room was average size for European hotels. The room and bathroom was decorated very tastefully with bright colors. Our window faced the courtyard. So our bedroom was not facing the main street. We didn't hear very much noise in our room. The bathroom had a bidet and doors on the shower. We had to ask for our towels to be changed daily. We didn't get wash cloths. The staff was polite and helpful. The hotel is near the train station but on a side road. We were close to the Piazza Santa Novella. The major sites were probably a good fifteen minutes away walking. We needed the exercise and did not mind the walk. We had standard European breakfast which was the red orange juice and a crossaint. There was a internet cafe with a phones. The internet cafe staff were very friendly and helpful. For the price, the hotel is a good bet.