This is a business travel hotel really, but it seems to be very new. We stayed here because we were using Hilton Honors Points. Even though it is outside of the city center and attractions, if you're willing there is a bus stop about a block away and it is only a couple Euro or so each way. Otherwise you can take a taxi. This hotel also has a laundry room which was helpful for us. I think it was 5 Euro to wash a load and 5 to dry. The rooms were modern decor and very clean. The front desk staff was very friendly and helpful with travel advice and reservations. I would stay here again.

The hotel had offerred a very good room quality. Clean, new and the most comfortable bed! Bathroom was just great with shampoo and bath gel from Neutrogena!

The only thing was too far away from the city. It takes you at least 20 mins to get into town.

The hotel is located in a very new area (most shops next to it were still closed in January 2012) around 30 minutes walk from the center. There's a bus really close to the hotel that goes directly to the center, so it's a good location I would say.
The rooms were very nice, practical as well as from a design-perspective. However, I had an upgrade room (not sure if there was a difference to the normal rooms, most of the times it's basically the same).
I am really spoiled with hotels, so the things that didn't work are not really "big" problems, but from a Hilton I would expect a bit more:
- breakfast: you get american breakfast, but not a lot of choice. Hardly different breads, hardly sausage, cheese, etc. to chose from. Nothing is really missing, but it simply could be more choice.
- Heating: the heating in the hotel was simply too much. We couldn't get the room below 23°C except with opening the windows. Also outside the room it was simply too hot. As it was winter, the air was too dry and it really became an uncomfortable climate in the hotel. Seems that Italians like it warmer... .
- Service: one guy at the reception told us about an airport bus that leaves in front of the hotel, which wasn't true... . The rest was ok, but we also didn't ask for a lot of service, so hard to judge... .
- Water: I took a shower and the water stopped. About 1-2 minutes later it worked again and it only happened once on a 3 days stay... . So let's take it as a one-off occurence.

I arrived around 10:30 in the Firenze airport after a short flight from Rome. I took one of the metered taxis and after 10 minutes we arrived at the Garden Inn hotel. The taxi fare is approximately 10-15 euro.

I took my luggage to the reception and checked in with Mr. Matteo. Check in went quite smoothly but I did not get a lot of information regarding breakfast, internet and other things. I even did not had to give a credit card. I was the only guest at the reception but there were three people busy with my check in. I think there was a trainee and her supervisor and then Mr. Matteo.

We are Gold members and we got a voucher for some complimentary bottles of water. Normally we get an upgrade but I assumed there were no Deluxe rooms available at that time.

I took the elevator up and not far from it was my room. My room was on the first floor and was very modern decorated.

On the left side was a bathroom with toilet, bath, sink and some toiletries. The toilet was squeaking when I put some towels on it or when someone sat on it. Also the speaker in the bathroom was not working. I had a big King sized bed, LCD TV and a big desk. Opposite of the bathroom was a big glass closet with a safe inside. Next to it was an empty mini bar.

Goods can be purchased in the shop at the left side of the reception. I had a view on the backside of the hotel which was very calm. The only thing bothering me was that I could not hear the air conditioning at all even though I put it on the highest level. It was very hot in the room that time.

Some minutes later I got a phone call of the resident Manager, Mr. Carletti. He welcomed me and asked if I needed anything and if the room was fine. I told him about the air conditioning and when I left the hotel he would send someone to check it out.

I went to the reception and asked some direction to the city center. I got a map and they explained me some sights in the city. The reception sells bus tickets so we do not have to buy them at a higher price inside the bus.

I left the hotel and turned left until I came to a big road. I crossed it and the first bus stop was bus 22. It rides to the central Train station SMN and from there almost everything is on walking distance.

In the late afternoon I headed back to the hotel and there was a concierge now, actually he was from the front desk but he was in the past concierge in another hotel and knew a lot, really a lot of Firenze.

I asked Mr. Leonardo for a good restaurant that evening and he gave me a choice between a few and he reserved for me a table. In the restaurant I have eaten one of my best Italian meals. It was a fantastic place to eat. I was quite impressed by his knowledge about Firenze and he did not send me at all to a touristic place as I was probably the only one in that restaurant. Also one of the most friendly concierges, when I compare him to others in Rome.

I picked my voucher up in my room and I went down but now Mr. Leonardo was busy so I headed to Mr. Virgil, well also extremely friendly. He told me I could just pick one from the fridge and give the voucher so I did. I also asked him for a wake up call for the next day. Both Mr. Virgil and Mr. Leonardo were very friendly and helpful too.

Next morning my room was still quite hot but unfortunately I did not receive a wake up call, not even 15 minutes after the time I asked my wake up call to be. Luckily I set always a spare wake up on my phone because at 10 percent of the hotels there is always something wrong with these wake up calls.

I took the elevator down and asked to Mr. Virgil about the wake up call, he checked it out and told me it was put yesterday in the system and it would have been automatically. He called to my room to check if my phone was working but it worked. I did not have an explanation for that but he would keep me updated.

I woke up early because I went to Siena for a day trip but the day before both Mr. Virgil and Mr. Leonardo helped me with bus fares, timetables and even some sights in Siena ! I could not expect more !

So I headed to breakfast, there were not many people but somehow there were still many dirty plates and Mr. Francesco was so busy with it that he forgot or did not see me entering the restaurant. He so did not ask if I wanted something to drink. The breakfast has a wide buffet area and like many HGI a waffle maker. Buffet was good with a lot of choice for a HGI with fresh fruits, pastries, juices, warm buffet etc. However service was not really how it should be, juices were empty but it took too long to refill them.

After breakfast I took the bus to the long distance bus terminal just next to the SMN train station and 90 minutes later I was already in Siena. After 5 hours I have seen almost everything in Siena so I took an earlier bus back.

In the evening I was back in the hotel and quite hungry so I asked Mr. Leonardo for another restaurant and off course it was again fantastic. This time a bit more touristic but great food and service. He told me afterwards that my waiter in the restaurant worked in the past in the HGI. The waiter was actually very friendly.

Mr. Virgil told me before I left that there was a technical error in the system and he apologized for the not received wake up call. I asked again one for next day and he assured me I will get it.

There are no taxis in front of the hotel but by clicking on one button in a machine they will arrive in 3 – 5 minutes. The fare to the city center is approximately 12 – 15 euro depending on traffic.

Next morning I got a personal wake up call from Mr. Leonardo who wanted to be sure I got one. Afterwards I had breakfast in the restaurant. Service was much better than the previous day and Mr. Francesco asked if I wanted to drink something. I ordered a Hot chocolate but unfortunately it was not very tasty. Buffet was filled by regularly that day.

After breakfast I asked the reception, well Mr. Virgil for a late check out. As my flight was the last one to Rome, I requested as long as possible. In the evening Mr. Leonardo informed me they asked it to his superior and he arranged it till 18:00. A very late and welcome late check out.

Mr. Leonardo explained me some sights in Firenze and gave me a route I could follow that day. I first took a taxi and enjoyed a fantastic view and the rest I walked through the city center and visited some museums and famous squares.

Overall I had a very good experience, especially I am thankful to Mr. Leonardo and Mr. Virgil for being so helpful with all kind of problems / questions !

There is not much around the hotel and that’s why it is rather cheap for Firenze. It is modern and has an excellent value. There is a direct bus to the city center or you can just take a taxi. There is also free internet throughout the hotel !

When I return this year I will definitely book again here and I am sure it will be even better, I also think this is one of the best Hilton Garden Inns in Europe as it has four stars and a nice lobby where guest can read some books and a business center with free to use computers, printer and copy facilities !