When you travel, you have to be open to different options, especially if it is about finding a good affordable accommodation. In another article, I already talked about sacrificing the location, in order to get something more affordable with more stars. And in a city as magnificent as Florence, you can easily stay away from the center, because everything is beautiful here.
Very close to Piazza della Libertà, we found the San Gallo Palace, a 4-star hotel that I thought was a great option if your travel budget is not that high, but you are still looking for a clean, beautiful, air-conditioned hotel and above all, where you can expect comfort and excellent service, because the staff here is extremely friendly.
Location
The hotel is actually not that far from the center, about a 20-minute walk from Piazza del Duomo and 13 minutes from Galleria dell’Accademia (where the sculpture of David by Michelangelo is located). If you don’t want to walk, next to the hotel on Piazza della Libertà, you can take buses that drop you off at tourist attractions such as Piazza San Marco or the Santa Maria Novella train station.
Personally, I like this neighborhood because it is more residential, it allows you to get to know a “less touristy” area of the city, but without being far from the center and tourist attractions. I had already known this area many years ago and I was excited to be back here.
Facilities and restaurants
The hotel is a villa that was built between 1890 and 1895 with bow windows, which are not very common in Florence. But they renovated it in 2013 and to this day, they continue to modernize rooms and common areas.
The lobby has three rooms, not very large but nicely decorated in a classic style with modern things, fashion items to promote local designers and a display of paintings. I liked that they promote the local businesses and the art that characterizes Florence so much. Our room was classic and simple, but nicely sized, it showed that it had been remodeled and I liked that it had wooden floor instead of carpet.
For example, now it has a very nice bistro (The B), that they call “urban garden”, which is quite lively at night, ideal to have a last drink before going up to the room. At that same bistro, but inside the hotel, is where they serve you a buffet breakfast.
Incidentally, the group that owns the hotel also has two restaurants that have been highly recommended to us, but unfortunately we were unable to go because we returned very late from an excursion to Cinque Terre. One is called “Buonerìa”, which is a Neapolitan cuisine trattoria and the other one “Ristorante Tosca” (where we were eager to go), which is located in the beautiful Mercato Centrale and whose chef has a Michelin star.
Service
What I would like to highlight about this hotel is the incredible and very personalized service. The girls at the reception are always very friendly and make sure that the guests are taken care off. We definitely had a more familiar treatment here.
What type of traveler do I recommend it to?
Those traveling on an average budget and looking for 3-4 star hotels with excellent treatment. Especially those who do not pay that much importance to the location, in order to stay in a more beautiful hotel in a quieter area, without sacrificing any stars.
*Thanks to San Gallo Palace for its friendly hospitality.
If you want to travel to Italy and would like me to organize your trip or event through our travel agency Tripdreaming, contact me at silvia.lucero@tripdreaming.com.
For editorial questions, please contact me at silvia.lucero@latrotamundos.com.
