Hotel Dali
- December 27, 2004
- Rated 4 of 5 by
glennyb from Chicago, Illinois
This was the view outside our room at the Hotel Dali. This is literally in the center of town, right near the major sites. If this is what you are looking for, it is definitely for you.
The positives:
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As mentioned above, it is right in the center of the old city. While Florence is eminently walkable, this is a great locale for the first time visitor.
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They is an extremely helpful and friendly staff. Most, if not all of them, were fluent in English. They set us up with passes into the Ufizzi and Academia, as well as a Tuscan cooking experience. (See the hints section of this journal). A husband and wife team run the place. They are born and raised Florentines (or at least the wife is) and know where all the best restaurants, churches, and other sites are.
- The price is extremely reasonable - €75 as of the last time I checked for a double room with a shower.
The negatives:
- While completely clean, these are not exactly luxury hotel accommodations. The rooms are a bit small. The bathrooms are extremely small, and the word bath on the website means a shower stall. The elevator was quite old and rickety; it was safe but a little scary.
- At the time of our visit, it was across the street from an English pub that was part of an English Pub Crawl. First, why one would want to go on an English pub crawl in Florence, especially one that offers you "A gift certificate to the Florence McDonald's" at the end of the crawl is beyond me. But it affected us mainly because loud, boisterous American college students walked by screaming in the middle of the night. It not only woke us up, but it made us embarrassed to be from the same country.
Summary:
With the two caveats, I would still highly recommend this wonderful hotel, especially for the first-time visitor to Florence. It is a clean, comfortable room that is inexpensive, with a wonderful, helpful staff.
From journal Our Honeymoon, Part IV - Florence