Residenza Johanna 1

From $ 144 per night

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Il Pellegrino

Via Bonifazio Lupi, 14, Florence, Italy
055 481896

Attributes:
Romantic, Luxury
Amenities:
Internet Access
Type:
B&B
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Room #2 Residenza Johanna Photo - Residenza Johanna 1, Florence, Italy

User Reviews

Average Place to Stay in Florence

by Fiorentina

Las Vegas, Nevada

August 1, 2009

Best of IgoUgo After working in Sicily I wanted to take the opportunity to visit friends and family in the Florence area. I decided to stay in central Florence as this would be a good meeting point for everyone. Before booking Residenze Johanna 1 I looked into ...Read more After working in Sicily I wanted to take the opportunity to visit friends and family in the Florence area. I decided to stay in central Florence as this would be a good meeting point for everyone. Before booking Residenze Johanna 1 I looked into Hotel David, because they had off street parking, but unfortunately they were booked. I went to school in Florence and speak Italian fluently and am very familiar with the area so being directly in the center of town was not that important to me.

I want to emphasize that, this is a B & B and not a hotel, and there is no staff on duty after 8:00 p.m. This can prove to be a problem. My flight from Sicily to Florence was delayed and then delayed again and then we were to be rerouted to Bologna. This is quite typical in Italy and in true Italian fashion we did finally land in Florence. But, because of these delays, I did not know if I would make it to Residenze Johanna 1 before the staff left. I had to call the staff and explain my situation. They kindly left the keys at the Hotel Bonifacio which is directly across the street from the B & B. Please be aware that you must make arrangements with the B & B if you even think you will arrive after 8:00 p.m. or you will be stuck without a way to get in. Residenza Johanna is located in a mixed use building which houses the Swedish Embassy. It is about a 15 minute walk into the center of Florence but the location if very quiet and appears to be safe.

The key entry system can be a bit confusing. I believe this caused people to ring the doorbell in the middle of the night because they couldn't figure out how to get in. Alas, no staff to let them in. The four keys are on the key ring in order of their use, with the skeleton key being the last key used. Use the first key to open the metal security gate. Stay to the right and use the second key to enter the building, the lock is down below. There is a small elevator on the right after entering the building. Now comes the interesting part, I put my third key into the door marked "Residenza Johanna", since I booked my reservation at Johanna. It did not work and I had my Italian friends with me try but they could not get it to work either. This was a bit troublesome knowing that nobody was on duty to let me in. We then noticed a door reading "Residenza HANNAH" and tried the key and low and behold it worked. Moral of the story...if at first you don't succeed try try again!

I was in Room #2 which was located directly next door to the reception office and breakfast room and front door of Residenza Hannah. The skeleton key opened Room #2 and it was very simple but clean. The bathroom was tiny with a vinyl shower curtain that stuck to my body at every turn and no room for toiletries. The room did have air conditioning which was a major consideration in my choosing this B & B. While a bit noisy it did work. The small refrigerator in my room did not work but I did not use it as I only stayed at the hotel to sleep. I found the bed to be comfortable and the furniture attractive. Unfortunately, due to the location of Room #2 I could hear everyone coming and going and the phone ringing in the reception office. If you are going to stay there I would suggest requesting a room towards the rear of the building.

Breakfast was really disappointing. One stale pastry, apples, dry cereal and watered down coffee. The staff at Residenza Johanna was always very nice and efficient. I only wish that someone stayed on duty a bit later in the evening. On my last night there a group of what appeared to be drunken young women were ringing the doorbell well after midnight. When they finally gained entry into the B & B they continued to make noise and party. If there had been staff on duty i'm sure they could have stopped this disruptive behavior.

While Residenza Johanna is comfortable and clean, it is a bit far away from the center of town. I would not recommend trying to walk from the train station with one's luggage. The price I paid was fair for what I received. I doubt if I would stay at Residenza Johanna again, but if you are looking for an average place to stay at a decent price then it would be fine. Close

Residenza Johanna 1

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