Brunelleschi Hotel Florence - A Summit Hotel

I chose this hotel from ithe internet looking at various hotel sites. I was then alarmed by the review on this site. We stayed 3 days in November. The staff were helpful and corteous. The view from our room looked onto the street not the Duomo, but the room was comfortable nice shower room and plenty of storage (R206). Lobby bar comfortable.

Breakfasts were not stunning but plentiful and fresh if you avoid the dried egg scrambled egg! My only serious criticism was the breakfast cofee which was stewed, grey and ughh! no shortge of could coffee elsewhere locally. We had a great time.

Can't accept some of the comments here. The staff were friendly, accomodating (question - I know this might be presumptuous of me given the monoglot tendencies of USA citizens, but ... did you try speaking some Italian? Even a little goes a long way, you know...). My room was clean and looked newly-furnished, not "old". They fixed the aircon. You can request a non-smoking room in advance. Central location = some street noise - now that can't be hard to fathom out, can it? Unlike some places they don't charge you the earth for phone calls. Breakfast was okay, apart from the coffee. The Savoy is nicer (tho the restaurant isn't), yeah, and also minimally E50 a night more. But this place is better - and better situated - than the old and fusty Kraft and Astoria.

We were very disappointed with this hotel- no sleep in room 218 overlooking the main street- with late shopping/street traders and entertainers till the small hours followed by motorised street cleaning trawling round at 2 and 3 am!!not much fun when you got up at 4a.m to fly that day!and are very tired!moved to 102 pretty but tiny -overlooking quiet courtyard but directly opposite kitchen windows!! no view of the Duomo for us or big bathroom- only a little shower. but at least we could sleep! breakfast nothing special but adequate- staff efficient- redeeming features- great central location and roof terrace.Dont miss Going across to Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset- you and 100 million others but its spectacular!and dont miss Botticelli and Fillipo Lippi in Uffizi and the terrace bar there is lovely! nice meal round corner in Antico Barile with brick barrel vaulted ceilings.

Having read the reviews after booking this hotel I was quite alarmed and wasn't sure what to expect. On arrival the staff were helpful and pleasant, the location is ideal, the breakfast was as expected, typical European, the room we had didn't have a view and was quite small, but it very clean and had all the usual refinements you would expect. We didn't have a meal in the hotel resturant so I can't comment on that. Overall I would recommend this hotel to friends and family without to much worry. I think some of the previous comments are a bit negative, unless they had a really bad time. I looked at the Savoy and it seems really nice, although that is a five star so it's a bit unfair to compare this hotel with that.

DO NOT CHECK IN TO THIS HOTEL! It was terrible from the beginning. Our room was hot, very old, cramped, and right next to a noisy kitchen for the hotel"s restaurant. The staff was creepy, though moderately helpful. But unless they perform a seriously needed refurbishment, I would stay far away. We left after a sleepless night.Instead, for the same price, I highly reccommend the Albergotto - which is just on the other side of the piazza della Republica - or the Savoy or Excelsior if you have a little more to spend.

We visited in May 2003 . Although the hotel is in a great location and the reviews I had read about the roof garden were correct ( the views are fantastic) this hotel was a great disappointmet. It certainly is more like a cheap 3 star than a 4 star hotel. The food was awful and the hotel is in desperate need of refurbishment. I would never stay here again and would next time choose to stay at the Savoy.

Staff was snotty. Concierge was creepy. Our room was a thorwback from the brady bunch. Breakfast was substandard at best. When we inquired about visiting "the mall" (Discount gucci et al) they informed us that the only way to get there short of renting our own car was to hire one of their taxi's at 160 Euro (kickback?) We took it upon ourselves to call the mall and they gave us round trip service with 3 hours of shopping for 20 euro a person! If this place were rated 2 or even 3 stars, and their rates were not as high, I wouldn't have been so dissapointed. I don't know how on earth they received their 4 star rating. Quite possibly the owner of their favorite taxi company doubles as a florence hotel evaluator. On a positive note (I wouldn't want you to find me a total grouch) the location was wonderful, the building itself was spectacular and the terrace on the top floor overlooking the duomo was to die for.

My 5th trip to Italy, my 2nd stay @ the Brunelleschi.6 of us on the trip; 3 first timers & 3 return visitors. The Brunelleschi in Firenze is without a doubt the best accomodations that I have come across in my 5 trips to Italy. The bathrooms are a dream come true - the size and the wonderful bathrobes!!! Best of all is the location & the history behind the front of the hotel. The stone tower was a 6th century monastary. Firenze is not only the closest place to Heaven on Earth! The Brunelleschi is the best place to stay. If you could only see the video I took of the view outside of my room: The Campanile & the Duomo!!!!!!! Incredible! I could stay there the rest of my life & feel extremely blessed!

I have stayed at the Brunelleschi twice now and each time I have come away dissapointed. Strengths;Location Location and Location Weaknesses;Rude staff - quite unhelpful - on our last visit we had booked a room with a double bed and were given two singles on arrival - it then took 30 minutes before another room could be found. In addition, the staff were very uncooperative throughout our stay. When we asked for a good local place to eat, the restaurant recomendation at the Natalina restaurant (about 10mins walk from the hotel)was clearly somewhat of a stage as everyone at the restaurant seemed to be from the hotel and there were no locals at all to be seen. The food was awful and totally overpriced - eat at the Mamagina the next time - it is the best local place in town, just across the Ponte Vecchio. Poor quality rooms - old paint, old furniture, wall markings, stationery was torn...!!!Bathrooms - Most rooms do not have a bathVery noisy - due to its central location Poor quality breakfast buffet and very bad service All in all I could not believe why the hotel is rated as a 4 star place as it is more like some of the shabbiest 3 star hotels I have stayed in! If you rent a car and drive to Florence, please be aware that most of the inner city (surrounding the hotel) is off limits for a large part of the week and that parking is extremely expensive - 30usd per day in a garage. I recommend the nearby SAVOY hotel for a more pleasurable experience until Mssrs Litta and his friends get their act together.

The Hotel Brunelleschi is very well located in the pedestrian area in the centre of Florence, only moments away from the Duomo. Its rooms are generally not large - but this is common in city hotels in Italy. Nevertheless, they are comfortable and well furnished. Breakfast is from a buffet with a selection of cold meats and cheeses, cereals, fruit, bread, croissants, yogurt, etc. There is also one hot dish, usually of scrambled eggs. The jewel in the crown of this hotel is its small roof terrace, which gives a 360 degree view of the city and notably, affords an uninterrupted view of the Duomo and Giotto's bell tower. Go up there when the bells ring - it is truly an awesome experience!