Hotel Rivoli Florence

Great location and servie

At first I was reluctant to stay in a hotel close to the train station (we were in our honey moon). But once we got there and entered our room #505, it was great. Two stories, the lower one with full bathroom, tv, sofabed, closet. The upper storie, with half bathroom, king size bed, tv.

Not to mention that room 505 is the only isolated room, with a little garden outside the door, just like a villa.

Staff was very friendly, breakfast was ok.

At the end, the location turned out to be great, not too crowded but close to most of must sees.

Excellent hotel with understated high quality service

Just back from a 4 night stay in Florence. Having looked at several holiday guides and also Trip Advisor we plumped for Hotel Rivoli which proved a great choice. My husband and I have visited Italy 5 or 6 times since we got married and have learned lessons about balancing an architecturally attractive hotel with amenities which are appropriate for the 21st Century! Rivoli offered us:

1. Character

2. Charm

3. Quality fittings

4. Nice decor.

5. Understated but attentive levels of service at reception, the bar and also from the porters (with LOVELY red tunics).

6. Nice rooms some with small balconies and a little jaccuzi attached to the plunge pool.

We will go back there and would suggest booking direct with hotel (Best Western although this was not obvious when we got there) for a good a deal as we could obtain elsewhere.

(My husband is Scottish and spends a lot of time in London. He is therefore value conscious but also quality is important. He liked Rivoli which is something of a recommendation!)

Very enjoyable!

We stayed at this hotel for 3 nights in July, and found it very pleasant. The staff were polite and helpful, the room was clean and quite spacious, and the pink and blue towels certainly didn't bother us!

The best thing about this hotel, however (apart from its location), is the wonderful sun-filled courtyard, with its jacuzzi and flowers. We had 3 lovely breakfasts sitting out in the courtyard, and it was unbelievably peaceful and relaxing (hard to believe you're in Florence city centre, in fact). The hotel will provide robes if you want to use the jacuzzi after a busy day of sightseeing, and if you're lucky, like we were, you'll have it to yourself most days!

Finally, it's best to book this hotel on Best Western's own website, as they guarantee the best rates for their own hotels, so you won't get ripped off by Expedia, Opodo, etc. We booked through Best Western direct, and only paid around 120 Euro a night- not bad for a four-star hotel in the heart of Florence!

Hotel was Clean but Amenities/Location Marginal

My husband and I stayed here for 4 nights in April. The hotel was okay. It was clean, but we had a lot of mosquitoes in our room. The breakfast was marginal -- this is the only place in Europe where the bread was not edible. The staff was very nice and the bellboy was extremely helpful. Location was okay but not the best. Of course, that depends on what you want, it was close to the train station and duomo was not too far. But, the street around the hotel did not make you feel overly secure. There were blue and pink towels in the baths and these were annoying. I would not stay here again.

Lovely

Lovely hotel in an excellent location close to the train station and about a 15min walk to Duomo and most other attractions. On arrival we were invited for a free welcome drink in the bar with nice courtyard terrace (admittedly of the cheapest local sparkly) but a nice touch none the less.

Room was excellent, large and v. comfortable with a/c and seperate lounge/seating area for no extra cost from Octopus Travel and/or Expedia.

Staff v. helpful - even to an American guest who asked where the nearest pizza restaurant was - blatently opposite the hotel! Buffet breakfast perfectly nice too. Would definitely stay here again.

Would Stay Again

Stayed here 3 nights in February 2004. Very modern, clean double room.

Close to the train station (ask for directions ahead of time- we took taxi and didn't need to), and on same street across from the world famous "Santa Maria Novella Farmacia" (great place to pick up a few unique perfumed gifts) The buffet breakfast is adequate, with cereal/milk, toast, pastries, meats and cheeses, juice,yogurt - (eggs and bacon are extra if you want them).

The beds and pillows were very hard- but we did sleep just fine.

Hairdryer and towel warmer in room.

50% of front desk staff real nice/ the other 50% shouldn't be in hotel/hospitality business, had our keys literally slammed at us several times, and you could stand there and be ignored. Just deal with the first 50 % and let the others go.

You can walk to just about everywhere assuming you are in decent shape, and if coming by train, it is a plus to just wheel your bag within 5 minutes.

I found better deal on-line with Best Western rather than thru Expedia, etc.

I would stay here again.

Great staff and location

Very close to the train station (5 minute walk at most). Excellent staff who spoke good english and were helpful accomodating requests.

Room was nice and everything worked. Short walk to major attractions. I would definately stay here again- a pleasant experience.

4 Star?

This is a very centrally located hotel. It is in a nice area and is close to all of the sites. It has a great breakfast and a nice welcome drink and jacuzzi. However we booked our room over the internet and got the smallest room in the house. They were not very friendly and were unbale to help us with almost everything including a wake up call. The last night we finally got a larger room and the air didnt work. If you are expecting a four star hotel look on. If you are looking for convienece this is the place for you.

Not worth their 4-star classification

During mid september i stayed for 2 nights in this hotel. I had reserved a non-smokers room. If you watch their webb-site they specifie following "No smoking rooms are available on request" - What did i get? An room with broken furniture and filled with cigarette smoke. When I asked to change the room, they told me the hotel was full. Then again when checking out I complained again about the expencive room, since I didn´t get what I orderd for - then again he asked me why I had´t asked to change rooms, because the hotel was not fully booked after all! I told him I had ased for an other room - well then again he told me they dont have any non-smoking rooms at the hotel at all! - Well, witch is it -Do they have or Dont they have??? At least they say so on their webbsite!! The personel wasn´t very nice either, exept the bartender who helped me to buy a good bottle of Grappa, Thanks for that.

Otherwise I can not recommend this hotel at all :-( They should definately loose at least one of their star!