Worth it for the view alone!!!

My wife and I stayed here for 3 nights in June.

This is an incredibly beautiful and charming hotel and it is a great location -- right in the heart of Florence.

Sure, maybe the rooms are nothing to write home about. But the reason you are staying here is because it is a 14th-century medieval tower!!

And the view from the tower -- especially at sunset -- is spectacular!! Get a glass of wine, head up there with your camera and you will have memories that will last a lifetime.

I also highly recommend eating at Nella, the restaurant around the corner. Great food, friendly staff and reasonably priced. Antico Fattore, just a block or two away is also very good.

Great stay

We stayed one night at the Torre Guelfa in Sept. and just loved it. Our room was large with the beautiful canopied bed. Location was perfect for easy sightseeing, yet quiet. Best of all though is the tower. You must go up there to watch the sun set over Florence while enjoying a drink - perfect!

Hotel Torre Guefla .... a Gem

A recent trip to Florence found us in the heart of beautiful Florence in a beautiful, well-appointed hotel. Torre Guelfa is not only in a prime location,but provided us with just the right mixture of old world charm and 21st century convenience!

Mixed Reviews Revisited!!

Like a previous reviewer I have mixed emotions about how to fully evaluate this Hotel. I chose Room #15 at Rick Steve's advice. Keeping in mind it was mid-August, the AC was poor: hate to admit it but we moved bed forward to place it under vent, even then we were uncomfortable and we usually don't complain that often.Regarding Location, I don't think you can get better, very close to everything!! Would suggest you stroll over to Ponte Vecchio after dark and be entertained!! Regarding room #15, very steep steps just to enter living area. If friends are staying in hotel or near by the private terrace is worth it, otherwise it was way too hot to enjoy and the view isn't as good as the Medieval tower, which was nice!! I awaken early so I wished breakfast would have been served earlier, 7:30am I think.A quick and easy to locate Resturant can be found by exiting hotel,take a right and turn right at first alley which takes you to Via delle Terme, the resturant is on corner called Trattoria Nella, affordable and tasty! It's possible that if it were October, I might view this hotel a little differently. Also, I've not stayed at any other Florence Hotel to compare. Room size is a lot larger than other European hotels, similar to US hotels, bathroom was small but modern and no smell. The Hotels web-site makes the Hotel seem more charming than it really is. The staff veried in quality, but none were rude.

Odd room layout

We stayed in Room 25 the 2nd week of June 2004. There were 3 single adults. We had one Queen size bed and then one step measuring about 4 inches up to the pull out sleeper. This step was a killer at night to the bathroom. Speaking of the bathroom, the toliet is in a closet by itself. You have to leave there and turn right into the bathroom that has the sinks and tub to wash your hands. This room is very large. This was also the first time in Italy I only got a tub, no shower or curtain. Miniscule bars of soap. The air conditioning worked fine and the wine bar on the roof was small but offered great views. It gets crowded with only 3 tables up there! Overall it met our needs, very loud outside noise but that's pretty much all of Florence I think.

Like being a guest in small palazzio

The public rooms with their palladium windows, tasteful antiques, crown mouldings, classical music, etc. make you feel like a guest in a mansion...It's fun to climb the winding staircase of the tower (very "Frankenstein-esque") and the view is breathtaking for evening cocktails. The room I had, on the 1st floor, across from the front desk was large & grand, with high ceilings & palladium windows...it felt like authentic old world"Tuscana". Steps away from the Ponte Vecchio, I can't wait to stay there again....

Torre Guelfa: super location and relatively quiet

The small Torre Guelfa is located right near the Ufizzi and within walking distance of most everything in Florence. The torre (tower) has magnificent views. In season, guests can enjoy beverages up there. We were there in January (brrr) and got to see snow on the rooftops.Rooms are quaint and bathrooms tiny. Breakfast is served in an attractive room. The public rooms are large and inviting.

Full of charm, friendly staff - a touch of Florentine Life

I've stayed at the Torre Guelfa twice now and recommended it to friends. It has a lot of charm and may not be the smartest of hotels for some people's tastes but it is centrally located and when you climb up to the bar at the top of the Tower you have the most marvellous 360 degree view of Florence in all her glory - the Ponte Vecchio, the Oltarno, San Lorenzo, Via Tornabuoni, Palazzo Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria. Before I get too gushing, the breakfast could do with a little improvement! The airconditioning is a little noisy but in the temperatures last summer it is allowed to be, besides this is Florence not New York! My last room was gorgeous right at the top of the hotel with views over the rooftops to the Piazza della Signoria.

Pros and Cons

I have mixed emotions about the Torre Guelpha. On one hand the public rooms and the much vaunted Tower are absolutely marvelous. Most evenings after dinner I would climb to the top of the tower for the fantastic view of the Duomo, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Vecchio, et al. I was even lucky enough to watch a thunder storm over the Tuscan valley.

However, the rooms leave something to be desired. They are dark, old and somewhat tired, although I loved the iron beds with their curtains.

The day we arrived in Florence was probably the hottest day of the year and the air conditioner in our room (never the best) was not functioning at all. After repeatedly asking to have it fixed it was finally taken care of the next day. Additionally the bathroom was smaller than the armoire in the room and had a distinct sewage smell.

The staff was competent but not overly friendly. One last note, they recommended a restaurant called Antico Fattore that was terrific, especially the fried zucchini blossoms, we ate there twice and enjoyed every morsel.

Great Find!

Great find, we stayed on the first floor. The hotel was worth the money and the room was big. The toliet was something to be talked about later.

The watch tower is very romantic and breakfast in the cute room accross from the lobby is perfect. Overall, worth going visiting again, and again.