Emerald Palace

Excellent location, walking distance to all sights. Very clean, great bathroom.

1. Location - exceptional! only a 5 minute walk from SMN train station and Florence Duomo/Cathedral. Hotel is right across Capella dei Medici and around the corner from Mercato Centrale. Due to its location, you have a lot of places to choose from for eating, visiting, and shopping. 2. As soon as you enter, you are welcomed by a friendly staff and we were lucky to meet Ms. Luminita - a smiley bright happy face who treats all of her guests as if they are family. Everybody was calling her "mama Luminita" who was running everywhere to fulfill everybody's needs. She and Dany (her reception coworker) gave us hints and tips on what to visit, how to reach places, where to eat cheap good local food, and what traps to avoid in shopping. Whenever we returned to the hotel, Ms. Luminita always greet us with large smile on her face, asking us how was our day and making us feel welcomed. 3. Room - very spacious, located at the second floor. There are some steps to climb, but nothing you should feel afraid of. The hotel is in a building which once belonged to the Medici family, therefore rooms have sky-high ceilings which gives the feeling of so much space and air to breath. Large bathroom with bathtub and shower cabin, two sinks, two mirrors and plenty of space. Besides the queen size bed with a comfortable mattress, our room also had a sofa and two large wardrobes, vintage type furniture and large tall windows which makes you feel like you are back in the days of the Medici. This and the awesome view from the room, made us open the windows wide every morning and shout out "Buongiorno, Firenze!" :-) 4. Breakfast - it's not a 4 star hotel breakfast, but sufficient to give you energy to start the day. Mihaela, one of the other employees, was very amiable, talkative and served breakfast with a smile.

It's not such a high inconvenience, but if you get a room facing the Capella dei Medici, due to the wooden-framed windows you will hear some traffic and people walking early in the morning and until midnight. This however is understandable due to its central location which, for us, was more important and made up for it. And trust me, after walking at least 15 km per day, climbing towers and visiting all kinds of museums and piazzas, you will fell asleep immediately and hear nothing. Moreover, from our understanding, the Firenze government forbids replacing these windows with other types in order to preserve the buildings façade.