25hours Hotel Florence Piazza San Paolino — Hotel in Florence

I stay in a lot of hotels and if a property loses me at check in, it takes a heck of a lot to win me back. The 25 Hours did not win me back.

I arrived very late at the hotel (around midnight) and there was only one guy on duty at reception - fair enough, it’s normal at that time of night. What’s not normal is that, because reception also blends into the restaurant here, this guy was also the coat check and (I’m not sure why) taking payments for people who’d eaten in the restaurant too.

Maybe we were unlucky with timing but to be faced with a mob of 20+ people in front of us trying to pay for their dinners and get their coats was not a good start.

What compounded the problem was that when we eventually got to actually check in, he couldn’t really see why we weren’t happy or offer any apology. Of course it wasn’t his fault that he was there alone but couldn’t someone else have been doing the coat check part etc? Apparently not.

The bedroom was fine but poorly lit which is always a massive bug bear of mine especially in a dark month like December. Fine if one of your lights is a dead bird in a bell jar but at least be functional rather than just a piece of art. And the bedside lights were less powerful than a moth’s fart.

In the corridor a speaker outside our room played passages from Dante’s Inferno - fun for five minutes but not 2 nights.

Breakfast - as a couple you’re directed to high tables with high chairs…supremely uncomfortable. Servers were mostly concerned with clearing tables after guests had left, not actually serving, so flagging anyone down for a coffee when it was busy wasn’t that easy. Also, weekend breakfast is till 11am but when we got there at 10am on Sunday things (especially pastries & yoghurts) were pretty picked over and didn’t seem on the verge of being restocked.

I just get the feeling it must have been a lot of fun for the team in head office to plan this hotel, but in everyday life it just doesn’t translate to a great, practical stay.

On the plus side - good location. And staff were hard working & pleasant, but I think something is wrong at management level.

Overall it was fine, it just wasn’t great, and goodness knows what was going on when we checked in.

Would I stay here again and would I recommend it to friends coming to Florence? No.

UPDATE IN RESPONSE TO HOTEL'S REPLY I think maybe you have not fully understood my review and something has been lost between English and Italian? I gave it 3 stars and said "Would I stay here again or recommend this restaurant? No". To which you say "The whole team and I are very thankful to your excellent feedback. You have made their day!" Maybe try reading my whole review...

I stayed at the 25 Hours hotel for 2 nights in Florence and let me tell you, this was the worst stay of my trip in Europe. So, when I arrived at the hotel, I was impressed by the restaurant but the lobby was too warm. So, the Hotel is divided in two themes - Hell and Heaven themed and we chose the 'Hell' themed room and when we arrived, the corridors were dull and extremely dark, there was a strange smell and the room was poorly organised. First, the bathroom and the toilet were disconnected but built of glass. However, the sink was outside the bathroom too. Each time we showered the room was flooded with water. Next, there was no cupboard to store our luggage, there was poor lighting. Following, we asked if we could switch rooms because of the conditions and opt for a 'heaven' themed room instead to which they said they'll charge us extra 50 euros just to change the room. Next, the 'Heaven' room was just as trashy because not only the bathroom and the toilet were separate but, this time there was no partition to hide the glass doors of the toilet or the bathroom which made sharing a room super awkward and uncomfortable. Also, the Television in our room had an option of connecting our phones through chromecast, unfortunately the option never worked on our phones, in fact we had to contact maintenance every day to make sure if we could do something but, we still couldn't find a solution. After an unpleasant stay, whilst checking out, we were supposed to receive our 100 euros back but, when we were checking-out the receptionist said the contrary. In fact, she refused to accept that we ever paid our security deposit and that we have to pay 42 euros extra as tourist tax (which was never mentioned when we were checking in.) Since we paid in cash, we requested the receptionist to open the cash envelope to check the amount we've paid but she refused to do so. She refused to listen to us, and they ended up over charging us. Finally, when we returned to collect our luggage and leave the hotel, the staff refused to acknowledge us, offer to call a taxi for us or even asked if we even had a pleasant stay. The hotel’s concept is extremely tacky, the staff is definitely quite rude and unprofessional. The rooms are poorly built. They don’t even have room service. I don’t even know how they qualify as a hotel since I've stayed in hostels that are better than this. I wouldn't recommend this...

WHY YOU SHOULD STAY

The hotel – formerly a monastery complex and bank headquarters – boasts playful, quirky and beautifully-designed interiors. Virtually every corner seems primed for an Instagram closeup, from the airy breakfast venue San Paolino with its soaring glass ceilings and lush greenery and the private cinema Cinema Paradiso with its clash of teal and brick walls to the chic social space Sala delle Celesti Armonie which plays like a gentleman’s social lounge with its library, billiard table and vinyl records.

Drawing inspiration from Dante’s The Divine Comedy, the hotel’s rooms are designed as either Paradiso (Heaven) or Inferno (Hell). The white Paradiso rooms each come with a pair of silver angel wings for your pre-ascension photoshoot, while the dramatically black and blood-red Inferno rooms feature devilish flourishes – think “Welcome To Hell!!!” scrawled in capital letters on the shower and toilet doors as well as an artistic (and rather chibi) drawing of a figure on the mirror whom I am guessing to be Lucifer or Judas.

On my last night at the property, I stayed at the Casetta del Giardino, the sprawling 400sqm private apartment located in a secret part of the premises with its own private terrace with swimming pool (the hotel’s only pool, mind), outdoor barbecue and pizza oven as well as full-sized kitchen with wine cellar. The space is massive, yet it only costs marginally more than the Gigantic Room (which I stayed at for two nights). The dip in the pool was much appreciated, providing sweet relief from the brutal Tuscan summer heat.

WHY YOU SHOULD NOT

Some may describe the Via Palazzuolo neighbourhood where the hotel is located as “scruffy”, especially in comparison to the more upscale areas nearby such as Via Tornabuoni with its designer boutiques.

The hell-based imagery around the hotel and within the Inferno rooms may be a bit too over-the-top or intense for some.

The full stay report inclusive of dining experiences and photographs is available on Secret Life of Fatbacks, a luxury...