Academy Hostel Florence — Hotel in Florence

AVOID, this is NOT a family hostel whatsoever as they state all over their Facebook, tripadvisor, hostelworld and any other media. we definitely would not recommend at all. The showers take at least 10 minutes to warm up and then go cold virtually straight after, the bathmat was brown and sodden every time we went to use the bathroom, there was toilet paper all over floor and toilet paper bin full next to the toilet also we shared two bathrooms with toilet and shower in between at least 10 people which meant queuing for the toilet and waiting sometimes up to half an hour for a shower or to go to the toilet. We had one lamp in our room, no main light so the room was pretty dark whenever the curtains were closed or the sun was down, this also left us with one plug socket for two people in a large room to charge phones, cameras etc. A final warning the people on reception blast their music all night and seem to shout when talking to guests and walls are paper thin, there seems to be no curfew or even any sign of anyone being reminded to be quiet or considerate when returning or handing around in the reception area considering there is 24 hour security and reception, especially considering the common areas supposedly close at 23:00 (they don’t until we went and complained and showed the receptionist the ‘hostel rules’ people were sat shouting in the reception until early hours of the morning. This meant a major lack of sleep as there never seems to be any quiet time and there is constant conversation or music blasting around the hostel. Also, to top it all off - if you want to actually get any breakfast you need to get up and be at breakfast for before 8am after your sleepless night as anytime after that all you will find is crumbs and a tiny bit of cereal. Overall, we were really disappointed with the hostel as a whole other than the location which was near enough perfect. However, I would not recommend to anyone if you want to be able to have a decent shower, a decent nights sleep or a decent stay in general - we regret not booking somewhere slightly cheaper and further away as this could have ruined our time had we not been so impressed with the city of Florence itself. Definitely not the family hostel it is described as. Really unimpressed and would urge...

I don't understand how this place got such good ratings for what they actually offer. First off you need to pay in cash if your amount to pay is under 100 euros. Then when you're about to pay in cash they will ask you to not give them 50s. Because they don't want to give you change for that. Not a big deal but it was irritating for them to demand this because the numerous hostels I've been to may have asked cash only but they had their own change ready as well for that reason. Their wifi is really frustrating. Constantly disconnects and has low connectivity in rooms especially. You don't have your own outlet by your bed. Your room doesn t even have a lock so if you're charging anything valuable(and conveniently they placed the charging stations right infront of the door) you need to watch it in case for someone to just walk in and take whatever is there for example your phone. And most frustrating thing is they call it "eco-freindly" but I think the eco stands for economically for themselves. Their hot shower/water is eco-friendly heated so it's luke warm. So you're basically shivering in the shower. And the warm water isn't even continuous. You get constant bursts of cold water. And they even say on the sign if you want hoy water let the water run for 1 minute. But how contradicting is that. You say you are eco-friendly but are willing to tell us to let the water run for a minute every single time someone uses the shower. And even when you do so you don't even get "hot water. Free Breakfast is just standard. I wish I could give them a 0 but I'm not allowed. I'll give them 1 star for the location and the cleanliness of the place. Their kitchen doesn t even have a stove. Not the worst hostel but for the high rating in reviews it's got it definately does...

Academy hostel is situated at a very good location, not too far from the train station, but most importantly walking distance to all the tourist attractions. This place is super clean, they close the hostel from 11am to 2:30pm to clean. I do understand the need because it's a busy hostel and it would be hard to clean if the guests are there. However, they could explain the rules a bit more nicely. Like the closing is mainly for the common areas only. The staff was still flexible about coming & goings during this time and the reception is manned 24hours. As an example, I was told that I can step out of my single room when the cleaning crew comes. However, while I was out, they only removed the trash in my room, bed was not made and floor was not swept. Overall the common areas are kept very clean. Lockers were provided with padlocks. Room key locked the door. I felt very safe here. The single full bathrooms were a nice plus compared to many people showering all at once in one bathing area. Staff was not too friendly, didn't go out of their way to suggest anything. So I guess they were good enough. However the tall gentleman with a bit lengthy hair was very nice to me. Helped me do my laundry and showed me how to use the machines. I left my backpack in the luggage room, it was untouched. But the receptionist asked me to put my valuables in a small locker & lock it with a key. Overall for 26 euro a night for a single room during off season was a great deal I felt....