Hotel Berchielli — Hotel in Florence

SPECTACULAR HOTEL ! My wife and I boarded the Bullet Train around 9.30am on Sunday, March 23rd in Rome and arrived in Florence at 11.15am. What a fabulous high speed train ride ! We grabbed a taxi and arrived here about midday. SO GOOD TO BE BACK ! We spent just the one night here 18 months ago and totally loved it. This time we're here for 4 days. FRIENDLY STAFF ! Checking in was a breeze and then we took the elevator up to our 5th floor king suite with a gorgeous river view. HARD TO BEAT ! It is such a beautiful location on the River Arno. After freshening up we headed out for lunch and found a terrific cafe called Trinita just over the bridge. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at UnicoUnique virtually right next door and had a look around. Lots of upscale clothing and beautiful jewelry to sooth female souls. The owner Fabio was very charming. I bought a beautiful red scarf ( made at Lake Como in Lombardy ) for my wife. Lots of different pieces of jewelry caught my wife's eye...particularly the hand made earrings. We found an ATM close by to withdraw a large sum of cash to cover our private guided tour expenses for the next few days. I picked up a couple of Belgian beers at Carrefour Express to enjoy back in our hotel room. And then we checked out Ristorante il Paiolo an Italian restaurant highly recommended by one of the hotel reception staff. It looked ideal so I made a reservation for 6pm that evening with charming Nina who turned out to be our server at dinner. The next morning we enjoyed a spectacular brekkie in the breakfast dining room at the hotel....best buffet breakfast anywhere and 4 fabulous double shot cappuccinos made expertly by barista Monica. AND THEN ! Our good friend Martin and also our limo tour driver picked us up at 9am for a day tour of Tuscany. INCREDIBLE SCENERY ! We stopped for lunch at La Bicondola a restaurant inside San Gimignano a beautiful castle. After lunch we swooned over our insanely delicious NOCCIOLONE ( nutty hazelnut chocolate ) gelatos from Gelateria Dondoli...one of the most famous gelato spots in the world. The next day Martin picked us up at 9am for a tour of Cinque Terre...THE ITALIAN RIVIERA. After Martin parked his limo he joined us for the train rides between the little towns. We stopped for a delicious lunch at La Scogliera in Riomaggiore. That night my wife and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Ristorante Borgo Antico recommended to us by Martin. Our pizza was amazing ! The next morning we were looked after by our dear friend Roberto ( jack of all trades ) in the breakfast dining room with fabulous double shot cappuccinos. After brekkie we went for a walk along the pedestrian paths on either side of the River Arno. And then we revisited a cheerful Fabio at UnicoUnique where my wife bought a number of pairs of earrings for herself and close family. After another lovely lunch at Trinita we did a tour of Palazzo Pitti...a beautiful palace once owned by the famous Medici family. Later in the evening we enjoyed a sensational dinner at Indian Palace...Kiran the manager looked after us perfectly. TIME TO GO ! After delicious double shot cappuccinos ( made by barista Roberto ) and an early brekkie in the breakfast dining room we said goodbye to all the wonderful staff. At 9am Martin our good friend & limo driver picked us up outside for the long drive to...

A CLASS OF IT'S OWN ! As part of our Italy / France vacation we had a one day stopover in beautiful Florence. My wife hit the jackpot booking a night at this super classy boutique hotel right on the river Arno. WHAT A VIEW ! And we upgraded to a 3rd floor room facing the river. FABULOUS HOTEL ! From the moment we checked in around 2pm on Thursday, Sept 27th the incredible staff treated us with supreme kindness. SO BEAUTIFUL ! The hotel is a masterpiece of stylish decor and very peaceful inside. WE WERE STARVING ! After our long train journey from Rome we were a bit beat up and famished. ROBERTO ! An amazing impeccably attired tall man named Roberto behind the bar took us under his wing and made us yummy grilled ham & cheese sandwiches. BONUS ! And Roberto made me a creamy cappuccino to die for. WOW ! We hadn't even gone up to our room and we were getting loved to death. We had a tour guide coming to meet us at 3pm for a private tour to see cool stuff including Michelangelo's David so we finally headed up to our room. WHATTA ROOM ! Totally immaculate with every conceivable thing we might need. THE VIEW ! And when I threw open the shutters there it was...the beautiful river Arno down below. Our private guided tour was sensational...an unforgettable experience. I managed to buy a bottle of good Belgian beer while we were out...my pre-dinner ritual. Max behind the bar at the hotel was gracious enough to give me an ice bucket, a lovely stem glass, a bottle opener and even threw in a bowl of peanuts. After my relaxing chilled beer it was off to dinner at a very good restaurant virtually next door to the hotel. INCREDIBLE ! What we saw of Florence was utterly beautiful. SAD TO LEAVE ! On Friday morning we headed to the breakfast dining room on the 2nd floor. WHATTA FEAST ! The array of food on offer was too good to be true....a gourmet buffet of the largest proportions included with our room. THERE'S MORE ! Our friend and caregiver Roberto stepped out of the kitchen and bid us good morning...and said CAPPUCCINOS ? And before we knew it the most amazing cappuccinos ever made for us were placed on our table. VERY SPECIAL ! We wished our visit to Florence was a few days longer. THE BEST ! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all the wonderful staff we encountered...Stefano, Barbara, Massimo, Max and last but not least Roberto. TRULY THE MOST ENCHANTING HOTEL STAY...

Just came back home (Madrid) from a 2-night stay at The Berchielli, I had 2 rooms overlooking the Arno.

If it weren’t for a very rude staff member, this would’ve been a 5-star review.

Pros first:

Unbeatable location, clean and comfortable rooms, tasty decor, breakfast options to satisfy all preferences and (mostly) attentive staff.

Kudos to the male staff member who checked us in and even got us a reservation at Mangia Pizza (I didn’t even know they took reservations!) and to the bellboys, who were uniformly helpful and courteous.

And now the only con:

We checked-out early in the morning to go see Michelangelo’s David and informed the reception staff that we would need a taxi to the airports later in the evening, preferably a large one since we were a family of 5.

A male reception staff member told us that taxis could not be booked in advance and that we could request it when we returned in the evening.

We came back at 6pm to collect our bags and request the taxi, and the same staff member very rudely (without even greeting us or, even worse, replying to “buonasera” or “grazie”), decided to book us two taxis instead of a big one. He didn’t even try to get us a large vehicle.

I clearly overheard another staff member telling him that a big taxi would’ve been better, as all 5 of us are family, to which the rude staff member answered something to the effect of “they’re 5 people with luggage, they obviously need 2 taxis!”. That statement is false, as we moved throughout Italy (Firenze included) in big taxis without a problem.

He immediately asked the bellhop (in Italian) to take us outside the hotel to wait for the taxi and didn’t even look at us or said a word to us. We said something to the effect of “Grazie, buonaserata”. Again: no look and no reply whatsoever.

Finally, both taxis arrived within the next 15 minutes, while we waited for them OUTSIDE the hotel.

The above issue may appear minor, as in the end we did get to the airport.

However, after paying for 2 deluxe rooms with Ponte Vecchio views and considering the hotel’s good reputation, I expected better customer service, especially at the very end of a wonderful trip to Italy. The attitude of the staff member was unwarranted and unacceptable, and I ended up paying for 2 taxis instead of one...