Hotel Cestelli — Hotel in Florence

The facilities at this hotel are basic, but excellent value. Service was impeccable. The building is ancient, charming and so central that all key sights in Florence are easy to access on foot if you can move around OK. Careful which local restaurants you pick - some are reasonably priced but others expensive (tho' that is not the hotels responsibility, of course). The bathroom was shared but not a problem so long as you don't mind walking through (the very quiet) reception in your dressing gown! The building is so old that I couldn't see a way of providing en-suite without destroying the architectural value and charm. Our only complaint was that the electrical system was really inadequate for current needs - one power socket is not enough. The hotel is located on the corner of a lovely old street and a narrow alley that leads directly to the river side. Noise can be a problem; the staff at the shop on the opposite corner carried pots, pans and cowbells from their store below our room to the shop each morning at 6. All hung on a rack and you can imagine the racket. They were taken back at midnight... The restaurant kitchen staff working on the first floor an the other side of the passageway seemed to need to shout to communicate, again early morning with windows open - we solved these problems by closing the large windows in our room. That makes it sound like the hotel was noisy, but these were limited problems and we were on holiday with a real sense of being in a vibrant Italian city! The hotel is excellent value: I cannot think of another that would provide such lovely historical character and central location at the price. Would we use it again? Yes! Would we visit Florence...

My girlfriend booked this hotel by accident, so I had to stay 4 nights in this cheap hotel with shared bathroom instead of a proper hotel. That - of course - is not the hotel's fault, but it explains why I was there. Now to the real review: The owners are really friendly and helpful and live on the same floor. The rooms are kept clean and there is even a sink in the room (at least in ours). But contrary to what some other reviewer wrote, you very much do realize you're in a cheap hotel. Especially the shared bathroom has seen better days - a long time ago. The fact that there is a shared bathroom might be a hint, too. There are of course at least 2 out of the 8 rooms that have their own bathroom, so that little detail depends entirely on what type of room you book in the first place. There also is no 24h reception, which means you can't just come and go whenever you want, although you will get the key to the front door if you ask for it (sometimes even without asking). If there was no such thing as Airbnb, this might be a good option for relatively small money, if you can live with the downsides. Since Airbnb exists, however, I don't know why anyone would choose this hotel over an apartment where you can have a whole place for yourself (with your own bathroom) for a comparable or even less...

I had a great stay at the Hotel Cestelli. It’s on a side street a few minutes the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. The owner and his wife kept the place spotless and clean. Yes, it was a pain having to share a bathroom and toilet with other guests. Fortunately it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience. Most of the time I didn’t have to wait to use the facilities. The water pressure wasn’t the best for getting showered but after letting the tap run the water was ok. September /October was unseasoned warm so there were a few mosquitoes in Florence. The owner provided me with a plug in Mosquito deterrent that worked for me. I wasn’t bitten in the room. There was some outside noise but not enough to cause me any issues with sleep quality. The best part of this Hotel is it’s location right in the heart of the historical area. The owner and his wife were very helpful with local knowledge and nothing was too much trouble for them to do. Taking into account the rating of the Hotel, the helpfulness of the owner and his wife as well as the price I paid for staying in the historical quarter, it’s location close to most of the sights, I would have no hesitation...