Residence la Contessina — Hotel in Florence

We made the mistake of prepaying for three nights and the very first night we wanted to leave and go somewhere else but could not. We had booked via Booking.com which couldn’t help us in our desire to move out. While this review has a very low rating, please do read through because not everything was horrible, to the contrary.||||Our Room: we stayed in 203, what is described as a small suite, and which does not resemble in any way the pictures on the site. The unit is on two levels. Downstairs there is a very large bathroom with a lot of wasted space. From the toilet to the sink there is an empty space of probably 3 meters. Lights are very dim, especially over the sink, fixtures simple (as in cheap). Shower is functional and with a plastic curtain, no door. Some essential amenities are offered, but they weren’t replaced if you used them. Our hairdryer was broken, but the owner immediately brought a new one.||||The open area is occupied by a small armoire with the door opening the wrong way, a pull-out bed that does not work as a sofa – no back support – two cheap nightstands, a small kitchen table, a kitchen cabinet secured with a tacky chain and lock, and a microscopic television. The room has a door probably leading to the adjacent room and which does not stop noise from coming through. We had to listen to our neighbor’s TV until very late into the night.||||From the entry door on the left, there is a steep and dangerous set of stairs curving to the right and which bring you to a small loft with a double bed. Again, cheesy nightstands, a chair, and a comfortable mattress. This loft was a furnace. We are not exaggerating; it was probably close to 38C (100 F).||||When we arrived, the room was very hot. We turned the heaters off, but they kept running. We complained to the front desk but the attendant could not have cared less. We asked for plug adapters – most of the plugs are in Italian size only – but none were available. Eventually after more complaints, the owner came to our door at 9:30 PM in her nightrobe with her husband. Very nice people. They switched something off in the electrical panel, but the heaters kept going. They were still going when we left; perhaps they don’t pay for natural gas (we doubt it; they just need a new HVAC guy). ||||We slept with the window opened upstairs, but the noise from the courtyard was deafening. We then opened the larger windows downstairs, but the room got too cold. Basically, we were miserable. Besides the temperature issue, there is no nice place to rest. The room is as far from welcoming as it gets. At night, going to the bathroom means turning the lights on and negotiating the steep stairs. ||||We were offered another room, but that one was overlooking the parking lot. We just wanted to leave, but we would have lost what we had already paid for, and it was not cheap. Breakfast is served in a nice room in the basement. Coffee from the machine is undrinkable, so make sure to order one from the bar. Food was average and reflected the amount charged for it, which was 12 Euros. ||||Parking is very expensive, but that is the way it is in Florence. Entering and exiting the parking area requires maneuvering skills. Finding the hotel could get tricky if you follow the GPS: it will send you through a restricted access area. It is better to set the GPS to the ‘Santa Maria Novella Train Station’, and then from there the address of the hotel. Make sure not to head toward the center of town, although the hotel will not warn you of this in advance.||||Internet is fine at night and early morning, but as guests connect it becomes unusable. Unfortunately, cell phone coverage within the facility is very poor – one bar – so if you have to work it becomes a problem. In our room we had Wi-Fi at two bars and could get about 10 Mbps which, when it was working, was more than enough to browse the internet. ||||Room personnel is very nice, dining room personnel nice as well. Front desk personnel – excluding the one who checked us in – are friendly and so are the owners, but don’t expect them to refund you anything. If you prepaid, you basically lost your money…. We understand that there were many months when the hotel had no customers due to Covid, but that does not mean that offering subpar service is acceptable. ||||Would we go back? We don’t think so because the facility is overrated and overpriced. Should you give it a try? That is solely up to you since you may have a completely different experience. However, be aware that there were large groups of loud juveniles staying at the residence. If you like it quiet, that...

I'll start with the positives so that the review doesn't sound too much like a rant, but if you check out the other negative reviews, you'll find this one much the same - I wish I'd read them more carefully before booking!||The location is fantastic. It's close to the train station (though we managed to miss the entrance as it's on a side street and not noticeable, mainly as there were workers nearby improving the pavement). As you head southeast on Via Faenza, you'll find plenty of nice cafes and restaurants (try Rosalia Salad Gourmet for breakfast and L'Imperatore Ristorante Pizzeria for excellent pizza/pasta). The hotel is also close to popular attractions, such as the Statue of David at Accademia Gallery and Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. Even Ponte Vecchio is only 10-15 minutes walk.||The reception staff were friendly enough and did allow us to check in early, something we hadn't expected. Sadly, that's where the good part ends.||Our room was on the first floor opposite the main building, up a steep, narrow, poorly lit staircase. The room was quite large, with a sofa bed and two single beds that had been moved together to make up a double. However, it was very dated and in need of refurbishment: the walls were marked and chipped in various places, the shower door was damaged, and, worst of all, the air conditioning was useless - even on full blast, it did nothing to cool the room, not ideal when it was 40 degrees Celsius outside! We ended up leaving it on even while we were out to see if it would make a difference, but it didn't.||The beds were also uncomfortable, and we slept poorly for all three nights of our stay (not helped by the aforementioned air conditioning issues either). The shower cubicle had also not been cleaned properly before our arrival, as we found used sachets of shower gel in the tray. Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention that the shower emitted an irritating, high-pitched squeal whenever the water was running!||Given that this was the most expensive hotel of our Italy trip (covering five cities), we left feeling very disappointed and only the great location did anything to improve our enjoyment. I'd suggest...

Die Residence ist nahe dem Bahnhof, aber etwas abseits des Touristentrubels ruhig um einen Innenhof herum gelegen. Geringe Geräuschbelästigungen vom Innenhof seitens der Gäste und vom Nachbarzimmer sind allerdings möglich. Das gesamte Zentrum von Florenz ist innerhalb höchstens 10-15 Gehminuten erreichbar. Kleine Lebensmittelläden für den kleinen Einkauf und nette Restaurants (Empfehlungen von der Rezeption) in unmittelbarer Nachbarschaft.||||Unser Studio besteht aus einem geräumigen Eingangsbereich, Bad, Wohn/Speisezimmer mit Küchennische im Erdgeschoss und einem Schlafbereich im Obergeschoss (über dem Bad wurde wohl eine Zwischendecke mit Luftraum zum Erdgeschoss hin eingezogen), das über eine schmale, steile Treppe erreichbar ist. Nachts möchte man sie im Dunkeln, etwa auf dem Weg zu Toilette, nicht wirklich gehen. Die Abbildungen auf der homepage bilden die Realität korrekt ab. Für Familien mit kleinen Kindern ist bei der Treppe besondere Aufmerksamkeit angesagt. Einige der vielen Lampen erfordern wegen der teils undurchsichtigen Wechselschaltung die Bedienung mal oben, mal unten, im unteren Bereich vermisst man eine zum Lesen ausreichend helle Lampe. ||||Die Benutzung der Küchenzeile kostet einen einmaligen Aufpreis, Wasserkocher, Kühlschrank und Mikrowelle sind angeblich kostenlos. Leider ließ sich in unserem Studio der Gasherd nicht anzünden (Stromanschluss funktionierte wohl nicht), man half uns mit einem manuellen Anzünder. Der Schuko-Stecker des Wasserkochers passte nicht in die italienischen Steckdosen. Sicher wäre auch in diesem Fall geholfen worden, wir haben halt unseren eigenen Zwischenstecker benutzt. Bei den Fernsehprogrammen handelt es sich überwiegend um italienische Programme, die Empfangsqualität war teilweise nur mäßig. Den in der Zimmerbeschreibung erwähnten Safe fanden wir nicht. Für unseren 4-tägigen Aufenthalt erhielten wir für den WIFI-Zugang zwei 72-Stunden Zugangscodes, die wir allerdings wegen eines eigenen mobilen Zugangs (TIM Surfstick) nicht nutzten. Diese TIM-Verbindung war schnell und störungsfrei.||||Das Frühstück wurde in einem nett eingerichteten, ausreichend großen Raum im Untergeschoss eingenommen und hat unsere Erwartungen weit übertroffen.||||Das Personal war durchweg sehr freundlich und hilfsbereit, das Bestreben, den Gast zufriedenzustellen, unübersehbar. Sehr gute Verständigung auf Englisch, rudimentär auf Deutsch, unsere eher beschränkten Kenntnisse der Landessprache wurden mit erfreuten Lobeshymnen beantwortet !|| ||||FAZIT||Die Residence kann uneingeschränkt empfohlen werden, das Preis-Leistungsverhältnis war gut, die bemängelten Dinge gehören zu den lästigen Kleinigkeiten, die nicht nötig wären, an die man sich aber in diesem Gastland schnell anpassen kann bzw. muss. Deshalb trotzdem ...