Kursaal and Ausonia Hotel Florence

The Kursaal and Ausonia hotel was a delightful spot from which to explore Florence, conveniently located to both the train and the sights, yet still fairly quiet. Our two night stay was in early November, so the weather was pleasant, but we still had to close the windows due to mosquitos, something that would be an issue in the hot days of summer, with no AC. The room was pleasantly if sparsely furnished; nice antique-feeling rustic wooden pieces, and a glazed tile floor, albeit with no carpet. What I didn't like was minor, but stupid enough to irritate. A double bed here is two twins under one sheet. Not comfortable if you aren't the couple who sleeps in the middle of your own space. The tiny, tiny, elevator probably explains this, but really: Carry a full size mattress up the stairs! The other irritant is what passes for WiFi. It's a deal at E15. for 30 days, but only until you use it. At times it leaps to a page with the alacrity we expect from the Web, then you go to another page and the server is lost because it takes so long to make the connection. Streaming? Ha! Either do away with the WiFi offer, or get a credible system, it's no amenity to have something that doesn't work. That said, the shower was comfortably sized, the water pressure and hot water fine and consistent. Walls are paper thin, which could be an issue but not when we were there. And, if you get a third floor room on the back (we had #15) you'll delight in a Hollywood-quality view of Il Duomo over the rooftops of the picturesque homes, below. We very much enjoyed our stay here and would return.

The hotel was very easy to get to, only a 10 minute walk from SMN train station. We had to leave our stuff there but they were willing to accommodate our luggage and even put it in the room when it was ready as we were not going to be around at that time. the hotel was simple, but good. On a budget it is a highly recommended place to go. The service was good. the room was okay, the breakfast was alright. not a five start but definitely a decent place to crash for a few nights in Florence.

lovely little hotel and great service in walking distance to all historic sites. breakfast was great . small lounge for sitting and a lending library, staff very helpful and courteous

We chose the Hotel Kursaal Ausonia strictly on price, and jackpot! The staff was incredibly accommodating and gracious; thanks to you all for a great stay. Paola was wonderful, and, lucky for us, a licensed tour guide. If staying in Florence, you must ask Paola for a tour of the country homes of the Medicis. Also their tour, with Simone, of the Uffizi Gallery was great. The location is close to everything. And, those who have been to the city before can tell you how important this is: they have an elevator!

close to everything; staff very helpful. We had a large room with a balcony at the back of the building, but heard some guests say that the front rooms were noisy and some bathrooms were small.

A great location. A helpful staff. Comfortable rooms. No hot breakfast but continental breakfast acceptable for price.

For someone on a budget this hotel fit all my needs. The location was great to get around the city.

The hotel is conveniently located down a side street from the main train station. <10 minutes by foot to the train station and <20 to the Uffizi. It was easy to get to night-life scenes by foot in San Croce, but it was also far enough away from the Florence mayhem that one could get a good night's sleep! The Eco-friendly hotel was spotless, and the staff were simply wonderful, rates were reasonable, and they even had an Ubuntu Linux terminal available for people who didn't bring a laptop to use internet (for a small fee). The ONLY disappointment was the bathroom. It was very compact, consisting of a toilet, bidet, and sink. There was no tub, and not even a real shower, but a shower fixture hung above the toilet with a small drain just below. Worse, a small tilt in the floor made the drain not very effective during and after use. We checked in late at night found it required practice to not flood the entire bathroom after a short shower, but the staff was perfectly happy to mop up the floor late at night before we discovered a technique. Maybe that's their ploy for everyone to conserve more water! All in all it was quite a nice place to stay.

I was very pleased in every aspect regarding this hotel and it's in a fantastic location, close to everything. If I was to be picky, the only thing that could do with improvement, would be the beds, the mattress was very hard and I actually like a firm mattress, but I found the mattress and the pillows too hard. However, I would have no hesitation in recommending this hotel to friends and I would stay there again.

Much nicer than we expected, as it was large, had a private bathroom (definitely a plus compared to other places we stayed), was kept clean, had big comfortable beds, had an in-room safe, offered a decent breakfast, and had friendly staff. Window was facing a busy(er) street, but it was cold and cloudy when we were there so the closed windows kept us from noticing. And while the TV only changed channels in one direction, we weren't there to watch more than the weather report in the morning news.