Orto De' Medici Hotel Florence

the room was disgusting, the walls covered in squished bugs, the heavy-looking wood and metal light fitting was hanging out the ceiling attached only by its exposed wires, the walls were thin enough to hear the reception phone ringing from our 3rd story room, let alone the other guests in the hotel. The bed were so hard we may as well have been sleeping on concrete, there was no entertainment and we received no directions to the hotel bar which was discretely hidden up some stairs and along a walkway from the garden area. When we arrived our passports were taken from us and we were told they'd be brought to our room in half an hour - an hour and a half later we had to go collect them which not so much as an apology. On the first day the maids left our room unlocked, so our passports and valuables were left for anyone to take for the 9 hours we were out and we left the do not disturb sign on our door for the rest of the trip. The receptionist would answer the phone and serve other people mid-serving us, and overall seemed very unenthusiastic about his job. In 3 nights I had a grand total of 8 hours sleep due to noise, discomfort and generally feeling unsafe. This hotel is very misleading with its photos so if you absolutely have your heart set on it and cannot for some reason stay elsewhere, pay for a good room because the 'standard' rooms are beyond sub-standard.

My mother flew over from the US to visit for Christmas and we went to Florence for the weekend prior to Christmas.[...] The newly remodeled rooms were only the suites and junior suites that are very expensive!! The rooms I booked for my husband and I and for my mother were bare-bones, stark, and less than basic. The room my mother was assigned, at least, had a bathroom including shower, which flooded the bathroom when she used it. However, the room my husband and I were assigned had merely a half tub with a hand shower (no shower curtain.) The walls in our rooms were scuffed and paint was peeling off. We all were given only one pillow and a thin bed cover. When I asked for an additional pillow, I was told there were no extra pillows in the hotel at that time. I used my coat covered with a t-shirt as a pillow. Our room smelled like a rest-home and was really a disappointment after seeing the rooms that we thought we were getting on the web-site. We were comforted, some what, by the fact that my Mother recieved the better of the two rooms but, it was little consolation and I must say that I did not sleep well the two nights we stayed. It was very uncomfortable and cold at night with only the thin bed cover for warmth. The two young ladies that worked at the front desk in the lobby were certainly kind and helpful in their recommendations. They recommended the Accademia Cafe, which was the high-light of our trip!!The building in which our rooms were housed was beautiful and interesting to look through. If I had known before-hand that I needed to book suites for us in order to have decent rooms then I would probably be recommending this hotel to anyone[...]

The LOCATION of this hotel makes up for all other negatives. Price was okay also as booked through Orbitz. First, I don't know who the other reviewers are that said the breakfast is great. It is NOT. It is a very basic cold breakfast with limited items. It is only served from 6:30 am from 9:30 am. The hotel "staff" consists of only 1 person at a time. However, the day shift persons try hard to meet requests such as dinner reservations, etc. Night "staff" sucks and has no idea about anything. Ask for Room 41 which was very nice in size and even had a view of the Duomo with a nice little terrace.

Stayed here a few night...all good. A little out of the way from the main areas but there a few restaurants on the block. Lovely lobby with apple computers you can use for free. Also, they have a great library on the second floor and the back patio is great for a drink in the afternoon.

The room is a simple Italian style room: dark furniture, brocade bedding, clean. The hotel lobby is very modern with new computers. The concierge are nice and helpful, though dont take thier suggestion of the reataurant in san marco: very mediocre. Location is an easy walk to duomo. Breakfast buffet is the big sell: big selection of meat, mozzarella, tomatoes, pastries, juices, coffee, cereal, fruit and in nice weather you can sit and eat on their patio outside!

We visited Roma for 5 days and Florence for 5 days on vacation in mid April, 2009. Location of this hotel is excellent to get to all the places we wanted to see and things we wanted to do. Hotel staff was also very helpful with things to do and how to do them. I would definitely recommend this hotel for anyone wanting to experience Florence in all it's beauty.

Very good hotel with efficient and friendly staff. Arrived late at night and was conscious that there were not many "guide line" instructions in the room. No tea or coffee facilities but a good selection of drinks (alcoholic and non) in the mini bar. Breakfast OK with all one expects, but no extra touches. Was very satisfied with everything on offer. Good easy walkgood places to eat in easy walking distance.

Great location, clean room

hotel employees were wonderful. greet breakfast. very accomadating we were stuck due to the volcano & they put us up for another week at a great price.

We were in Florence for sightseeing. The hotel was perfectly located. It was in a quieter neighborhood not overrun by tourists yet within easy walking distance to all of the major attractions of florence. The common areas were very nice and had computers available for guests' use which was a real benefit. The room was very basic but was clean, had a good bed and a very nice bath. The breakfast was good and served in a beautiful breakfast room with a garden view. The staff was very courteous and always helpful. It was an extremely good value in relation to other places we have stayed in Europe. We would stay at this hotel again on a return to Florence