We enjoyed our stay at the San Gallo Palace. We flew into Pisa and took a bus to Stazlone Centrale. The hotel claims it is 700m from the station to the hotel. While the metric system may leave me puzzled, it took us 45 minutes to walk there. We stopped several times to get directions and finally found a couple who knew where the hotel was. Take a cab the first time.

We were a late check in, the staff was polite. We were happy to get into our room and found it to be very clean and comfortable. We had a king size bed, which was basically two single beds pushed together, and it was quite hard. If you like to sleep close to your mate ask for a queen if you don't want to sleep on the crack. Everything else about the room was great!

Breakfast buffet was very good. We eat cereals and fruits mostly. Coffee was good. I tried the eggs and was not impressed.

We walked into Florence each day. If you walk up Via San Gallo or Via Cavour it is about a 20 minute walk. There are numerous shops on each street. If you want to save time, take the bus. There is a bus stop as soon as you walk onto Via Cavour. All four buses go to the center of Florence, to the Duomo, so you can take any of them. It costs .95 euro per person.

Make reservations to see the major sights. The front desk will make the calls for you. You use a separate entrance and basically get head of the line privileges.

Our best dining experience was at a little resturant named Osteria delle Brache, in Piazza Peruzzi, 5/R, it was recommended by a shop owner we talked to. We liked it so much, we ate there twice. It’s a bit hard to find, but call them [--] for directions.

First impressions of the hotel were excellent, with a smart reception area staffed by very friendly, approachable and helpful staff who spoke excellent English. The free welcome drink was also much appreciated.

The room was also a nice surprise - clean and well-presented, with all the facilities - including a very good shower, tv, safe etc and an effective heating / cooling system, which we found easy to operate.

Breakfast was very good, with an array of cereals, fruit, yoghurts, pastries, breads, cold meats and cheeses, and again the staff cannot do enough for you.

The San Gallo is situated away from the tourist trap centre of town, off a busy street, and is remarkably unaffected by any traffic noise.

The staff are keen to provide restaurant recommendations nearby, many of which are better than those aimed at the tourist i.e. serving re-heated pizza and bottled pasta sauce. We would recommend EDI House and Il Pizzaiuolo (for quick, very reasonable and very tasty pizzas in two very different environments), lunch at Trattoria Casalinga for an authentic meal on long tables with all the local construction workers in Oltrarno, and an evening in (the very busy) Ristorante ZaZa for a varied and extensive menu with something for everyone.

This is a beautiful hotel. It is very clean in common areas, as well as the room. The room was very spacious for Europe standards; the bed soft and comfortable. The personnel were very kind and helpful.

For our room - we walked in and to our left was a trouser press! To the right - was a wonderful, large bathroom - very ornate. There were speakers in there so you could hear the tv! The shower was huge and wonderful - lots of hot, steaming water. There was a bidet as well as a toilet, even a towel warming rack.

The closet had lots of room and took up almost a full wall (on the opposite side of the bathroom in the room, next to the bed). There was a desk, mini bar/fridge and balcony with table and chairs.

So the low down - we really enjoyed the hotel, breakfast, etc. However, the heaters were on bc it was cold, but it was SO hot inside the room. They lowered the temperature as much as they could, but it was still unbearably hot - so much that we had to leave the balcony doors open - and mosquitoes ate us alive (in December).

Other thing to note is that the hotel is very far from all of Florence's action. Wasn't a big deal to us as we like walking, knew how to use buses and also took a lot of day trips out of the city. But it may be a bit far if you want to spend a lot of the time at the sites that are further away. It was about a 15 min walk to the 'action.'

We would stay there again - it felt like you were being pampered a bit (again, esp by European stds.) but not paying for it. Next time though, we bring a fan so we don't swelter from heat! =)

First of all, we shouldn't be writing this review 6 months after the event.....it's not fair.....!

We got the bus from Pisa airport in to Florence and then grabbed a taxi to the hotel.Less than 10 euro - great value!

The San Gallo is a beautiful hotel....however it is just too far out of the city to be comfortable

The rooms are super - great big bed, lovely bathroom and a small balcony to have a read or a drink before a night out.

However....be warned.....we came back out of the city on the first 2 nights but couldn't manage it the next 2! It was too far!

Super breakfasts every day...great service - could not be faulted!!

What a city - so much to see!!!

San Gallo - recommended, big style!! But only if you are prepared to walk in the dark!! Very busy roundabout at the hotel entrance as well.
However - service could not be knocked at all during our stay.