My fiancée and I, with two other travellers, stayed at the San Gallo Palace Hotel in mid-April 2008 as part of our week-long Italian tour (which took in Pisa, Florence, Venice and Rome). We decided to spend three nights in Florence and selected the San Gallo Hotel as the best mix of location (central Florence) and price (approx £125 per night was our budget).

The entire hotel was impressive and stylishly furnished, Our room was larger and more luxurious than we were expecting and the bathroom was very clean with all mod cons. Reception staff were also very helpful (as they were in all Italian hotels throughout our stay) and couldn't have done more in recommending sites to visit and restaurants/cafes to try. Breakfast was included in our stay and was more than adequate (although we heard that the limited evening meal menu in the hotel was less than exemplary)

The only small downside to potential visitors is that the main tourist attractions are 15-20 minutes (pleasant) walk away so this may not be suitable for the elderly (taxis are expensive). Additionally, like many other Italian hotels, soundproofing isn't great so if you are a light sleeper take earplugs or hope that your neighbours are courteous!

All in all, the hotel represents great value for money and I would have no problem recommending it to fellow travellers.

I stayed at the hotel for 3 days in july. We arrived late as we missed are flight (thanks to london underground!). The staff were still awake and very helpful they spoke very good english for anyone who struggles with italian! We stayed in room 205/206 I can't remember it was the room right at the end of the corridor. The room was lovely, tidy, clean and spacious. The bathroom was marble and had a nice big bathtub and and shower. The room was so much more than i was expecting it had a tv, a minifridge, a little dressing room/wardbrobe area lots of nice soft lighting and Aa large table with a mirror and chair. There was also room serivce if you wanted it and breakfast in bed! The aircon worked very well the water was always hot and there was always clean towels. The breakfast wasn't to bad either they had a selection of breads, jams, fruit, yougurts, crossiants, and scramble eggs, sausages and bacon. The tea and coffee was lovely and bought to you fresh by staff when you sat down and they had a selection of fruit juices. The bar had a large selection of drinks and a friendly bar staff we drank there one night and I couldn't believe how much alcohol they gave us in each shot in comparison to at home! The hotel staff were helpful and printed of train and bus times for us, gave us leaflets about bike hire and drew on a little map how to find the supermarket! The hotel is around 15-20 minutes from the town centre so those who dont like walking I wouldn't suggest it! On the first day we walked the long way which took us 20 mintues, but by the same evening we found a much faster way I would suggest gettin a map from the hotel if you dont like walking down little side streets and exploring! The hotel is very easy to find and is actually well located, I was happy to get away from the noise of the centre at night, and we cycled back there for dinner in the evening which was lovely a night cycle through a beautiful city! Overall I loved the hotel great staff and an amazing room I would stay again and again. I would suggest this hotel for everyone I'm only 20 and stayed with my boyfriend and we had an amazing time, we saw older couples their and families this hotel is for everyone!

After I read (great) reviews on Trip Advisor, I chose to spend 7 nights in this hotel. Upon arrival by car, we (me and my husband) were pleasantly surprised - the hotel exceeded our expectations. Although rated 4*, it has some of the five-star hotel amenities. Our room was specious and nicely decorated, bathroom was perfectly clean, window was sound-proof (important for a good sleep after whole day spent on foot), aircondition descrete with fresh air (which is usually not the case), you could even choose the type of the pillow! Breakfast tasty , staff very helpful and kind. Location is quite convinient: hotel is not in the very center, but it's 15 minutes walk to Duomo passing by other interesting spots.... The hotel has its own several parking lots reserved in the guarded garage near by (entrance with the card), but you have to ask when booking because it might be reserved by other guests. Driving in Florence is not recommended and it is not necessary since you can see absolutely everything on foot. If you come by car, driving through Chianti region is highly recommended and it is quite an experience: nature in Tuscany is very beautiful, as well as the well-known local (Chianti) sort of wine which you can try in the various castles you are passing by. If you have GPS, you will not have problem to exit Florence and get the local Chianti SSS2 road (I think it might be difficult to find it without GPS and lots of asking around). We also spent half a day in Sienna - enough to explore this nice preserved medeaval town (but good luck with parking!) and enjoy in excellent espresso at Piazza di Cisterna.

We just got back from a 4 nights stay in florence. We booked a standard room as were pleasantly surprised.

Room: size was as big as a normal superior room in other 4 stars hotel. at first, i was a little concerned when people commented that their rooms were quite small. i couldn't book a superior room with lastminute.com as part of the package. actually, we ended up with a corner room (probably accounted for its good size.)bed was quite firm but fairly comfortable. sound proofing was quite good as well. we had a terrace which was nice in the evening. shame that there were no coffee making facilities though. room looked better than the travellers' photos, they didn't look like the better ones on website photos obviously.

Bathroom: the shower was great! the shower cubicle had these 4 mini shower heads on the side walls and they worked brilliantly as a massager! bathroom was small but well equipped.

Breakfast: was ok, at least it has hot food, cappuccino was good!

Location: as londoners, i have to say that we tend to march than walk. so we deliberately walked slowly, took a good 25 mins to walk to the Duomo. Had we walked any faster, i think maybe 15 mins to the center. we walked everywhere! we were impressed that we managed not to take the cab for once. the trick is definitely to walk slow. we alos noticed that the road seems quite affluent with nice appartments.

By the way, as i recall, somewhere on the righthand side going towards the other end of the road (as hotel is on one end of the road), there is a right turn where there is a russian church with colourful domes which was quite a nice surprise! we also relaxed at the park which is at the end of the road in the evening which was quite pleasant.

Tip: we had lots of ice cream and i recall that the one ice cream place opposite a leather bag and shoes shop) at the corner where the academia gallery queque is, the price was extortionate, 6 euros for this tiny little tub. we learned our lessons and found afterwards that the size we had for 6 euros would be about three euros everywherelse!