Park Palace Hotel

Front desk was great! Stored luggage and helping with taxis. Great service. Great breakfast! Don’t sleep on the breakfast with fresh fruit and fresh made latte. Room overlooked pool. Great location to walk to Boboli Park and Pitti Palace. We actually walked all the to Duomo across Arno.

Located in the lush hills outside the city, this hotel is a cozy oasis with a green garden and swimming pool. The airconditioned rooms are nice and tidy with comfortable beds. The staff is friendly and helpful. Breakfast is excellent with a lot of healthy options. We especially liked the balcony were you can enjoy the evening overlooking the garden. Bus stop close to the hotel if your legs are tired, it’s a 30min walk from the city centre.

I would first acknowledge that everyone’s expectations are different, and indeed we all look for different things when booking an hotel. So please don’t write this hotel off just because of my experience. I booked a hotel the was within an easy walk of Florence, which it is, and was affordable relative to other hotels and had car parking. I suppose it was the car parking on site that made me book it and the price- £560 for two nights B&B plus £15 a night for parking. When we arrived I sensed it wasn’t going to be great. The building has that ancient, bordering on run down feel to it. And there used to be the balance - if somewhere looks rustic but is well Maintained and functional that’s great . But if it’s just rustic because it’s received no attention or maintenance for decades then that’s not acceptable to me. Crucially we booked at air conditioned room and the breaking point for me was the 1970s aircon unit that struggled to circulate air and certainly didn’t cool it. The staff tried to convince me it was working but after an hour it was clear the unit was just blowing hot air around the room and everyone had to concede that fact. The one positive was that the hotel didn’t argue when I asked for a refund - the negative being that I had to find a hotel for two nights in Florence after 6pm. For me I would avoid park palace like the plague but if you like run down faulty towers type experiences then this place is for you