My wife and I stayed at the Baglioni for five wonderful nights in May. Florence is one of our favourite cities and so we were looking for an hotel that would provide a pleasant experience and memories. Ideally positioned near the railway station on a piazza but still in easy walking distance to all the major attractions. Our room was so four star standard, perfectly clean and maintained. More than comfortable and everything we needed. Breakfast almost became a highlight for two reasons. The breakfast room is on the top floor with large windows. The view across the rooftops to the Duomo is magic. Then add to this the most delicious scrambled eggs served in the world. I am going to write and try and get the secret recipe! Yes! next time we return to Florence we will be staying at the Grand Hotel Baglioni. And so should you.

Medieval as in it seems like it was built in the 1100s and has had few updates since then . . . . We stayed at the Baglioni as part of a Club ABC Tour. Our room was apparently one of the least appalling of any on our tour. First, at least four couples on our tour had to have their rooms changed due to the "sewage" like smell (think Castle moat). Second, another couple had to have their room changed because they were initially given rooms under the kitchen, which opened late and closed early (as in 1 or 2 in the morning). In fairness, after everyone converged (en masse) on the front desk, rooms were changed. I suspect they treat tours like second class citizens unless anyone complains. Our room. Well, it was actually cavernous by Eureopean or even American standards. The ceilings were 11-15 feet. The floors, hardwood, with "soft spots" concealed by clever rugs. I felt like Indiana Jones when I got up to use the bathroom - a wrong step and I would fall through to the lobby. The decor was "antique" and musty. We were on the second floor, off the main street leading the the train station. Let me tell you, people do not sleep in Florence and there seems to be a lot of police activity at 3 in the morning. Bottom line: Very loud. I will say this, we were close to everything. Minutes to the Duomo and inexpensive shopping in the Mercato di Pulci (flea market) right around the corner. You can walk anywhere. But, if you are interested in fine art and you want to see the Uffizzi, then you absolutely must make a reservation in advance! Service was . . .different. First, for some reason the further North you go in Italy, the more interested they become in how you speak Italian. Trying to speak Italian isn't enough. The concierge would actually not respond to me unless I conveyed my desires in flawless Italian (I think he was trying to egg the American on). Second, our maid left her cell phone in our room while she was cleaning and came back in (without knocking) while I was sleeping to retrieve it. This was not seen as any big deal. I cannot say anyone was rude, but I like the service in Rome much better. I would not recommend staying at this hotel to anyone.

To be honest, I'm astonished at some of the negative reviews about this hotel - our stay was fantastic. The hotel was once a palace and IS an old building. This means that it is full of character, charming, comfortable and has lovely touches like the huge, wood-pannelled ceilings. Medieval it is not. The reception is lovely and the location of the hotel couldn't really be much better, being just a short walk from the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Via Tornabuoni and also the station for trips. The bedroom was large and had a lovely wood tiled floor. The bed was really comfortable and the air conditioning meant that it wasn't stuffy. The bathroom was really nice and clean, and had nice toiletries. The room was generally quiet and there was no noise at all from outside. In fact, the only noise came from coach parties (from a certain part of the world), who seemed to forget that other people might be asleep at midnight and talked loudly and banged doors in the corridor. My particular favourite was the night I was awoken at 1am by the sound of Willie Nelson songs really loudly from the next room!! Scary. The restaurant was beautiful and had a stunning view over Florence. We ate out on the rooftop terrace one evening, which was lovely for a romantic meal. The food was top notch, both at dinner and breakfast, and there was a wide range of choices. The steaks at dinner were incredible. We found all of the staff to be really friendly, both on reception and in the restaurant. The concierge really went out of his way to help us out, booking tickets by phone for the Uffizi and Academia for us, and even phoning our resort rep to check something for us. As with many things, you get back what you put in. A little politeness never hurt, and I've always found that a smile and a 'please' and 'thank you' in Italian goes a long way. They really do appreciate it if you try a few words, and your efforts will be rewarded. Be rude or abrupt in Italy and you'll get it straight back , and quite rightly so. Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to go back. They made us feel really welcome and I couldn't find much at all to fault.

I had a wonderful 4 day stay in this Hotel and found it to be excellent. The position is ideal for the railway station and bus trips but also very close to the major sites. The bedroom was kept clean by a very efficient cleaning staff. The staff in the Hotel were courteous, helpful and anxious to please. Breakfast was more than ample and the view from the top floor dinning area is just sensational. I have no complaints whatsoever.

Stayed 2 nights as part of a tour. An old hotel (around 1910) but very well re-furbished in recent years. The original architect must have had a sense of humour, or crumpled drawing paper, as the internal corridors to rooms go up/down/around and provide quite a combination of possible routes, but this adds to the charm of the place compared with the many modern hotels based on repetitive designs of austere grey blocks lacking character or interest The rooms also have character but probably wouldn't appeal to the more fastidious, sanitised travellers who fear stepping out of their plastic wrapped cocoons into Europe and cringe at the thought of a cracked tile or the possibility of a few germs The rooftop restaurant has stunning views of the many centuries of Florence's architecture and provides an excellent buffet breakfast and good evening meals. Location is also excellent - easy walking to all the main sites and within 5 minutes by a subway from the railway station The hotel is popular with people from many countries, particularly America - which tends to up the noise level and give surreal sights such as discovering an American in full Stetson and Cowboy Boots (I assume this was his rather unfortunate take on dressing to blend in with the local population ?) in the reception area. But such misfits lacking any understanding the country they are visiting all add to the amusement for the locals. On the downside, the porters apparently lack a job description which says they should actually move luggage - they refused to carry bags to our coach (a mere 30 yards away)- and insisted it moved closer to the hotel, thus causing even more disruption to the local traffic, but other staff were well trained and efficient.