The Helvetia and Bristol is the closest luxury hotel to Il Duomo. It is very beautiful and the restaurant is excellent. The rooms are large and comfortable and I think they are all suites or mini-suites.

My wife and I first stayed here in 2002 when we got engaged. We loved the hotel, and the room, with its heavenly bed, linens, and the junior suite was generally speaking of a very high standard. So was the service, as well as the breakfast. This year, we stayed here again. The service was still fantastic, the suite we had booked was clean and also of a high standard, but the bathroom was way too small, lousy water pressure, the bed small and VERY hard. The breakfast buffet wasn't even close to the standard that it was six years ago- plus the new restaurant isn't quite as charming as the restaurant we ate in last time. In general, I'm somewhat disappointed and I don't feel that the price matches the quality anymore...

A little gem in the best location, the Helvetia has extremely friendly and helpful staff. The concierge did a heroic job helping us recover our luggage lost by Alitalia. Our suite was gorgeous. The well functioning air conditioning was a life saver in the stiffling June heat. Breakfast was excellent. The hotel restaurant was very good, but outrageously priced even by high end European standards. If you are looking for a high end experience in a smaller hotel, you cannot do any better in Florence. Grazie Mille, Hotel Helvetia.

The location of the hotel was perfect.It was walking distant to piazza the republica , uffizi gallery, pointe vecchio, ....... The breakfast was very good. The people working at the desk were very nice and helpful, and they were very accommodating ton our request regarding our room selection. We did not use their restaurant because we found it somehow dull. There was a very nice bar to the left of the hotel with a nice atmosphere which we liked a lot .the first room that we were given had a very uncomfortable bed therefore we had to change it. Altogether aside from the old and antique atmosphere I was satisfied with this place.

The H&B is a great choice of you're looking for a hotel in the center of Florence near all the action. It's about 2 blocks off Piazza Della Republica, a 5 minute walk from The Bridge and the river, walking distance to the the Uffizi, Pitti Palance... you couldn't ask for a better location to see the sights. The hotel itself has the atmosphere of a historic property (I think it's been operated continuously since the late 1800's), the staff speaks good english and provides great service, the rooms are large and well appointed but are starting to show some wear around the edges although not yet objectionable. The bathroom are enormous with tub/shower combos and even a bidet if you know how to use one of those things! The beds are comfortable and there's plenty of storage space in the closets. We got upgraded to a corner room and got a welcome plate of fruit since I was a Leaders Club member (join the Leaders Club at LHW.com.) One morning we unknowingly took advantage of the breakfast buffet only to find out when the bill came it was $29 euro. Don't get me wrong it was a perfectly nice breakfast but for nearly $45 US I'd grab something somewhere else. All in, I'd stay here again in Florence. The Savoy is also a great choice. I'd stay at the Savoy if you like a more modern atmosphere and at the H&B if you like the feel of a historic hotel.