The lobby of the hotel is small but clean. It was really easy to find and very close to the train station. It had many restaurant choices right around the hotel and was in close walking distance to many of the sights one may want to see in Florence. The elevator is also very small but was standard for many of the hotels we stayed at in Italy. When I opened the door to my room, #501 I thought it was a little small. I had a single room and I was expecting it to be small so I was ok with the size. It was clean and comfortable. And then I opened the curtain. What did I find? A huge balcony that was larger then the room and had a fabulous view of the city and the Duomo. The room could have been 10 times worse but the balcony would have made up for it. If all you need is a single request room #501. The balcony had a little table and chairs set up on it so that I could just sit outside and overlook the city. Other then that, everything else was average. Breakfast was all right and the staff was very nice. I would recommend this hotel to my closest friends. It also had a great price tag :)

Machiavelli Palace was the last stop of our honeymoon after Paris and skiing in Livigno. We stayed there between 30th Dec - 6th Jan 2006. Since we got there in the last two days of the year, the room was a bit pricey (150 euros per night) considering that the hotel is not very modern and the furniture is slightly worn down. The pluses of this hotel is its central location: close to railway station, there is a open market just round the corner, cheap internet access round the corner, Via Nazionale has good restaurants and you can be in the historic centre of Florence within minutes. If you plan to get out of Florence to go to Pisa, and Siena for ex, it is very convenient. I agree with most of the reviews re; the interior of the hotel. It is in need of renovation. But it was clean and the breakfast was good and abundant. We actually enjoyed brekafast because it was not so common to find such an abundant breakfast in Italy.

We were able to walk to/from the train station with no problems being only a few blocks away. The location of this hotel was excellent. We kept our map with us at all times but was easily able to navigate our way around stopping to ask for directions any time needed. People were very friendly. We did take a morning guided walk of Florence that I recommend doing as it helped us with our berings and was a very efficient way to see the "big" sights and also the David at the Accademia Gallery which is well worth seeing. We took a bus up to the top of Fiezole which was a nice view of Florence and also to Michelangelo Piazza on the far side of the Arno River and that was well worth the short bus ride. Del Vechio bridge was fun and I would have spent more time exploring this side of the river. A wonderful atmosphere day or night and felt safe most of the time......sometimes we ended up in some darker alleys by accident but no problems. Food is expensive but we found some nice finds in the outdoor market for dress and leather coat. My daughter loved it as a fashion major!! The hotel was adequate and clean and we couldn't beat the location.

Stayed here for four nights in September. We rented the Jr. Suite (195 E/night). First keep in mind that this building is from the 1700's. So we expected some dated features. But they note in their literature that it was completely renovated in 1990. Hmm.. almost 20 years ago--and it shows. Sorry to the others, but there really is no charm here--not when it needs so much renovation. Pros-Overall staff was very friendly. Room was large. Did not hear noise from outside. Location is close, easy walk to the train station (good & bad). Room was clean (though they did take my wine glasses from both rooms--never got them back--only inexpensive acrylic ones I bought to travel, but I've never had this problem before.) Cons--Ok, I tried to lead with the good, but I really feel that they are resting on their laurels. This place was a disappointment. Some depends on the room you get. Our friends also had a JR suite and it was better (though not luxurious.) Ours, however was in need of repair. The showers are about 24x24 inches. Really. It's hard for most people to shower in something this small. The bathroom is very small. Toilet, bidet, shower stall and sink. Very cramped--stand in the middle, and you can easily touch all elements without stretching. You do hear the plumbing from the other floors. Mattresses are very firm...some would say hard. The furniture was "distressed". There was only one wardrobe for clothes--no dresser. I'll add pictures showing the damage to the furniture and the lovely contact paper lining the one drawer in the wardrobe. Our Jr. Suite had a large bed & a separate twin bed. Limited electrical outlets (I need to start packing a european plug since this is an issue in a lot of hotels.) Interior walls are thin, so while we didn't hear noise from the street, we did hear noises from the hallway (my partner actually answered someone thinking it was me talking.) Also got a lot of smoke drifting in from someplace. Not sure where, but it was annoying. The air conditioning is close to the door, while our bed was on the other side of the room, so our room never really got cool. Our friends' room, though, had the bed closer to the vent, so their sleeping section was much cooler (see, depends on the room.) The rooms have the "lovely" art that is typical in many Italian rooms--ours had the addition of a small but noticeable hole in it. Breakfasts ranked near the bottom of the ones I've had in the many times I've been to Europe. The coffee, when it wasn't out, was not drinkable. Juice was watered down. There is a bar right across the street where I would get coffee. No Biggie, but really not befitting a hotel calling itself a "palace". :o) TV has one or two English channels-cable came in and out. (not that we watch tv that much, but sometimes it's nice to hear the news.) I tried to find the good--again, very big room for Europe and the staff was very nice. But the discrepancy in the rooms was startling...but none seemed that nice. After multiple times in Florence I feel that this hotel is taking advantage of the tourists . I much prefer Albergo Scoti--a one star pensione that at least has a better price/value relationship, along with charming owners. Bottom line, at about $270 / night, you would never put up with this in NYC. (not that you'd get a room this big for that price...but you'd never pay that for a place that really needed renovations.