Hotel J & J is a four stars hotel in the very heart of Florence, in one of the most typical and ancient streets, few minutes' walk to the Duomo and all major monuments, sites and museums.
The building was once a convent, and it offers guests the real feeling and peace of the place.
It is a Renaissance Palace in Santa Croce, one of the most historical districts of Florence city centre; it has original frescoes, plasterwork and a beautiful cloister with a well and Doric columns.
The converted hotel has modern facilities, including a nearby parking area.
Its rooms, each different from the next, are all furnished with antiques and hand-woven fabrics; they look out on old roofs and concealed courtyards giving you the feeling of really living in the past.
Some typical guests' reviews:
"This unique hotel was charming, and well-located with a helpful, courteous staff. We loved our spacious room and beautifully renovated surroundings."
"This is a lovely small hotel with an extremely competent and friendly staff. The building was once a convent and it has been lovingly restored. Our room was spacious and our bathroom was fabulous, with a large shower and separate tub, and excellent lighting. The location, near Santa Croce, is excellent. There are many good restaurants within easy walking distance. This hotel is truly a small jewel."
"Superb. Large rooms, nicely equipped and decorated. It's an old convent from the 14/15th centuries so there were ghosts of nuns and a distinct odor of sanctity. When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised. The hotel has a good library in several tongues, a cloister of sorts, and a very competent and friendly staff. I spend 60 days a year in hand-picked hotels and this is one of the best. The nun ghosts are a bonus."
"The hotel is an excellent renovation with each room being totally different. We were allowed to choose from three rooms. The location is quiet but, a long walk from the major shopping areas. It is reasonably close to many historical sites. The hotel staff was excellent in obtaining dinner reservations and museum reservations."
"Florence is expensive; but, if you want to stay at a first class facility, the J and J is excellent. It's within walking distance of everything, quiet, and very quaint."
"Helpful staff, excellent room."
"Delightfull experience. I would certainly return."

General price range per room or suite
Double rooms (Superior & Deluxe Rooms): 200 - 300 euros
Suites: 350 - 450 euros

Website: J & J Hotel in Florence

Hotel Paris is an ancient jewel in the historical centre of Florence, a stone's throw from the Central Railway Station, a few steps from the Duomo, whose huge cupola can be seen from the hotel (see picture), and from all the main sites.
From this beautiful, yet reasonably priced, three stars hotel you can walk everywhere in the central area of Florence.
The palace, originally called Palazzo Venturi, was built in the 16th century, allegedly by the famous architect Buontalenti.
It has magnificent frescoed halls with beautiful stained-glass windows, a loggiata terrace with a splendid view of all major monuments of Florence, a great vault on the second floor, a hanging garden on the first floor.
These and other remarkable features of the palace make staying here a unique experience.
There's a garage near the hotel.
All 59 rooms, including a Presidential Room for 4 people, have en-suite bathroom, air conditioning, minibar, satellite color TV, direct dial telephone.
Some rooms have views of the Duomo.
Overall opinion. Guests have given the Paris Hotel consistently high ratings on all aspects of their stay. This is a summary of guests' reviews:
"The location is convenient to the Duomo, Piazza Santa Maria Novella and the train station. We had a great room: it had a bathtub which isn't very common in Florence hotels and it was very quiet, not facing the street. And we had a view of the Duomo. There was the Festival on San Giovanni complete with fireworks during our stay. We were able to see them from our window."
"This was one of the best rooms we have stayed in during our travels in Europe and The States - spacious rooms, great location, courteous staff, good beds, good view, quiet. The breakfast room is beautiful and they offer a good variety of choices to eat. We used the valet parking for our rental car. The service was extremely convenient and fairly priced (for Florence). I highly recommend this hotel to any travelers staying in Florence. Along with the luxurious feel to the room, the location is very convenient for walks around the town."
"We had an enjoyable two-night stay at the Hotel Paris. The location is excellent. The staff was very helpful, i.e. arranging for rail tickets, museum tickets, etc."

General price range per room
Single & double rooms, including Standard & Superior Rooms: 70 - 260 euros
Triple rooms, including Standard & Superior Rooms: 140 - 330 euros
Presidential Room for 4 people: 200 - 400 euros

Website: Paris Hotel in Florence

Hotel Villa Antea is a superb, very good value luxury five stars hotel 10-20 minutes' walk to all main sights, including Piazza Duomo, Cappelle Medicee and San Lorenzo, and shopping areas.
Villa Antea represents the very finest of Florentine hospitality. The décor of this boutique hotel, a beautiful villa set in its own garden, offers a luxurious atmosphere in the quietness of one of the city centre’s most elegant areas, while the staff guarantees the highest standards of service.
The hotel is 5 minutes' walk to Fortezza da Basso, the S.M. Novella central rail station and the Palacongressi.
Hotel facilities include late-check-out until 3 p.m. on request, gourmet breakfast-buffet until 11.30 a.m., 24-hour reception, valet service between Villa Antea and its garage, complimentary room service & tea-time, menu with specialties from Tuscan cuisine on request, a selection of some of the finest Italian wines and champagnes, personal secretary, business meetings and luncheons/dinners by gourmet catering, personalized Beauty & Wellness programs.
All rooms have en-suite bathrooms entirely decorated with Carrara marble, air conditioning, modem link, minibar (all non-alcoholic drinks complimentary), satellite color TV, walk-in closet, private security box.
Villa Antea has dedicated great attention to every detail: its rooms are luxurious, with the finest antique furniture dating back to Empire and Charles X times and the most beautiful tapestries, extra-king-size beds, De-Luxe-XXL-showers.
Overall opinion. Guests who stayed at Villa Antea have invariably given the hotel the very highest ratings on all aspects of their stay. This is a summary of guests' reviews:
"An oasis in the middle of a hectic city. The staff is curteous and helpful. THe room very modern, with a completely newly refurbished bathroom ensuite. Distance to town worth the walk (20 mins), to avoid the noise of the centre. Would return anytime."
"Wow, what a great place to stay! For context, we are late 20-something professionals (American) living in Europe and travel throughout the continent a lot. This hotel is amazing value and top quality--right down to the Bulgari toiletries. There are probably no bigger en suite bathrooms and showers in Italy. Staff is very friendly and accomodating. Beds are oversized and comfy. Super quiet throughout the establishment. Free, secure parking for about 5 cars. Complimentary scotch & grappa in the first floor sitting room is a great night cap. When we return to Florence, there will only be one place where we'll stay. Hands down our favorite hotel in Europe."
"Villa Antea is one of the best hotels we have stayed. The service was excellent. The rooms are spacious and beautiful. The bathrooms luxurious. Breakfast a treat. There are only few hotels you remember by name and location for years, Villa Antea is one of them."
"Villa Antea is a beautiful place for a very reasonable price. We had a double room that is very spacious and tastefully decorated. The bathroom is huge with a hi-tech shower head. The breakfast was excellent, although sometimes the poor waitperson (there was only one) was so busy that the food was not replenished. The hotel is not in the tourist area, so is quiet. It was only a short walk to the tourist areas (15' to the Mercato Centrale and 30' to Ponte Vecchio)."
"We were warmly greeted by the friendly and helpful staff upon arrival. Our room was much better than expected - high ceilings, elegant furnishings, large walk-in closet, and a beautiful (and huge!) marble decorated bathroom. The excellent gourmet breakfast was held daily in an elegant dining area on the second floor of the Villa. We had a car, but we didn't really need it for the 3 nights that we stayed there. The restaurants, shops, and sights were all within a 10-15 minute walk from the Villa. I cannot stop raving about the professional, friendly, and courteous staff! They provided wonderful sightseeing and dinner recommendations and were never too busy to just chat with their guests. We just came back from our tour of Italy (Asti, Torino, Firenze, Roma, Venezia, and Milano) and I must say that Florence and our stay at the Villa Antea was the best! We have already recommended Villa Antea to our family, friends, and colleagues who are planning to visit Italy. We highly recommend Villa Antea!"
"This property is superb; a beautifully restored mansion in a garden setting. Our room and the breakfast room was elegantly decorated. The personel were very helpful in getting us reservations to the museums."
"We loved our stay at Villa Antea. The facilities are beautiful, the service was outstanding. The only slight down side is that it is a little out of the way. The up side is that it is very quiet."
"We loved the Villa Antea. The rooms were large, clean and well appointed. The bathrooms were the best we had in Italy. The area was quiet and close to the bus stop. We'd definately stay there again."
"Alexandro was very helpful and made our stay excellent. We rented a car and drove to Pisa and Lucca, stayed over in Lucca which was a beautiful place. Firenze is a beautiful city and when we go back, we`ll book Villa Antea again!"
"Excellent quality hotel. Something different in comparison with aseptic big hotels."
"Excellent no others words for this Villa."
"My husband and I just absolutely loved this hotel. The rooms are just absolutely gorgeous, and the service is outstanding. As soon as we arrived, the owner/manager was there to greet us and provided us with complimentary champagne and appetizers. He also called to set reservations for us at a lovely restaurant by the river. Definitely stay here!"
"We really enjoyed our stay at Villa Antea. It offers top value for money. This is the best hotel room I have ever stayed in anywhere."
"The value we received was amazing - however you secured such a great deal, we are very delighted."
"The nicest place we have ever stayed. I will highly recommend it to anyone who is going to Florence. I would go back to Florence just to stay there again. Ultimate experience for honeymooners or couples celebrating an anniversary as we were. The Staff was excellent."

General price range per room
Single & double rooms: 100 - 270 euros

Website: Villa Antea Hotel in Florence

Grand Hotel Minerva is a superior four stars hotel in a dream location in the historical centre of Florence, right in the superb Piazza Santa Maria Novella, yards from the central railway station by the same name.
It is one of the best located and oldest hotels in the city, and part of the Historical Sites of Italy.
The hotel affords breathtaking views of Santa Maria Novella church and square (see right picture), of the Duomo cupola and other Florence landmarks.
This area boasts many typical restaurants, shops and markets.
The hotel is a short walk to all the major attractions such as the Duomo, Uffizi Gallery and Ponte Vecchio, as well as to the exhibition and convention centers.
The hotel has exceptional facilities for a property in the centre of Florence, including a rooftop Panoramic Swimming Pool, Terrace and Solarium with Snack Bar. In the summer you can relax at the edge of a swimming pool located on the top sixth floor and enjoy a 360° view over the city, while refreshing yourself with drinks, fresh fruit juice, blended vegetables and tasty salads from the snack bar.
The Minerva also has indoor and outdoor restaurant with stunning views of the piazza, American Bar, 6 Conference rooms, bike rental with tourist itineraries and special equipment for child transportation, discounts on nearby Golf Club, free Internet point, car parking facilities with valet service.
The hotel has 102 rooms with views onto the Piazza, the Church Cloisters or the internal garden.
Room types are Standard, Superior, Junior Suite, Family Suite and Suite, all spacious and comfortably equipped.
All 102 rooms have air conditioning, minibar, direct dial telephone, coffee/tea maker, safe deposit box, satellite color TV, pay per view, PC/modem connection and centralized music system.
In addition to the Standard facilities, the Superior rooms have complimentary bathrobe, mineral water and cookies. Junior Suites have sitting area and some have Jacuzzi bathtub. Suites have sitting room.
Overall opinion. Guests have given the Hotel consistently the highest ratings on all aspects of their stay.
Some typical guests' reviews:
"Beautiful hotel! Staff friendly, excellent location. Would stay here each time I come to Florence."
"Enchanting nice location, in an historical palace reviewed in a modern key, in the very heart of a gorgeous city. really interesting furnishing and interior. employees truly kind and efficient. high-value restaurant. it worths a stay. wonderful."
"Excellent. At first, I planned to stay 3 nights. But I was very comfortable in this hotel and Florence, so I extended to stay more 3 nights. Every person was friendly but not superfluous, and they completely cleaned the room every day."
"This is an excellent hotel. I have no hesitation in recommending. It's close to the train station and the centre of the city, It's very modern, clean and has a wonderful roof top swimming pool with great views of Florence. This would be a superior 4 star hotel compared to other 4 stars in Florence."
"The Grand Hotel Minerva in Florence is really a good place to stay. It has a good location not only because of the proximity of the train station, but actually most of the main shops, restaurants and sights (monuments and bridges) are within walking distance. The hotel has a good service; although we encountered two equipment failures (electricity and elevator), they were remedied immediately. The rooftop swimming pool is small but nice and panoramic. Overall we do recommend this hotel for Florence visitors."
"My family enjoyed our stay at the Minerva immensely. The staff was very professional, helpful and friendly. The family suite was very comfort for the four of us. The hotel's location near the train station was good for us. I would definitely recommend the Minerva!"
"We found the Hotel Minerva to be an excellent place to stay. The staff were very polite, and helpful. We had a superior room and it was as quoted: spacious and clean. It was exactly the room the hotel told us we'd have."
"This is a truely wonderful hotel. Next time I am in Florance I will stay at the Minerva."

General price range per room or suite
Single & double rooms, including Standard & Superior Rooms: 100 - 350 euros
Suites & Junior Suites: 180 - 450 euros
Family Rooms for up to 4 people: 250 - 500 euros

Website: Grand Hotel Minerva in Florence