The hotel was recommended by close friends. However, we were disappointed. At check-in we were not given much information, and it took us a day to discover that there was a living room with tea and coffee facilities. Our room was okay, but generally "tired," in the sense that we felt it well past its prime. Fittings in the bathroom - including shower screen handles - were broken or missing. Our feeling was that the ground floor and second floor had great character, but that beyond that, it was dated. In addition, with no lift, hauling bags up several flights of stairs was a challenge. The front desk was hit and miss and depended who was on it, with the younger staff most helpful. We did mention to one of these younger people that we were disappointed with the room. Overall, our feeling is that for our next visit to Florence we would probably choose a different hotel.