Stayed here for two nights on our 17-day Rick Steves' Italy tour. After the lovely hotels in Varenna, the Dolomites, and Venice, we were a bit put off by the scaffolding, lack of a nice hotel sign, the ordinary looking street, and the somewhat forbidding-looking entry area of the building. The hotel itself is one flight up and when we... more

Being approximately 200 m from the Duomo, Hotel California is well located. The Academia is on the same street and a mere 100m away, if at all. Finding it is not too hard considering the unlit neon sign on the facade of the buiding, however, construction scaffolding right in front of it camouflaged it a bit. The entrance is somewhat... more

This hotel is in a great central location! The Galleria delle Academe is right down the street with the Uffizi a few streets away. The rooms are very clean and the staff is very helpful. We spent three nights here and would have stayed for longer if we didn't have to leave. One of the downsides is using the internet... more

We recently stayed 4 nights in this Hotel chosen based on TripAdvisor ratings. It wasn't a bad experience, but I don't think the Hotel deserves the rave reviews others have given. It is in a really central location and not so difficult to find, though having to buzz to get in the locked gate every time you go in and... more

when we saw the entrance we thought uh-oh! this does not look good. but ignore the entrance. Although not very modern the rooms were nice, air-conditioned,very clean and comfortable. Breakfast was fine, the staff were lovely. Friendly, comfy, cosy place, and very good value for what we paid. location could not be better, so central. We will stay here if... more

I've been to Florence a few times before but this time I had only one night there. I wanted something not too expensive, quiet, and close to the city center. Hotel California was all this and more. The owners were very nice and helpful about everything. They've recently done a major refurbishing and everything is new and good-looking. The room... more

Stayed here in October 2005. Two singles and had good sized rooms - city singles usually are very small - with decent bathroom including walk in shower. Looked into internal courtyard that was nothing to write home about. The hotel is on the first floor so the entrance to the street appears uninspiring but what matters is the reception proper... more

We booked weeks in advance but arrived late afternoon (4 ish) due to train poroblems, only to find they had "made a mistake" with our reservation and given away our room. I didn't really belive their explanation of having not written it in the book, or some such. They did make us a coffee while they made arrangements to bring... more

We booked our stay at Hotel California on the day we arrived in Florence thanks to our other hotel "losing" our reservation. What a God send! When we arrived the proprietor was extremely friendly, he gave us a map of the city pointed out all the places of interest and gave us background on what we might want to see.... more