after a great experience staying in rome in a small renovated villa we thought the classic seemed like another great choice. set in parkland near the marvelous boboli gardens, the classic looked the part at least from the outside. on arrival the receptionist was sceptical we had a booking as it wasn't on his books, even though we showed him the confirmation printout. behind a thin smile he told us quite condescendingly that lucky for us he happened to have one room left, as though he was doing us an incredible favour by letting us stay. this set the tone for the rest of our time there.
tucked up in the roof of the hotel with a small skylight, impossible to see out of, and no other window, the bedroom was spacious enough with a galley bathroom up a short flight of steps. quaint we thought, until we actually had to use it. exposed beams below head height at the basin, and with the shower bay between the toilet and the basin, bumps, slips and bruises are inevitable, especially on a nocturnal visit to the bathroom. i understand that many old places have difficult interior spaces for refurbishment (we normally love the personality of these places), but this space was very poorly managed.
the worst part about the bedroom was the bedspread - so light it sat like a shell over the top of us, slipping and sliding and with an awful texture that felt incredibly cheap and nasty, with a slightly musty smell. we ended up sleeping with our sarongs as cover.
breakfast was a disappointment. someone had obviously complained about it before, as there was a note above the table about not being allowed by italian law to provide food in anything other than pre wrapped portions. i found this odd since all the best places we stayed at took advantage of fresh ripe tomatoes, mozarella and such. Since they served unwrapped bakery, why not some simple, good local produce? surely not more expensive, which i know can be a barrier. it just seemed like an excuse.
the interior holds moments of character and promise (a wonderful wall mural and a pretty conservatory) which raise expectations that aren't ever fulfilled. we saw these in the pictures and were intrigued, but they weren't enough to overcome the real life negatives.
the hotel atmosphere is odd and not in a cool or interesting way - a strange, static vibe that may once have been genteel but now just feels like a charmless veneer. i guess an upside was that in being in the park quite some way from the main attractions, we discovered the beautiful boboli with its mad, faded glory alive and well.
- Classic Hotel Florence
- Florence Classic Hotel
