We stayed just outside of Florence is a little town called Bagno a Ripoli for our June 2004 visit. Centanni is just beautiful perched amoungst rolling Tuscan hills of olive groves and Cyprus trees. My husband and I stayed in room 52, a two room suite. This room was originally suggested as a family suite and I am so glad the prices were low enough that I nixed that idea as it would have been rather small for the 3 of us. My son had the room below, number 54. It was charming (to the point we almost wanted to exchange rooms with him.) It had a sunken bedroom area and with the tile floors, was quite cool and inviting. (Though I liked 52 as well - you could see Florence from our window.) There is a laughable golf course and a swimming pool, but mainly it is so tranquil and away from the tourist laden city! In addition, the hotel restaurant is a spectacular place to dine and my son insisted the best Gelato he ever had. For those nervous about staying outside of Florence without a vehicle, there is a bus at the end of the driveway, number 33 bus that take you directly into the city, very near the Galleria dell Accademia. If you miss the stop, the next one is just half a block away. We never had a problem getting to and from the place using the public transportation system. The staff was extremely friendly and accomendating. In the winter - they offer cooking lessons. The next night we ate at La Gargotta, located on Via Vicchio e Paterno, 19, Rimaggio, Bagno a Ripoli. This simple Trattoria has a covered terrace on the opposite side of the road, which in warm weather, is just lovely, as the view looks out over the Tuscan valley and very picturesque church is just down the hill for those sunset shots. Truly, the lemon ravioli was the best meal we had in all of Italy. I am so happy we opted to stay out of the city for this visit to Florence!