Hotel Donatello - Florence

We spent 1 night in this hotel. Building is small and old but romantic. The room was clean and enough. We took breakfast in the garden. Wi-fi is too expensive so we did not use it.

We had a wonderful stay at Hotel Donatello. As a family of four, we booked six nights in a quadruple room in July 2012. We had a beautiful spacious room, with extra high ceilings, overlooking a park across the street. The room was decorated in a lovely Florentine style. The functional air-conditioning in the room was a welcome relief in the hot month of July. The beds were clean and comfortable. The breakfast served was excellent offering a variety of foods. We had no problems with the front desk staff; in fact we found them quite helpful. We were also quite pleased with the location: a walk to the train station, the historic center, a variety of restaurants, grocery stores, and even walking distance to the laundromat! We look forward to returning to Hotel Donatello for our next stay in Florence!

awful service, rude reception - especially Shandra at the front desk. dirty sheets, floor (carpet), and overall.

good relationship between price and quality and the receptionists very competence

WE absolutely enjoyed our stay at Hotel Donatello. The staff were very helpful and friendly. Room was above expectation and very well appointed. We had a balcony room which overlooked the courtyard. Bathroom was spotless and bed comforable with soft clean linen The breakfasts in courtyard were a delight. Good selection of breads, rolls jams etc.Especially loved the croissants. Have to mention the helpfulness at reception in sorting out a complication regarding a forward booking that we had in Rome. They called from reception and sorted it out for me in minutes. I really appreciated that.

Excellent location! Near almost every touristic location in town.

Excellent hotel, nice rooms, comfortable and spacious. Good location

This hotel is in a relatively good location (the only advantage) and close to the central station and the main attractions (within 10 to 15 minutes walk). Even though it is listed as 3-star hotel its services, quality and comfort level is below average and it does not deserve its rating. Breakfast is really poor and basic. Our room was dirty, walls having lots of killed mosquitoes. You can hear all the noise of running water from adjacent rooms. The worst part was the room air-conditioning. You have to call the reception to get it on and off. We also found it very strange/odd that the hotel charged us for each luggage/bag left at the reception due to our late departure from the city.

a very nice old hotel. The room was cleaned and with enough space, the old furniture fitted excellend to the hotel-style. Very kind and competent Hotel service, thank you again for the Reservation of the Museum-tickets. The breakfast was also good. The only little minus point was the cold and loud air conditioning system in the room.

Room 208, 2 nts, Jun 12-14 Great location on park, near train station, Academia for David, shopping at St Lawrence Market, Duomo and Santa Croce, Bridge Vecchio. Great buffet breakfast, nice courtyard, big room with nice bath, old world feel. Great restaurants and cafes all nearby.

this was excellent value - we were given a large family room with a huge bathroom overlooking the park. the size of the room was unexpected in Florence where rooms are often small. The hotel is easy to find, a level 10 minute walk to the main Firenze SMN (Santa Maria Novella) train station but close to the tourist area. The windows in our room were well glazed and kept out traffic noise. We would use this hotel again

Unfortunately the room was dark, the walls were ridiculously dirty! A very depressing room! The admitting clerk stated she was very busy even though we were the only ones standing there. She wanted to keep our passports until she had time to deal with them. We told her we would wait. I do have to say the bathroom was clean so that was a relief.If they clean up and paint the rooms it would be worth recommending. Poor presentation!

The staff are fantastic... The location is not too bad! However it's an old 3 star hotel and it's a bit overpriced for the quality of rooms and facilities. Besides, I was traveling by car and as it there was nowhere to park on street and all garages nearby were closed (it was sunday), the hotel charged me $25 euros a day to park on their permit spot on the street. Ouch.. what a rip off!!!

Very clean, pleasant and comfortable room (superior double). Very helpful and competent, and extremely nice and friendly staff. No shuttle service to/from airport. No free WLAN, but free use of Internet for quick checking issues.

Hotel Donatello was a fabulous stay. We booked a triple and it felt like a small apartment! The location was near Academia and open markets and an easy walk to Uffizi. We had a private terrace that was a pleasant surprise! The staff was very helpful---especially the night staff! The only drawback was that you need to pay for wifi...otherwise one of our best hotel experiences in Italy!

I booked a "double" room, which I expected to have a double bed. Instead, there were two single beds joined together (try cuddling up in the middle of that bollocks). The staff told me that there is no alternative - "they're all like that". A crap surprise. The parking offered by the hotel is very convenient. Breakfast is rubbish - stale pastries and crap coffee. Staff apart from one wonderful and very helpful Russian? gent were snooty and rude. Well located but I wouldn't stay there again given the alternatives in the same area.

The room was nice and spacious and in a decent location, especially if you're coming from the train station. The only thing that caught us by surprise was a 2.50 Euro fee per bag to leave our luggage there the day we checked out. I've traveled all over Europe and have not run into that before so was not happy about it as we had a lot of luggage.

I stayed in a double room. Everything went according to my expectations. The photos matched with the type of room that I was

Convenient location for arriving at the train station and/or from the airport and reasonably short though busy walk to city centre. Facilities were fine, as was breakfast (outside if you want) and the room was spacious but directly above the street with morning/evening noise from traffic. Florence is a wonderful place to explore on foot and plenty of opportunities for eating out.

good location near train station and centre of Florence

I enjoyed my stay at this hotel. Its location is great, close to the city centre. Staff was also nice and friendly, and the hotel has a great value for money. I recommend this hotel.

We stayed in the hotel just for 1 night. There was a lot of hotel for the price we paid. Staff was helpful with questions we asked. Distance from train station is a bit far but it is ok if you don't have a lot of luggage with you; it is still within walking distance to train station. Room space is excellent. Facilities are good particularly for the price you paid.

I went with a group of six people (three couples) and everybody loved the stay at the Hotel. It is near of all the attractions, the staff is friendly, the rooms are big and comfortable and the breakfast is good. So, I indicate the hotel for everybody.

Neither through website neither at the reception I was informed that our room was in the Hotel annexe, at ground floor, near the garden. The room was cold, dark and damp. I was asked to pay for it as I arrived, before seeing it.

excellent situation for this hotel: near the centre but in a quiet area with a square in front of it with games for chidren. we were in a family room for 4 persons. we would recommend it at our friends.

Better than you might imagine from recepsions Located in an excellent quiet area near the center Very clean

A very good hotel, near the centre of Florence (15 min. from dome; breakfast in the garden was "super"; a very large room with old style decor (Botticelli inspirated) and large bath with shower. I was there with my family. To recommend.

The Donnatello is a real find in Florence if you are looking for an inexpensive Hotel and are willing to be a little out of the center. My only knock is the time from the train station is not 60 meters. More like 300 meters. Besides that it was great. Helene traveling with sister.

Room was very small and dark. Staff were very rude, except for one guy, and had no problem arguing even if guests were at the desk. Breakfast was horrific. Noisiest hotel I've ever stayed in, hardly slept with slamming doors, and no carpet on floors, just tiles. I would definitely NOT recommend this hotel to anyone!

This was our first time in Florence and the hotel was in the perfect location. We will definitely stay here again.

clean room and very clean bath room , good water system staff are very friendly the location is not so close to train station (as we though) but however , it's not so far and the hotel is a short walk to galleria the academia and Duomo very nice and cheap Italian restaurants are surrounded (one asian restaurant (cheap and tast very nice) the street from the station is fulled with very nice shop (for shopping)

I had a terrible night in this hotel. The room was such cold, I asked 3 times to check of heater. They kept saying it is automatic electronic system so they could not do anything. I cannot belive how come they left the guest in cold room without apology. The hotel service is awful. I never wonna go again here.

The only drawback is the walking distance from the train station. Schlepping bags a little more than a quarter mile was not fun. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful, so we had that in our favor. That said, the neighborhood was charming, proximity to everything we wanted to see was comfortable walking distance, even across the Arno, and we would choose this hotel again.

We had a large room with a private balcony (3rd floor) -very quiet setting. Hardwood floors. Very nice. Breakfast is a bit cheap: Machine made coffee (tea)...(other hotels offer expresso machine coffee why not Donatello?). The quality of the bread is poor (white and tasteless). Staff is multi-lingual (English and French) and friendly. Overnight parking in the street is an issue. The hotel charges 25 euros/day at a remote facility...

EVERY YEAR IS BETTER THAN LAST YEAR . THE TRIPLE BED ROOM WAS EXCELLENT,SPACIOUS AND BEAUTIFULLY DECORATED .

We stayed here for 5 nights and found the hotel very comfortable and quiet. It is a 6-7 minutes walk from the railwaystation.

El hotel nos ha sorpendido, con habitaciones amplias, limpias y con aire acondicionada. El desayuno era agradable incluyendo café, zumos y bollería. En nuestro caso teníamos reservadas una habitación triple y una doble. Y la triple era inmensa. La situación del hotel es también idónea a un 1 km de la estación de trenes y autobuses y a 10 minutos del centro.

This was excellent accommodation at a reasonable price in a convenient location. Some of the staff tended to be brusque but this didn't detract from a very pleasant stay. The directions coming from S.M.N. station need to be updated as the hotel is a lot further than 60 metres (more like 600 m).

Very romantic hotel, clean and spacious rooms, good location, breakfast could be better!

OTTIMO HOTEL MOLTO PULITO L'UNICA PECCA E' LA COLAZIONE MOLTO SCARSA,BISOGNA APETTARE IN FILA PRIMA DI ANDARE IN SALA E TI DANNO UN TAVOLO MOLTO PICCOLO PER TRE PERSONE

Very romantic and clean hotel very close to the historic center of the city of Florence.You can go everywhere by feet. The breakfast was excellent but the room of the restaurant very small.The only "problem" was the parking but anyway you don't need the car during your staying there.

Good Morning Venere Herewith is a copy of my letter I am sending today to Mr. Sebastiano Messina: Dear Mr. Sebastiano Messina We write to thank you and all your hotel staff for the excellent service we received at the Hotel Donatello during our 9 day vacation to celebrate our 43rd Wedding Anniversary. It was very kind and thoughtful of your Manager, Renato Campestrina and your front desk staff, the very charming Manola Staderini, in arranging for my wife and I, due to our length of stay, to have a choice of either room 202 or 212. Our choice of room 212 was excellent being spacious, peaceful, overlooking the garden and having the most beautiful frescos on the ceiling. All your hotel reception staff was at all times very kind and helpful. Adriano the gentleman of many languages together with Bahrum of the night service, and Kevin sometimes of the night and dining room services, were in their own way always ready to provide excellent professional advice and guidance in a very pleasant manner. We make special mention of the excellent morning breakfast and the dining room service. Your very efficient Lonneke and the super energetic Rosa were wonderful, always ready to greet customers with a friendly smile, each always working very hard to ensure the service ran smoothly. Your room service staff Francesca, Giovanna, Tina and Eva at all times carried out their room servicing duties in a very efficient, quiet and pleasing manner. We appreciate that there are other hotel staff who work behind the scenes that do not come into contact with hotel clientele. We place to the record our recognition and thanks for their work contribution which helped make our stay at the Donatello a very happy and successful occasion. We confirm that should we plan to return to Firenze at some future date, we shall without doubt, seek to join you and all your staff and stay at the Hotel Donatello. We thank you again and wish you every continued success for th

Nice spacious room. located close to the places of interest. Parking expensive. Bar drinks expensive and no space downstair to enjoy the drinks

The web page remarks "60 metres from train station " and it is located aprox at 800 metres. We chose the hotel because of ubication very CLOSE to station and that was NOT TRUE. When I claimed about that the evening concierge just smiled, and told us to tell the morning guy, to change the web. They did not reward or reimburst a cent because of that. It is not clear that internet wifi is not free of charge and it is VERY expensive. The breakfast is POOR, and the lady in charge is not polite and speaks VERY loud. Very unpleasant. I chose also the hotel because it integrates Confort Hotels and I HAD good experiences in other cities. This is not the case. I would never come back and I don´t suggest others to do. I will tell everybody coming to Florence not to go to this hotel.

Great location and well presented hotel. Certainly one of the nicest for a lower end budget. The check-in staff were not overly friendly - we speak limited Italian, but at least tried. But that wasn't a real problem, the lack of sleep was. We were on the ground floor and everything echoed severly do to the tiled floors in the foyer. Even with ear plugs we couldn't win this problem. Maybe upstairs is better. Great location (close to the railway station but away from the "nasties" of that area, and walking distance to all the main attractions, quiet from the road noises overlooking a park), well presented, lovely looking rooms & ensuites, and good breakfasts. Definately good value, just check you are not in a ground floor room - it will ruin your stay otherwise. The only reason I have given the hotel an overall rating of 7 is due to the noisy rooms which I gave a 3. Otherwise this hotel would be an 8 or 9 out of 10.

A real beautiful experience!

everything ok. weather was helpful. Distance from station was wrong indicated: 15 minutes from station (not 60 metres).

Really quite area a little far from the crowded Florence center. For the first time, the room was better of the picture on the web; this was very nice, quite and clean. Ten minutes walk to the center. Price low for the city and the quality, maybe for the period not so full of tourist? However the best 3 * where I have been.

We have stayed at Donatello, in Firenze for four days, enaugh to visit the town. the hotel was near the train station and close to many good restaurants and Duomo .The room was very big and confortable and the staff were so nice.

Sarà sicuramente l'albergo d'appoggio per le mie future visite a Firenze. Bellissima la camera mansardata! Lo consiglio caldamente a chiunque cerchi un ottimo rapporto qualità/prezzo, tranquillità e grande cortesia da parte del personale.

The room was clean, reasonably furnished and spacious. The hotel is reasonably central, within easy walking distance of the railway station and tourist attractions. My ground floor room was very noisy, day and night, from noise within the hotel. The room was also infested with mosquitoes (even in October) so I did not get much sleep. The air-con switched off at around 10pm and did not come back on until the morning. Breakfast did not start until 7:30 - far too late for the business traveller.

Nice location in a quiet piazza, only about 5 minutes walk from attractions. You have to pay to park. I would go there again.

En general, el hotel bien, pero el desayuno era un auténtico desastre. Escaso y malo y, además sin un solo camarero. Además, el comedor era muy pequeño y sin apenas luz. Por otra parte, insistían en no dar más que una llave-tarjeta por habitación, con la excusa de la seguridad, lo que limita los movimientos. Si se dejan dos documentos de identidad ¿por qué no se dan dos tarjetas? Absurdo e incómodo.

The room was very beautiful, and my wife and I enjoyed our stay here. The English speaking member of the staff was a bit abrupt when we were trying to register us as he couldn't figure out our last name and got frustrated and dismissive instead of just asking for our passports but the others were quite warm. Also not a complaint but if the weather is warm, leave the windows CLOSED. The mosquitoes about ate us alive. You can hear your neighbors but there was no noise late night and we brought earplugs anyway so we weren't bothered.

Tuvimos una agradable estancia en este hotel sobre todo porque se encuentra en un buen lugar, frente al jardin y cerca de la estacion de tren, teniendo acceso caminando al centro de Florencia.

Very interesting and nice decoration in the guest room. Large room but very little sound isolation between rooms. Please correct map since hotel is located in the opposite corner of the park.

The Hotel Donatello sits at one edge of the Plaza di Independenza, which is far less grand than it sounds and quite difficult to find by car. We were lost for over an hour trying to find it. The street beside the hotel is Santa Caterina and then called Nazionale a few blocks later. Parking for the Donatello (25 Euros a day) is a short two blocks away at a partner hotel. We were three (parents and teenage son) and our room at The Donatello (#304) was huge, more than 14ft x 20ft, with comfortable beds, large tiled floors, a good sized bathroom, and a shuttered window that opened onto busy Santa Caterina. Breakfast was ample but crowded. Nearby are the open market at San Lorenzo (some bargains but hordes of unlicensed African street vendors everywhere else take much of the fun out of it). There are many affordable restaurants near the hotel, including I Brincello, recommended in guidebooks but filled with locals; we three each had excellent fixed price meals there.

It is a good hotel for the money. Good location and walking distance to the railraod station (Ferenze S.M.N.). Quiet and good rooms. Descent breakfast. The hotel advertises internet connection but they really don't have any. I would use this hotel again if I do not need the internet connection.

We stayed at the Donatello for 3 nights. The rooms were spacious and clean. The only complaints I would say was that our room was at the end of the hall by the exit and the door traffic was loud, but the biggest complaint was that the heat was controlled by the front desk and we had to ask several time to have it turned up. It was very cold in the room the whole time, not the best thing when the flooring is made of tiles.

The only bad thing I could say about the hotel is that the personel was not that good. They seemed tired and bored. The breakfast was not something special. However, I think the value for money is quite high.

La stanza era nella parte interna della struttura, quindi priva di rumori dall'esterno.Ma i problemi erano i rumori dall'interno: si sentivano tutti i vicini parlare o guardare la TV, inoltre per tutta la notte continui rumori di tubature d'acqua e condizionatori centralizzati. Una tortura cinese, tick tock ,tick tock.In un hotel io voglio fondamentalmente dormire!Qui purtroppo non ci sono riuscito. Stanza con belle decorazioni, tavole a vista, ma piccola per il prezzo pubblicato.

Very good hotel, I was very satisfied. One remark: no Internet access, but many internet shops in the area

This was a very nice hotel right across the street from a park. It was about a 5-10 minute easy walk from the train station and about a 10-15 minute walk to the Duomo. I had requested a quiet room which we got and enjoyed. We didn't really care that there was no view at all from the window. We were in the new section of the hotel which wasn't that close to the entrance and breakfast room, but that didn't bother us. The room itself and the bathroom were very nice. In fact we reserved a room for my 20 yr. old son on the floor right above us and he loved it! Breakfast was very adequate - rolls, croissants, ham and cheese, cereals, juice and a coffee/tea/etc. machine. (No fresh fruit though, which was advertised). The front desk was helpful if you had a question or needed a recommendation for a restaurant. All in all it was a great hotel and the price was good, but, since we were there for 6 nights, I would have liked to be a bit closer to the Duomo area. But my husband and son didn't mind at all. Lots of walking!! PS. Jesse, who is listed as the reviewer, is my son. However, I, his mom, Shelley, is the actual reviewer!

Hotel not quite as nice as pics but more than adequate for the price. Ideal location for walking to center square, Duomo, Uffizi, etc. Breakfast good. Be aware that if you ask the proprietors to get you tickets for any of museums they will charge you a service fee. You can easily get them yourself thru phone or internet or day before if not busy season. Close to train station.

The Donatello was by far the best hotel we stayed at in our Italian vacation. Rooms, staff, cleanliness, breakfast were all superior. The hotel is on one end of the Piazza Independenza, a lovely park. It is located close to the rail station. Only minutes to walk to the Duomo, the Mercato(shopping heaven), the Uffizi gallery and of course the Ponte Vecchio bridge. Across from the rail station are bus stops for various tours to surrounding cities in Tuscany. Everything was convienently close. There were several restaurants or cafes close to the hotel. I would recommend the hotel to anyone.

The decorative painting on the bedroom walls was a good way to welcome us to colourful Florence. It was a surprise to see the actual room rate on the wall and compare it to the great discount we received by booking with Venere. We found Hotel Donatello a good location and a restful place to go after a busy day.

We chose Donatello because of the good ratings given by others previously. The hotel turned out to be a disappointment. We stayed there for 3 nights, but the aircon did not work in the first 2 days/nights, so that we had to keep the windows open - which would not be a problem if there were no mosquitos flying into the room. The hotel's explanation that the room was new and that the aircon's breakdown was not previously discovered is hardly credible, given that there was ready a dead mosquito stuck on a toilet wall at the time we moved in. The staff are generally unfriendly, but the man at the reception in the PM/evening shift was helpful. The hotel's checkout time is 11 am. If you wish to explore Florence further after checkout and want to leave your luggage in the hotel for a few hours, be prepared to pay 2.5 Euro for each piece per day, including hand luggage. We don't know whether this is the practice of hotels in Italy, but we left our luggages at Express by Holiday Inn in Rome for 2 days during our short trip to Capri and EHI did not charge us anything.

wonderful hotel not too far from train station and within easy walking distance of all major attactions in Florence - our room had a small balcony overlooking the courtyard where we could gather to share a bottle of wine - the rooms were clean and very quiet at night - a great bargain for the price - good continental breakfast each morning

We had a very pleasant stay- the hotel was great: very central but not too noisy, high standard for the offered price!!If we come another time we shall stay there again. The breakfast-room was quite small and narrow but that wasn`t a real problem. Highly recommended!

Great hotel and in walking distance to most sites in Florence. The hotel is only a year old so everything seems brand new. The rooms surroundign the courtyard were very nice. The only draw back I found was that the area right around the hotel was a bit seedy on your way to St. Marias. However, if you head directly left from the plaza towards St. Mark's square you are in a nice area in only a few minutes.

Very nice, modern hotel in a good location. Don't arrive at rush hour like we did as it can be a bit tricky to find! Beware - parking outside, it looks ok but it is a towaway zone. Park briefly outside and ask reception for something to put in the windscreen while you unpack. Hotel parking fees are 32 euros for a day in their car-park! Parking everywhere here is expensive. They offered us parking at the Royal Hotel a few minutes away for 20 Euros which was fine. Nice hotel, but a bit impersonal as these city hotels tend to be.

Hotel staff were very helpful. Photos on the web did not do justice to the actual rooms - the rooms were even nicer when we got there. An excellent 3 star accomodation. is in a great area of the city, easy walking to the main shops, very close to the market -for great leather goods.

A well located stately building overlooking park, centrally located to famous sights of Florence and restuarants. I would highly recommend this hotel.

Excelente atención de los empleados. Se puede expresar en castellano sin problemas. Gran problema de aparcamiento en la zona (¡ojo alquiler de coches!) solo para residentes con el consiguiente "sablazo" en Parking. Desayuno correcto, quizás poco variado. Bonita y limpia habitación. En general, MUY RECOMENDABLE. No tengo ningún problema en volver a alojarnos en el hotel.

I would appreciate better breakfest (yoghurt, fruit, vegetable)

The hotel was beautiful and very well located. Maybe the staff could be a bit better but the rooms and everything else were so good it made up for it. I would recommend it. The price was also very good.

Beautiful hotel for the beautiful Florence. I can only recommend this hotel to everybody.

We were genuinely welcomed by the manager and his staff, who even provided transport for us to the airport at the end of our stay. Their advice re what to see in town was inavluable.

The hotel staff is more than helpful. Location is in a quiet residential area with a park just outside. I would stay here next visit.

Hotel within walking distance of most of sights.rooms excellent for price.breakfast room pleasant but a little too cramped.staff were pleasant but not as friendly as previous hotel in Rome.would stay there again on return visits

The hotel is ideally situated for access to railway and bus stations and the centre of FLorence. Accommodation was clean, comfortable and well equipped. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Value for money could not have been better. If we return to Florence we would gladly stay at Hotel Donatello

I left some items in the room and had great difficulty finding a phone number to contact direct (unresolved)