Hotel Universo - Florence

Fantastic position for exploring Florence. Nice hotel design. Friendly staff.

Clean & good quality design room

Excelente stay and the location is superb, on the Santa Maria Novella square e very near the train station.

They have dıfferent rooms, ıf they gıve the room which is upper and looks to the front you are lucky, otherwıse I don^t suggest this hotel

Bedside/reading lights would not turn off and on separately, and (like most hotels) provided pretty poor light for reading. You could use those little spotlights that attach to the beds or wall, and if you want to read in the middle of the night, you can do so without waking your partner. They are available at Ikea, and cost very little. Breakfast was terrible. Tables full of remains of other guests' breakfasts. On both days of my stay there was a shortage of either cups or glasses or plates or coffee or bread. Reason was probably not enough staff. And there can be no excuse for that.

Perfect everything

The hotel was new, very good interior design, the breakfast was excellent, the location was excellent, just between the train station and the center of the city. We have walked all the time, including with luggage. The hotel is in front of a beautiful pedestrian square. The front desk people was not very kind and they don't know anythig about what is happening in Florence that coud interest us, specially about music events and about excursions to neighborhoods.

It was in a handy location. All the attractions were within walking distance. Room was very spacious with 2 adults and 2 grown children age 15 & 16. Clean sheets and bathrooms

Good Location, all sightseeing places and main train station are within walking distance. The hotel staff have upgraded us for a better room. Room design is speical and clean.

Pros: Located near Santa Maria Novella train station and several tourist attractions. Quiet building. Friendly employees. Breakfast was included. Cons: Rooms are very dark, not a lot of lighting. Our room was a bit dusty.

It's a nice hotel, we really enjoy our stay there. If I go to Firenze again, I'll definitely live this hotel again.

Very sleek and modern accomodations close to all main attractions. Within walking distance to the bus and train.

The ubication of this hotel works pretty well when traveling by train and the best is that a church is right in front of the hotel so the area is so safe and quiet! excellent hotel!congratulations

I really liked this hotel, thinking best value considering price/quality I ever experienced over the world. It was very cozy accommodation but they kindly booked the museums and their morning cold buffet tasted very nice; I found big differences vs. the other hotels we stayed this time in Italy, and of course, rooms are nicely cleaned as shown on the website. If you do not demand too much, I surely would recommend this hotel since it is minimal but perfectly answering accommodation from any perspectives, I believe.

The advantage is only near from the station. The noise always ..the outside and other rooms.. does and is annoying. Straightening and the window where the room of facing and the position of the window are the same cannot be opened and it is dark. A double room was felt considerably narrow even all alone by me. I want never to use it in this amount of money when seeing in total.

Location wise I would give it a 10 ... very near the train station and all major sites to see. However, we find the room and corridors poorly lit giving you a feeling of uneasiness and difficulty. Our room was spacious but inadequately lighted forcing us to open our windows exposing us to the building across us. The noise of the toilet beside or above us kept me & my daughter awake 2 of the 3nights of our stay. We could hear almost everything from the toilet & closing/banging of doors by our neighbors. Breakfast buffet was ok however, replenishment of food was VERY SLOW ... obviously to prevent guests from getting more... which I take as discourtesy to their clients. This is a no-no! They need to improve on these negatives.

Hotel Universo is in the perfect location and everything is walking distance. The staff is very friendly and helpful!! It was a little noisy but the hotel was booked. The breakfast could be a little better.

The website said it was across from the railroad station, but we had to stop in a tourist information office for clear instructions. There is a whole lot near the station! It was actually down one of several streets leading away from the station. The hotel itself is small but acceptable. The biggest problem was that it was noisy. Because there was no air conditioning we had to have the windows open, and so did everyone else whose window opened onto the air shaft. We were painfully aware of every door that slammed, of toilets flushing, and of more intimate activities in the middle of the night. In addition the church across the street rang its bells regularly in the morning and evening. We stayed in Florence for a day and a half, and 2 nights.

Location was excellent especially for train travellers. It was wonderful to be on the square with the beautiful St. Maria Novella Church and watch the activities on the square. It was walkiing distance to all the sites of the city.

The breakfast is a little bit less of choice.

Over all the place is nice and clean. However, the staff is not that friendly. Very close to the train station.

My room was double and was very close to eleveator, because off that was a lot of noise in the night. In general it was a good service.

That is a really nice and top designed hotel in the middle of florence for small budget. enjoy it!

The rooms are very clean.looks newly renovated which is a plus point. location is excellent as well.

I chose this little modern hotel for its location close by the railway station at the restaured Piazza Santa Maria Novella and was fully satisfied. The only thing I would complain about is the darkness of the room (Dark colours & just two small lamps). Also, my room was in the annex and the lift doesn't go up there: There is still one flight of stairs to go. Luckily, somebody of the hotel helped me to carry my very heavy luggage up. I am sure I will use this hotel for my next (short) stays again.

Very close to the station. Lovely square and church of Santa Maria Novella. Nicely decorated rooms.

The location of this hotel is very good. Just a block from the station and a short walkingdistance to most of the sights. Many restaurants in the neighbourbood. Breakfast was very good.

This was our second visit to Florence. The first time it was just my wife and I, this time we brought my two sons. First the location is great. It is 5 minutes from the train station. From the hotel it is an easy walk to anything you wish to see in Florence. The hotel seemed to be recently redone. It has a modern look and feel to it, bright colors and lots of chrome. The breakfast area was clean with a large LCD big screen TV. There were a good amount of choices; the coffee was made fresh no machine. The room we had was large for Europe. Dark hardwood floors, large LCD TV. Nice bathroom, with a standup shower over grates. The people were nice, not overly friendly. If you are going to be in Florence for a day or two this would be a great choice.

Our room overlooked Plaza Santa Maria Novella and had a wonderful view of the Plaza. The room was large, modern, quiet and very clean. The breakfast was very good (Italian Style).

A Lovely hotel well situated and close to train station. Staff were friendly and spoke excellent english. Room was well sized and included a mini bar fridge, though the prices of the drinks were over priced, but that's the price for convenience (we just kept our own drinks inside). I loved the decor and found the beds to be cozy and comfy. The best part about this hotel was probably the breakfast, amazing spread for a continental, for me it was more like a breakfast buffet. The internet was a bit expensive to use (5 euros/30min), but you did however get to use new macs. If that makes up for the price. My parents from canada loved the hotel and even thanked me for finding such a gem for such a great price.

Great location near train station and on St M Maggiore square- but a little noisy. Easy walking to everything. Family room was good- 2 twins and a queen, but we had to ask for extra linens. Front desk was helpful. Breakfast area and staff were overwhelmed.

A good location & helpful staff. However, the air conditioning did not work and it was hot. We could not leave the window open as it had been raining and there were mosquitoes. The breakfast was not as good as other less expensive places.

We stayed in the hotel for 3 nights in June, 2009. The hotel is located near the bus terminal and the railroad station - very convenient. The room was clean and comfortable, and the breakfast was more than adequate. The staff spoke English, and they were friendly. The room rate was competitive and was good value for the money. The hotel is close to all the major tourist attractions offered by the city of Florence. We would stay in this hotel again, and we would definitely recommend the hotel to other travelers.

We stayed for 3 nights in this hotel, loved the included breakfast with one of the best hot chocolate I've tasted. The rooms were large and nicely decorated but a little on the dark side. We were surprised however to find our room was located between the lift. To access our room we had to climb up one flight of stairs from the location of the lift. Weird! Location was excellent, however poorly represented on the map. It was actually beside the Sta. Maria Novella church, not exactly opposite the train station, so we had difficulty finding it at first. But all in all, excellent location, just 1 block away from the Duomo. Bathroom was okay but when we arrived the shower door was damaged, they did send somebody to fix it the next day. On our last day of stay, the elevator was malfunctioning, at least they sent somebody to bring our bags down, but poor guy, he had to carry all of it down 4 floors. Despite all these, we enjoyed our stay in this hotel and we absolutely loved Florence.

We arrived late and were given a very small, airless room. However the next day we asked to change our room and we were moved to a much larger brighter romm with terrace. The hotel is clean and the staff most polite and pleasant, especially in the breakfast room.

It's a good thing we stayed in May when the air was still cool bec. the air conditioner in our bedroom was broken. i reported it twice but both times they just came in the room and tried "fixing" by changing the temp on the AC controller. no technician was called in nor were we offered a different room. in the end i just opened the big windows. unfortunately with it came street noise and fierce mosquitos. the apology from the personnel came the day after when we were about to leave the hotel. the room itself was very pretty in an artdeco style. bathroom was nice and clean as well. that broken AC and the not-so-helpful personnel were the only negative parts about the stay as everything else was nice. perfect location (5 min walk from train station), great breakfast buffet, 10 mins away from the merkato and great restaurants. i wish their internet was free though like those in Spain.

La ubicación es excelente. El desayuno es muy bueno pero el espacio es reducido.La habitación es muy linda.

We stayed in a double room facing the square the size of bathroom was the only thing that let it down easy access to the sights of florence great pizzeria next door and reasonably priced

It's the best hotel we stayed during our italy trip. Reasonable price provided this excellent quality. The room is great. It's very tidy and clean. And the view from the room to the church side is our favouite for the room. I would stay there again for our next trip there.

Hotel Universo was great! The rooms were nice with modern decor and breakfast was included. My only complaint was for the front desk staff that didn't assist us much when we asked for reservations to be made to see the Uffizi. Mind you the reservation service was offered to us the night before but apparently the man at the desk was too busy to actually book the reservation come the morning of. He actually turned us away! I was majorly disappointed with this. The elevators are small, but this is a standard in Europe. Otherwise it was a fantastic stay and the hotel was close to the Duomo, the train station, shopping and restaurants.

El horel esta bien ubicado, cerca de la estacion, pero fue un poco confuso encontrarlo pues la calle e direccion hacia el se divide en dos y no hay clariadd de esto en el mapa. Llegamos despues de la hora anunuciad como check in y las habitaciones no estaban listas, pero guardan las maletas hasta que regreses nuevamente. Los especion con una decoracin modernas y agradable. La habitacion amplia,limpia y comoda. El baño esta bien, es limpio y ducha pequeña. El desayuno es bien. Fue una estadia agradable. El precio un poco alto para lo que pague por otras ciudades de europa

We only spent one night at universo. It was funky and clean. Our room overlooked the square, which was beautiful in the evening but very loud in the morning. No other complaints.

I'm almost satisfied with this hotel. Only one thing that a table right was'nt work inspite of change the bulb!

This hotel is funky modern and cool. there were only 2 problems I encountered. My balcony door would not close completely and, not only did it leave me with a slight unsafe feeling, it was february and the bed was right next to it, so I slept with a cold breeze coming in all night. Also the shower curtain perimeter is not very wide so If you pull the curtain shut you have a cold curtain sticking to your body at every turn while you are trying to shower.

Nachdem ich nun schon oft in Florenz war, muss ich sagen, dass dies mein absolut bestes Hotel war. Das Zimmer war toll gelegen(im 5.Stock) und obwohl die Tapete farblich gewöhnungsbedürftich ist, habe ich mich extrem wohl gefühlt. Chices Ambiente, tolle Bettwäsche, viele flauschige Handtücher, super Blick nach draussen, prima Frühstück,was will man mehr? Und, nicht zu vergessen, eine hervorragende Lage mitten in Florenz.

My wife and I enjoyed our three nights in Florence and our stay at the Universo. The location of the hotel is very convenient to virtually everything: the train station and historical sites and museums - all within easy walking distance. Staff was friendly, cheerful and courteous. Our only problems during our stay were: noisy neighboring room tenants using their mobile phone in the hallway just outside our door. They also seemed to open and slam their wardrobe door a bit too frequently (thin walls separating the rooms). However, our biggest problem was that our room was so dark (2/3 of the room was painted black!) and the only two lamps in the room were not bright enough to read by. A bathtub, instead of just a small shower (which had great water pressure, by the way) would have been nice, especially after walking @6-8 hours a day. Would we stay at Universo again? Yes, but hopefully not in the same DARK room.

A perfectly decorated hotel in the center of florence. each storey of the hotel is designed with a different concept. very nice and minimal, like a piece of contemporary art where every piece of detail is carefully thought and organised, including the toilettories in the bath. the staff, who are mostly university students were extremely helpful and smiling. my only critisism may be to the food offered in breakfast. it was way too standart for an extraordinary small hotel like this. will be my standart accomodation adress when i travel to florence from now on.

It was a great place. The location was good and convenient as it was very near the railway station. Breakfast was also quite sumptuous. :)

Very nice rooms, very good located, good price.

We stayed at the Universo for 2 nights and loved it! The room was very clean, spacious, and modern. We stayed in a "superior" room. The staff was very friendly and helpful and the breakfast was great. Great coffee, cereals, breads, pastries, prosciutto, and cheeses. It was a very easy walk from the train station. This was definately a plus. We were also able to walk to the rental car location after our stay in order to drive into the Tuscan hills. I highly reccomend doing this. There was some construction going on in the plaza, so the mornings were a little noisy, but not enough to really bother us. We were up early to sight see anyhow. You are in the middle of a large plaza, so our window facing it was great. I like to people watch. There is also easy access to great little shops and food. I highly reccomend eating a Bisteca a la Fiorentina at Buca Mario right around the corner. A little expensive, but well worth it. A single serving steak is more than enough for 2 people. My husband and I are big eaters, and we ordered a double serving steak....it was about 3 lbs. Too much even for us! The food was delicious and the service was top notch. One of our best meals during our 10 day stay in Italy and a very short distance from Universo. It is easy to walk to all the sights in Florence. In two days visited the Piazza de la Signoria, the Duomo, the Accademia, Piti Palace, the Ponte Vecchio and so on and so on. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the Duomo. Walk the stairs up the Duomo, it's very worth it. We had a very nice stay and wouldn't hesitate to stay here again. Great stay for the price!

Very clean, modern, and great location.

Hotel position for sightseeing excellent. Surroundings of hotel under renovation at time of visit - will be nice when finished. Main problem - breakfast - appeared to be cost saving. Whilst accepted that usual breakfast is continental - annoying that supplies often run out and took time to refill empty items - especially meat and cheese. Breakfast room compact.

This was my first visit to Florence and the experience I had has left me wanting to go there again! The Hotel was superb, albeit our room window looked into an inner courtyard and other room windows. this apart, I would recommend this hotel for anyone wanting to visit Florence. The location is superb, easily reached from the station and with most interesting places within walking distance.

The location was great, the room was lovely, however as we were located at the front of the hotel the noise that came from people walking in the square early hours of the morning ment that we only had about 4 hours sleep (and am a deep sleeper!). This is a real shame as everything else was wonderful. I wouldn't stay here again because of the noise if it hadn't have been for that then I would have used this hotal again.

The hotel was nice, but finding the hotel was painful. Their was one gentleman that worked the front counter that was really good and very helpful. Unfortunately he was only there twice during our stay when we needed assistance. The other times there was a very snooty lady who was very incompetent and rude. Could be a language barrier, but you can still be nice about it. The room was strangely decorated, but large enough. Although the shower in the bathroom was tiny. I am a fairly skinny person and I could not move in the shower. If you weigh over 135 or are taller than 5'9" do not book this hotel. The location was good. Right by the train station which made it easy to get in and out of the city. Also make sure you get to breakfast early if you want the meat, cheese, and rolls because they go fast and they do not replenish. In the end I would recommend this hotel to skinny people who want to be close to the train station.

The shower was hard to use.

El hotel está bien situado, desde el se llega andando a los principales puntos de interés de la ciudad. El personal de recepción es agradable. Reformado recientemente, las habitaciones están decoradas de forma moderna, pero están poco iluminadas.

The hotel is near to the train station, but the direction indicated in the webpage is not clear. You need to ask somebody to find out. The room is little bit dark and it needs more lightning. In general, the site is convenient but quiet and the service provided in the hotel is good.