Intro & City of Florence

Florence is a medium-sized city located in Tuscany, Italy. I found it to be one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe. Second only to Tallin in Estonia and maybe Sienna, also in Tuscany. We visited in June 2022 and it was extremely hot. The peak temperature reaching 39C whilst we were there. Sadly this extreme temperature is becoming the norm, so be sure to wear sunscreen and drink lot’s of water.

My only prior experience of Florence was as a teenager in Assassin’s Creed II spending hours climbing all the towers of the city. I remember thinking how amazing it would be to see a true medieval city and truly Florence feels exactly like that. Sewage smells and all. There are some truly incredible buildings and world heritage sites. The Cathedral, Ponte Vecchio bridge and Uffizi gallery being my favourites.

Hotel & Check-in

I booked the Hotel through Booking.com and paid £309 (€353 at the time we stayed) for one night, which seemed to be the cheapest price I could find through various booking services. I think Booking.com is good for smaller boutique hotels like this. You don’t earn any sort of loyalty points like you would with IHG or Marriott but you do get massive range, the flexibility to cancel last minute and what they call the “Genius discount” (though I’m not convinced this really makes it any cheaper).

The hotel is very well situated just a short walk from the train station and the city center. Though we found it quite confusing finding the hotel itself as it’s secluded down a residential alley on the 2nd floor of a residential building. We were greeted by a friendly receptionist who offered us a coffee on arrival, though she was constantly switching between answering the phone and helping other guests so the wait time to check in was quite lengthy. Of course this could just be a coincidence.

Room

The room was stylishly decorated with a very “boutique” feel. The bed was comfy and large and there was plenty of space to sit and a desk to work at if you feel like it. They even provide a free smartphone setup with tour guides if you wanted to use it. Though I’m not sure it gets much use as I imagine most people use their personal phones. Florence is famous for having some extremely high-end hotels but considering the Arte’ Boutique hotel is only a fraction of the price I think the room is exceptional. Impressively for such a large room in an old building the air con kept things cool despite the 35C heat outside.

Breakfast

Breakfast was a simple affair with fresh pastries, meats and cheese, a fruit salad, juice and coffee of your choice. The receptionist explained that the hotel is unable to serve cooked food due to Italian food regulations so this was as good as could be expected.

Conclusion

I am very impressed with the Arte’ Boutique Hotel. The city of Florence is beautiful and this hotel matches the City’s aesthetic with grand extravagant design and furniture. The rooms were far more that I would expect at a 4 star hotel and the views were unmatched. Unfortunately service was somewhat slow, having to wait 20 minutes to check-in whilst the sole receptionist was rushed about serving other people and answering phones was disappointing and breakfast was also late.

Overall though I would strongly recommend the Arte’ Boutique Hotel and for £309 /night it is perfect for a romantic weekend break. If you enjoy sheer lavish opulence without having to pay £1,000 per night or more that many of the 5 star hotel in Florence demand then this is a perfect choice.