SINA VILLA MEDICI

I just returned from a wonderful week in Florence. I stayed at the Villa Medeci hotel where I stayed last year. This is an excellent hotel that offers first-class service, excellent food and and incredibly helpful and warm staff. This boutique style hotel is centrally located and just a few minutes walk to the heart of town; Plaza della Republica. I look forward to returning next year, if not sooner. Thanks again for a most enjoyable stay.

We stayed at this hotel as our 'splurge' night on our honeymoon and it was amazing. We got the penthouse terrace room and it was phenomenal. The staff was so nice and their English was amazing. We had such a good time at the hotel we just sat and talked in the beautiful gardens with amazing drinks made for us all night. A true 5 star experience!

You can tell that they have not kept it properly. Shortly after we checked in the power went off in our room. It seems like it had an electrical problem. They sent a maintenance person to reset the circuit breaker in the box inside the room. It went off again several times and they wanted me to do the resetting. By that time I had had it with the situation and I let them know that it was unacceptable.We were then moved to a much better room that had no issues.

The hotel is a bit away from the center of the town but I did not worry too much since the hotel offers a free shuttle bus service. The problem with the service though is the extremely standoffish and rude attitude of the driver, which basically eclipsed all the other good experience that I had at the hotel. Here are some of the examples: 1) he asked my rooom number in such an unpleasant manner that I felt as if I was a newbie at a prison being asked about my prisoner number; 2) he made us wait in the lobby quite a bit because he never told us to follow him as he headed outside; 3) when we got to our destination, he didn't even bother to open his mouth and just pointed his chin toward the direction to make us get off the car; 4) he never, not even once, acknowledged our expression of gratitude. Our "thank you so much" was always met with cold silence. At first we were confused whether this is a typical Italian manner but no, the Rome hotel that we stayed (Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria) also has free shuttle service and the driver was extremely hospitable and nice. Management, please ask the shuttle bus driver what his problem is and find out whether he is a rascist, because, frankly, him being a racist is the only logical reason that can explain his insolent behavior.

We were extremely pleased with our accommodations at the Sina Villa Medici. From the moment we arrived, the staff was courteous and welcoming. Our room had a balcony with a beautiful view of the hotel's pool and garden. The complimentary breakfast and bottle of red wine we received were both delicious. While the hotel is not in the heart of the city, it is an easy walk to the city's center. I would highly recommend this hotel to others.