Tourist House Ghiberti

On the basis of a few reviews, and instincts from years of travel, we booked five nights here as a means to lightly explore Tuscany as well as settle into a local Florence experience.
We arrived via train from Rome having flown in from SFO, so it was a long travel day. Our first mistake was not taking a taxi the short distance to the facility. Though the station isn’t far, it is all cobblestones, open air markets and racing motorcycles. All are easily dealt with but not after 20 hours of travel!
Suggestion: upon arrival take a taxi. Get your bearings.
The entrance is not obvious but easily found. We buzzed in through two sets of doors and then finally the doors into the front desk. There is a tiny lift and they helped us use it as we arrived. Once inside there is a clear feeling of calm and comfort. A nice vibe.
Our room faced the street which was both good and less than perfect. It was good as it allowed a nice flow of air, but as the place is directly across the street from the emergency entrance of a hospital, we were serenaded with ambulance traffic 24 hours a day. Granted it was random, but unless the giant two layers of windows were closed it was very loud.
It was too early in the year to have the air conditioning activated so I spoke with them and I discovered how to turn off the radiators. This cooled the room nicely but if not shut off, and the windows closed, it was very stuffy and hot.
Thus timing is everything. In early Spring heat is really not needed and it is not hot enough for AC. So we propped the windows open and dealt with it.
The location is great. We walked to everything. The room was immaculate, there is a computer with broadband in each room (incredible feature), a 42″ LCD and satellite coverage if you feel like zoning out… or if you cannot sleep.
There is a tub, and a fully equipped bathroom and adequate clothes storage. The bed was a pair of twins jammed together with a pad to simulate a queen. Comfortable, clean, no issue.
What is always missing, and it was no exception here, was a second folding mechanism for the «other person’s» luggage. Do hotels assume we use one piece of luggage for two people?
Breakfast was simple but good. Fruit, cereals, breads, juices, yogurt, coffee or cappuccino/​espresso on request.
I rate this as one of the best places I’ve stayed even though we had the noise issue. In a city this old, in a room augured into a 16^th century building with 21^st century electronics we felt lucky. Why? The location was just perfect, the people running the facility were absolutely friendly and helpful, and the feeling of having an apartment instead of a big, indifferent and sterile hotel far outweighed the dissonance of the sirens. I hear sirens at home, sometimes. So no big deal.
Highly recommended for staying in Florence.