Hotel Annabella Roof Terrace

“Well situated hotel for visiting Florence as part of an interrailing holiday”

My family had a lovely, but brief, stay at Hotel Annabella Roof Terrace as part of an interrailing holiday. Finding a place that could accommodate a family of five for one night in a single room was great. The staff were really helpful, both while we weren’t arranging our visit and when we were the… more

My family had a lovely, but brief, stay at Hotel Annabella Roof Terrace as part of an interrailing holiday. Finding a place that could accommodate a family of five for one night in a single room was great. The staff were really helpful, both while we weren’t arranging our visit and when we were there. We knew we would arrive at Firenze S.M.N. just before lunch and the hotel was happy for us to drop off your bags early so that we could enjoy our visit to Florence without having to carry them around, indeed when we arrived our room was actually ready for us which was a nice surprise. The hotel was ideally located for the train station, while the heart of Florence itself was a 10-15 minute walk. The terrace at the hotel also provides a lovely view of the city. The staff were also really helpful on the morning we left - we had an early train to catch. Which meant we had to leave before breakfast was served. The hotel staff prepared a takeaway breakfast for us to enjoy on our departing train journey. Overall, a really good experience.

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“Not good”

Our room was horrible. Photos on Booking.com are severely misleading. Our room had a bad smell - mix of general staleness and drains. The bathroom smelt of urine. Hotel is generally shabby on a dirty urine soaked street. However, staff were very nice and the breakfast and bed comfort were better th… more

Our room was horrible. Photos on Booking.com are severely misleading. Our room had a bad smell - mix of general staleness and drains. The bathroom smelt of urine. Hotel is generally shabby on a dirty urine soaked street. However, staff were very nice and the breakfast and bed comfort were better than I expected when I first arrived in the room. It is only 3* and is convenient for the station so I wasn’t expecting luxury but I was expecting a little more.

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“Avoid Room Nr.32 (Smaller double bed which is located in the corner of the room)”

The hotel is located very close to the center, which is a good position, but the street it is on was quite dirty. The hotel is located in a residential building on the third floor, and the rooms are quite tidy and nicely furnished. The breakfast is of good quality and plentiful because it is a buff… more

The hotel is located very close to the center, which is a good position, but the street it is on was quite dirty. The hotel is located in a residential building on the third floor, and the rooms are quite tidy and nicely furnished. The breakfast is of good quality and plentiful because it is a buffet, and the ingredients are still carefully selected, it is not the cheapest salami and cheese. But what I would like to draw attention to is that the room was quite bad, because the bed was smaller than the usual max. 180 cm long, so my legs, who are 190 cm tall, were hanging out. And what bothered us the most was that the double bed was located in the corner of the room, so that from the bed that was in the corner of the room, you could not stand on the floor of the room without disturbing your partner. And just because of that too small bed and so located in the corner of the room, I can say that this is a scam by the hotel and Booking.com, because it is not visible in the pictures. We only see pretty pictures on the web, and then the hotel and the web agency are to blame for that together, because the web agency (Trip Advisor or Booking.com) should check the pictures it receives from the hotel, because we also pay for it when choosing accommodation. On the hotel's website, there are all pretty pictures of the terrace, which is beautiful, but there are no pictures from our room, which has a view of the walls of the outer buildings as if we were in prison. So be careful when booking a room, because of: 1. the size of the bed 2. the position of the bed in the room because this room of ours is actually for one person 3. the view from the room The room I described is room number 32. It is definitely worth avoiding.

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“2-star hotel, lacking quality AC, great breakfast”

There were some positives about Hotel Annabella, but there were also some serious aspects that left us less than enthusiastic. Full review to follow. The positives: - The rooftop terrace is beautiful. There is comfortable seating for 18 with tables for eating and drinking. A portion of the terrace… more

There were some positives about Hotel Annabella, but there were also some serious aspects that left us less than enthusiastic. Full review to follow. The positives: - The rooftop terrace is beautiful. There is comfortable seating for 18 with tables for eating and drinking. A portion of the terrace is covered, providing shade from the summer sun. The views are very pretty. It would TOTALLY be possible to work/relax/read/draw/write all day on the terrace, weather permitting. Note: If you are a business traveler, there are no power outlets on the terrace. - The breakfast is extensive and very well serviced. The hot options included freshly scrambled eggs, bacon, sliced sausages, and hard boiled eggs. Cold options included 4-5 sweet breads/cakes, 2-3 styles of croissants, 3 styles of dry cereal, cold cuts and hard and soft cheeses, fresh fruit (apples, bananas), jams and spreads, 3 flavors of 100% juice, bread for toasting in the toaster oven, and a massive espresso machine that makes espressos, cappuccinos, americanos, and much more. Breakfast is served from 7:30-10:30, and there is ample seating, though only a small number of seats outside. Breakfast gets slammed at 9:00, but the hotel staff continued to replenish the food. - Rooms included a good sized mini fridge that enables you to chill bottles of wine and large bottles of water, plus restaurant leftovers and snacks saved from breakfast. The rooms also include a safe. There's also wifi. - We traveled with a family of 5 and were grateful they offered a room with a 5 euro twin beds (2 of which pushed together to create a "Euro-king" bed). So we were all able to stay in the room together. The rooms are decidedly not spacious--but they are what I consider to be standard European-sized hotel rooms, and if you want 5 beds squished in a room, then you get what you asked for! That's just a reality. - There is a small common area with a TV, some comfortable seating, and a bar which provides quick access to paid beers, drinks, cocktails, and espressos until 12 p.m. (when the front desk closes) The negatives: - The reviews about the hotel's elevator are spot on. The elevator only holds 3 people, and it was not working for one of the days of our trip, requiring all guests to tramp up and down 3 flights. That is something I would expect of a 2-star hotel. - Many hotels require your key card to remain in the room for there to be electric power. This is troublesome if you plan to have electronic devices you want to charge while you are out. For example, if you leave your laptop to charge and leave with your room key...you'll come back to find your laptop still isn't charged! - The air conditioning in our room did not work as it should. Perhaps there was a regulator limiting the lowest temperature achievable. But it was 102 Fahrenheit in Florence during our stay, and we couldn't get the hotel AC to get much below 76 in the room. The common areas were also quite warm. They are trying to save money. Also, because you need the key card for power in the room, your AC turns off during the hottest times of the day when you're gone, leaving you to come back to a toasty room at night. - The bathroom quality was, in design and amenities, equivalent to a 2-star hotel. Overall: - Our chief dissatisfaction was the AC. The weather was extremely hot in August, and our desire to at least sleep in a chilled room was unsatisfactory. Though the breakfast and rooftop terrace were incredible values, they are hoping this will compensate for their uncomfortable quarters. Ultimately, the breakfast and view is not enough to makeup for the uncomfortable hot nights. If you're looking for a 3-star hotel or better, this is not it. We would probably not come back. However, if you expect 2-star budget accommodations, this is worth considering.

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