My boyfriend and I arrived here after a very long and stressful day of train travel, so all we wanted was to get to out accommodation and relax! We got there and the 'landlord' wasn't there and the door was locked which made us panic, however there is a sign next to the door saying something along the lines of: "If I'm not here go to the bar round the corner". We had to go to the right, round the corner and head for the first cafe/bar on the right and the owner was there. He immediately made us feel incredibly welcome and at ease and he was amazingly kind and helpful. He gave us all the information we needed and more.

We booked a double room, breakfast excluded and the room was on the third floor, which is a bit of a trek with heavy bags, but it was fine. You have a code for the front door or the third floor and separate keys for your actual room, so it feels very secure. The room was very nice and clean, with an ensuite bathroom with a shower, a toilet and a sink. There was air conditioning which was a life saver most of the time and a dressing table with a mirror, and the bed was quite comfortable.

It was amazingly close to the centre of Florence (about a 5-10 minute walk to the Accademia where the statue of David is). Florence was probably my favourite place of all of Italy and I really wish we had had longer than 2 days there as we really had to pack things in. The Duomo, the basilica and the cathedral were amazingly beautiful with wonderful views from the top of the duomo (definitely worth paying to go up there - especially if you're a photography freak like me).
The Accademia queue gets absolutely massive and it doesn't go down quickly (we waited in it for half an hour and only moved a metre, so we gave up) But a tip to all: Go there either at around 4/5 o'clock, just before it closes (6 ish) to avoid the queues, OR do as we did and go at 7pm when they open to the public for FREE. This is a very unknown fact to most, and we got told this last minute by the reservation desk opposite - I'm not sure whether it was just the day, or time of year we were there, but it is worth a try, the statue of David is really incredible.

When we were leaving, the owner was extremely helpful once again with suggesting places to go in Siena (our next destination on our inter rail trip) and we were very reluctant to leave! He does an awful lot and is still always smiling!

It may be that I just loved Florence as a place, but there's not doubt that such great accommodation helped massively in how much I liked it! I would recommend this place to anyone, no matter what budget you have. We payed £36 a night and it was entirely worth it!

The most important thing I think I have to tell everyone that even considers to stay here: You don't get a beakfast! It says on their own website that it's a B&B but it's not! When we arrived at the building no one answered when when we pressed the buzzer. So we called the numberr next to the buzzer. A guy, Lorenzo answers and says that we should try to press the buzzer and that someone should answer. This was a lie because there is noone in the building except for the guests. My theory is that he just wants to seem more proffesional or to make the guests believe someone is in the building so that the guests won't be loud or break something. There are signs everywhere that they will throw you out if you bother the other guests.
He was soooo creepy, sleezy and weird. He was in our room when we weren't there and didn't even change the towels or clean, he just made the bed really, really bad. It was like he was poking around. He wanted us to pay the day he was in our room so he left a note that he would be back in the morning. He did not come in the morning, he came that same evening at about 9pm! This was really annoying because we were already sleeping and he woke us up.
There is no elevator and you have to climb up to the 4th floor and there is no airconditioning, which is necessary in the summer when it's 38degs outside. There is a fan which is really loud. I got a migraine from it every single day.
The only good thing was that we had fast WiFi.

Le Rondini is a set of rooms in an Italian town house. It's within walking distance of the station (beware there are two number 43's on the same road!) and the owner will meet you there and show you the room and give you plenty of information about Florence. The rooms share a small fridge between them that you can use.
We had a side room with a small balcony although the room itself was quite small. it's only a ten minute walk to the main sites in Florence (Duomo area) and the central market area where you can get a great breakfast.
It's a great place to stay if you intend to be mainly out and about exploring the beauty of Florence and just want someone to rest your head overnight.

We had actually booked the cheapest room which had a bathroom (with a lock) outside the room. When we got there, we were given a choice by a very nice and helpful man. We chose the room with the balcony which although smaller, did have a window and also a balcony and a bathroom ensuite. It was very quiet and comfortable, in an attractive neighborhood really close to the Galleria dell' Accademia, and an easy walk to the train station and the Duomo.