Left my terrible food Costa cruise today and hopped into my rented car, arriving here at 7:30 pm. Bought a GPS in Hong Kong for US$70 so finding our way here is easy. Rainy evening and there was a little barrier at the entrance so when we pressed the button to say we are checking in, there's an umbrella waiting for me when I got off at the reception.

Again, am writing this review whilst lying on the bed in room 39 here. This is 10:50pm and we had just done an awesome dinner in the restaurant downstairs, and had met the young chef. I love food and cooking, so the food here simply tell me that the chef got a heart on what he is doing. Nada at the reception is very helpful and told me simple history about this six hundred year old building.

Such a great day. Puzzled for a while before booking this hotel as I always read the Triadvisor bad comments before booking a place. Glad that I had not been deterred this time and had chosen this hotel. Free parking, wifi, shuttle bus, breakfast, lovely view from the room, huge bed, nice staff..... I love this place!!

I had quite high expectations of Il Salviatino, having read the reviews, and given that it was a 5* hotel overlooking Florence, and obviously fairly expensive. But my word, it really lived up to them. The hotel itself and the setting are truly stunning, a fact only enhanced by the fact that we arrived on 31st December to glorious blue skies and warm sunshine. We were met at the front door by the smart, polite and friendly (and fluent English-speaking) Service Ambassador. Everything was organised inside very swiftly, and we found they'd upgraded our room to one that we'd asked for and been told wasn't available when we booked... at no extra cost! I had also requested rose petals to be spread on the bed, and they had the most exquisite petals from goodness knows how many roses arranged in a perfect heart on the white sheets.

We sat outside on the terrace on white leather sofas overlooking their gorgeous manicured gardens, marvelling at the weather while they brought us a beer and bread and olive oil. We got back from town at five minutes to midnight (pure luck) to a free glass of champagne, small fireworks and the most amazing ten minute firework show put on by seemingly every single person in Florence (which we could see almost all of due to the wonderful view from the terrace).

The room was beautiful, though we had a minor problem with the heating which they sorted for us rapidly once we brought it to their attention. Free wifi, of course, and a TV in the enormous mirror. They had some crazy wireless light switch arrangement which took a bit of figuring out, and an incredibly luxurious bathroom with walk-in rain shower, jacuzzi bath and enormous basin.

We only ate breakfasts there, but they were delicious (though they couldn't seem to get their heads around us asking for cold milk - every time we asked, we got hot milk, which we put down to the Italian word for hot being 'calde").

Service from the ambassadors was absolutely fantastic from start to finish - they couldn't do enough for us, though were never intrusive. They even rang another hotel for us down the coast when we told them we were heading on to a different area to make sure it was open and they had rooms available (it wasn't and they didn't, but that was beside the point).

All in all, expensive, but worth every single penny, and more. Far and away the best hotel I have ever stayed in.

We arrived in early November and were worried about being there so late due to weather. The weather and timing were perfect.
We have been to Florence several times and one of the problems was that there so many people in town. This time we stayed at theIl Salviatino which was a pleasure. A true Italian Palazzo, beautifully restored in good taste.
The rooms were large , well appointed with all the amenities . The view was spectacular and it was important for us to be a bit outside of Florence due to the crowds. The hotel had a shuttle service which only took 10 minutes to the center of the city ( Il Duomo).
Returning to the hotel through a private gate and splendid park made us feel special and very secure. The walk around the park, swimming pool and gardens was a joy.
The library was a peacefull place to rest with an impressive array of books and research material.

The bar and veranda had a magnificent view ofFlorence and a Bar tender who knew what he was doing. The restaurant had a special autumn festival menu and the cuisine was fresh and delicious. I believe they grow many of their fruits and vegetables on this extraordinary site.
There was a group in the hotel which had a spectacular buffet. The service was also of a high standard as the personnel were well trained and eager to please.

We can't wait to return to this special, Italian Palazzo. Peter

This hotel is a wondeful place to discover Firenze and the area around. It is located on a hill at only fifteen minutes from the center of the town, a shuttle can bring you there. The building and the view on Firenze are tremendous. It is surrounded by a beautiful park. Everything is so calm and restful.

The staff is adorable, always smiling, helping you with everything you may need.

We spent the New Year's Eve dinner in the restaurant, it was delicious and very friendly.

Well, in a word, this hotel is a dream.