The Rosary Garden Hotel is a small hotel but don't be put off by size. It is a delightfully cosy and friendly place to stay. About 10 minutes from the centre of Florence by local bus, [which run every 10-15 minutes] it is tucked away on a narrow street in a quiet residential area. My bedroom was a delight to behold with a beamed ceiling and comfortable bed and furniture. There were no tea or coffee facilities in the room but a pretty seating area with complimentary tea infusions and biscuits. Unfortunately no coffee, but I was able to purchase some and the hotel provided me with milk. The dining room is quaint, small, but with a good selection of breakfast foods. The staff are very, very friendly and helpful and I cannot recommend this hotel enough.

Appearances can definitely be deceiving. When you first arrive at the Hotel Rosary Garden, you might be surprised at how small and un-hotel like it seems. Head upstairs and you'll find a small, somewhat shambolic reception desk and office. However, I can guarantee you'll very quickly fall in love with the charm of this hotel.

The rooms may not be particularly large, but they are full of character and comfortable enough. Although there are no kettles in the classic rooms, there is pretty little communal area with tea, herbal infusions, biscuits and aperitifs, all complementary.

What particularly sells this hotel, however, is its staff. They could not be friendlier or more helpful, whether it is the receptionist offering advice on how to travel around Florence and where to go or the catering staff serving breakfast in a small, but well stocked breakfast room.

The hotel is off the beaten track - it's a 10-15 minute bus ride from the centre of Florence, but this should not put you off. The buses are cheap, relatively frequent and easy to use. Florence is a busy city, full of tourists, but this little gem is in a much quieter, residential area. It also happens to be above a pizzeria in which we ate our best meal of the holiday.

Highly recommended.

The Rosary Garden Hotel in Florence is a little gem in a city full of treasures. The hotel is located in a residential district away from the inner core of Florence and that turned out to be a great thing. There are several buses which are only a 10 minute ride or better right next to the hotel yet, you can go for a daily, beautiful walk along the Arno and be at the heart of Florence in 30 minutes - nice way to exercise after all of the delicious food and gelato found everywhere in Florence. Monica and her staff are exceptional. They speak very good english and extremely helpful. I definitely felt like I was staying with family and I felt very well taken care of and very safe. The rooms are beautiful and very tastefully decorated, delicious breakfast each morning and lovely afternoon tea. This is the only place I would stay in Florence.

We booked a superior room, which was very spacious, and had tea making facilities. This included a range of teas and infusions, but no coffee, but we just bought a jar of instant from the coop over the road. The owner and staff were very welcoming, and because we had mentioned it was our anniversary when booking, they provided us with a bottle of sparkling wine in the room, which was a very pleasant surprise. The breakfast room was small, but we never had a problem with finding a table, and the breakfast was a good continental breakfast. We did not have any trouble getting to the hotel by bus, and found the walk into Florence enjoyable. One day on the walk in we went up to the Piazzale Michelangelo, which has magnificent views over Florence. Also eat at the terrace cafe of La Rinascente, with a fantastic roof top view of the Duomo. We would recommend this hotel to anyone who likes personal attention, and wants to feel special.