This was an amazing experience. It won the prize for the best views in Italy. My husband and I as well as two friends stayed here for three nights. It was the best location for walking around the city. We were in the penthouse so the view was amazing. We spent every night sitting on our deck and we felt like we could lean out and touch the Duomo. The kitchen was small but quite adequate. The shower in one of the bathrooms was tiny and flooded the floor. It was also noisy. Earplugs solved that problem. That said the location and the views won out and we loved our stay here.

I often turn to Trip Advisor reviews for guidance so I was surprised to find only eight, somewhat dated, but very good reviews about Palazzo Gamba on TA (but I did find lots of positive reviews on another popular website). The small number of reviews made me a bit apprehensive to book (2) two-bedroom apartments at the Palazzo Gamba for our family’s 4-night stay in Florence, but as it turns out, I’m so glad I did and I’m delighted to share information on this fantastic find!

The apartment building is in the historic center of Florence, about 40+ feet from the Duomo. It’s within a 10 minute walking radius to all the major sights: Piazza della Signoria, Accademia, Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Croce, San Lorenzo market, Medici Chapels, etc. The start of the pedonale - pedestrian zone - is across the street from the apartment.

We had the Raffaello and the Leonardo apartments on the 2nd floor. These are the only ones with balconies overlooking the Duomo and Battistero. Both apartments were VERY spacious and clean. In addition to the beds, each apartment had a sleeper sofa. Having a small kitchen fully supplied with kitchenware was an added convenience. We didn’t use it for cooking as there were so many great restaurant options nearby, but we did make good use of the fridge for our drinks and the kettle and cups for tea.

The relatively minor shortcomings are: the lobby is small and unimpressive (I was initially worried about the place when we walked into the lobby, but it’s not a good indicator of what’s to come); the elevator is small and can accommodate about 3 people (you might have to make a couple trips if you have lots of luggage); and the surrounding area is not exactly quiet at night as it’s in the historic, well-visited section of town (for those bothered by noise in the evening, ear plugs should do the trick!). With these things aside, everything else is top notch.

A few things to know about:
•The reception desk is only available between 12noon – 7:30pm, so if you need front desk help, you must check in or make inquiries during these hours.
•Towels are changed every few days unless you request a set of fresh towels daily (for a flat fee of 10 euro) which will cover the entire stay, not per day.
•Danielle and Cristiano at the reception desk were very helpful during the booking process and throughout our stay. They can also book tours.
•You’ll only have one (large) key set for each apartment; included is a key for the building and one for the safe.
•Rooms can be rung up from outside the building as there are door bells labeled with the room name; a video cam allows you to see who is ringing your room from outside.
•There’s a cafeteria style deli next to the apartment that serves sandwiches and salads.
•Close by is the wonderful pasticceria, Robiglio’s – a great place to have your morning pastry and cappuccino.
•The bus stop is across the street.

Palazzo Gamba was such a great find! If you’re looking for comfortable convenience with lots of space at a reasonable price, Palazzo Gamba would be perfect for family or friends traveling together.

We rented a two bedroom apartment. It was on the second floor.
It was nice for our family of four and a family friend. As my family have one of the bedroom facing the Duomo and my friend has the other bed room. We had nice high ceiling. There are two small bathrooms off the living room area.

It was bit noisy but we got used to it.
The kitchen was ok. You can't turn on two burners at the same time on the stove, otherwise you will have to go down stair to flip the power switch. AC was adequet as we had 90 F temperature weather.

No daily towel services, cost 10 Euro extra, don't know if it is daily or the whole stay. Elevator is very small but we usually just walk up.

My family and I would stay there again because of the location, convinience and spaciousness of the facility.

I travelled with my husband, 2 small children and my parents in September 2006 and have to say that the location of this property is outstanding. From our apartment named aptly "Leonardo" we could see the Duomo and the Baptistry. The wonderful thing about that is you could check on the queues for both places without leaving your loungeroom and plan a quick visit when the queue is short. The bells, well yes they can be a bit irritating, but i prefer to think of them as charming, and they definitely didn't spoil my experience or that of my 18 month old or 4 year old. Florence is very noisy, sirens are also a problem, but we all slept soundly (we got used to the noise and kept windows and doors closed at night). The airconditioning functioned very well, as did the dishwasher. The bathroom/shower had a flood problem, due to the tiny shower pan and inappropriate material shower curtains. For couples travelling with children, excellent location as you don't waste time on public transport and the Carregi hospital is a 15 minute bus ride (hospital is very good there by the way!). Lack of bath is a big problem for kids especially with such a problematic and small shower. I actually bathed my 18 month old in the kitchen sink!! Lack of toaster and kettle and decent sized mugs was the thing which really annoyed us. The lift could also be a problem as it was so small I had to fold my pram to fit it in, which meant obviously I had to remove my small child from it. The doorman would watch me impassively as I struggled to hold my child and fold the pram at the same time, never once offering to help me. These gripes aside the image I take away of Florence is the view from the Leonardo apartment and that thought always brings a smile to my face. Some tips travelling with small child/children you CANNOT travel without a pram! The kids will love the double decker red Florence sighseeing bus, even my 18 month old loved it and we found it worth the 20 euro, my kids 4 yrs and 18 months were free and you get another trip to Fiesole (in the nearby hills) included. The Uffizi lines are crazy, I got there at 9am and still had to wait 1hr and a half. I DID NOT bring the kids, small children will not appreciate the queue nor the artworks! Enjoy Florence!