I would thoroughly recommend anyone to stay at Palazzo Gamba in Florence. We booked via venere.com and got a really good rate for a huge two bedroomed apartment. Each bedroom had an ensuite, and there was a large lounge/dining/kitchen area. The size of the apartment would have made it great, but what was even better, was the view of the Duomo, directly from our lounge window. The airconditioning kept the place cool, so even in the heat of Florence, we were very comfortable. When we return to Florence we will stay here again.

The apartment buidling is literally across the street from the Duomo in the heart of town. We were escorted up to our 2 bedroom apartment which was absolutely HUGE and we discovered one of the bedrooms looked out onto the Duomo plaza. Talk about great pictures!! The location is a 2 minute walk to the Central Market and 10 wonderful minutes from the Bargello, Uffizi, etc. etc. Florence is small enought that you can get anywhere really fast.

Anyway, the apartment was very nice and the reception desk personnel are very helpful with regard to finding and making restaurant reservations (don't miss Antico Borgo, Mama Gina, Aqua al Due for dinner and Antico Noe for a quick sandwich for lunch...amazing!!)

ONE PIECE OF ADVICE...if you want the location and the nice spacious apartment, BRING SOME EARPLUGS!! This area is loud. Not only church bells as was noted in the prior reviewer but just general partying until about 2am!! And the taxis and noice start up again by 6am.

Get your museum reservations in advance and consider getting a Michaelangelo tour of some sort.

First, let me say something I've never read anywhere about Firenze. Not in guide books, not online, not in trip reviews from friends. If you stay anywhere near the Duomo, be advised that the Duomo bells start ringing - loudly - at 7 am and ring every 15 minutes for the next hour. And I'm not talking charming "just married", happy, sing-songy church bells. These are serious "Repent, Ye Sinners" type church bells. No sleeping after 7. Especially at Palazzo Gamba.

I booked Palazzo Gamba based on reader reviews on this and other travel sites at the last minute after a problem with a reservation at another property. It was easy to find and literally in the shadow of the Duomo.

Friendly, wonderful Catarina showed us to the 1-bedroom apartment we booked. It was small and smelled strongly of cleaning products, but okay. Great view of the San Lorenzo dome! The bathroom was tiny and had one of the showers that would inevitably flood the floor.

Our travel companions wanted to see if there was a larger apartment and Catarina obliged and showed us the available 2 bedroom apartment - Giambiatta (I think that's the name - it's the only one on the 4th floor). The second apartment was much larger and had 2 bedrooms with 1-1/2 baths. The down-side was that it offered no view. But, we weren't spending a ton of time during the day in the apartment, so we sacrificed the view and took the bigger apartment.

This apartment had no air conditioning and four windows. The two large windows opened onto what I can only describe as an air shaft in the middle of the building. No big deal - we didn't care about the view - except that if you wanted ventilation, you had to listen to the very loud water pump clanking on and off constantly. The air shaft also had some standing water at the bottom which created a bit of a mosquito problem too. Italy has some crazy mosquitos. So, we had to sleep with the windows closed. The front windows opened to the street. A night club a few doors down was pretty happening, so people partying and loud music kept our friends awake along with the traffic noises and sirens of a big city.

The full bath was enormous, but poorly designed. A glass shelf above the sink was the only storage. It was too wide to wash one's face without hitting one's head. The shower was a tiny pan with a fabric curtain too short to reach the edge of the pan. Once soaked, the water dripped all over the floor and flooded the room.

The beds were hard. The closet was giant - great storage for an extended stay. Linen service is only every 4th day, so either pay for extra linen service or ration your towel usage.

Catarina at the desk was delightful! She was only there the first day. The man who was there the rest of our stay was pretty cold and didn't speak great English. I tried in Italian, but I think that made things worse. Desk staff is there from noon to 8 pm. If you need something earlier, you're out of luck.

Because Palazzo Gamba is in the limited traffic zone. If you have a car, you'll need to register your car at the desk so they can notify the police not to ticket you.

I don't think I'd stay here again. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. At €220 a night, I think I could have found something better. Maybe if you get one of the apartments with the fresco ceilings and full-sized windows, you'd enjoy it more. And if you are a heavy sleeper who gets up very early on vacation, you'll be fine!

My sister and I have just come back from Florence where we stayed in the Palazzo Gamba Residence (it's real name is Residence San Lorenzo) in Florence. I've been to Italy a few times and this is definately one of the best apartments I've been in. We had a one bedroom apartment, on the 6th floor (second top floor) with a view of the Duomo and the Bapistry almost within touching distance - stunning!

The rooms were good sized, especially the bedroom (compared to most European hotel rooms). Decor and kitchen were fine (althoughit had no basics like salt and pepper or a kettle, but it didn't matter too much). There was a sofa bed in the living room too, so plenty of space.

The lady on reception was brilliant, really friendly, getting us booked on tours and giving us information about supermarkets, restuarants etc. The noise from the street below & the square was noticeable, but the cars really quietened down by early evening and it was just mainly people chattering as they went past - anyway we both slept like babies.

I would recommend anyone to stay here if they visit Florence - it is definately better value than any of the other hotels I've stayed in on my previous 2 visits there.