Lovely old hotel centrally located. Staff were very friendly and helpful, rooms full of character. Lovely garden terrace. If you arriving by car be warned that GPS will not help as the little backstreet roads are a myriad of one way streets and pedestrian zones. We parked our car nearby and walked to the hotel and the helpful concierge then went with us to bring it to the secure garage parking.

The location and staff welcome were 5* (although I believe there are only two 5* hotels in the city so not much to compare too), but there were a few gripes that made this hotel barely achieve 3*

Breakfast is in a lovely setting and staff very friendly and speak English without any issue. However, the food is not replaced or checked and flies and wasps cover the 'fresh' cheeses and meats which really puts you off, plus there is no toast or toasting facilities and the milk every morning was warm and frothy which is not good. Best option is have a piece of fruit and try one of the pastries which were ok.

The 'American Bar' on site is very expensive and although it is open 12 til 11 each day, I waited on two days for 20 minutes without service. JD and coke 10 Euros, but large measures at least.

Room is small but very Italian and traditional and the mini bar restocked every day with two waters and two cokes is a lovely touch. Very smart shower room too.

Outside area is smart and cosy with a jacuzzi and sun loungers (only 2) and this was great in the 35 degrees heatwave this week.

Pisa is lovely and quaint and plenty of restaurants and places to see nearby, but no-where near as much as Florence / Rome etc. Buses are only 1 Euro pp for up to 70 minutes city use and the train to Florence is only 14 Euros return pp with a 60 minutes journey.

MASSIVE complaint was that the air conditioning broke and we were left with the room temp rising to 28 degrees which in such a small space became unbearable. The problem was, the staff were either lying or didn't know what was wrong as they told us 5 times it was fixed but it remained off throughout the whole hotel for the last three days. Very disapointing. The staff were clearly distressed too, wearing suits etc in such hot weather and no air con.

I will say that as we complained so much we did get extra water delivered, the end of stay bill complimentry (only 28 Euros, and after we badgered the new receptionist), and a standalone Air con unit given to us for the last night which we appreciated but was just so noisy to sleep.

Therefore, assuming this problem doesn't happen again and you don't expect much for breakfast I would still recommend this hotel, for the right price.

Also, out of 130 odd TV channels, only 1 English speaking (Sky News) but it's pretty sad if that bothers you with the leaning tower 3 minutes away!!

Take all the reviews, good and bad, and you'll get an accurate view of this place. No way it should qualify as a five star hotel, but if you can get over the size of the rooms and what you're probably paying, you are exceptionally well positioned near the main sights and within easy walking distance of some excellent non-tourist restaurants. Staff in the main were helpful (though there is now a ban on them sending postcards for guests - see one of the other reviews) but overall the management seems all too aware that you're probably only going to visit Pisa once, so if the air con isn't working, they're not that bothered.

This hotel is beautifully restored and placed right in the city center right next to the Leaning Tower. Room was a bit small, but that was to be expected in an old 14th century building. Staff was quite accommodating, but overall both staff and the hotel missed the finishing touch to really deserve to be a 5-star hotel. Furthermore, we had a few bad experiences which are the reason I can only give the hotel an average score:

1. Arriving at the hotel after 2 pm we had expected the room to be ready, which is was not
2. The water was cold, as the heating system had broken down. This was not mentioned upon arrival, and we had to ask the next day in reception.
4. Great that the mini bar was free, but there was a bottle of water that had been opened by other guests, but not replaced with a fresh ... seems like staff was in hurry to clean room
3. The cold cuts at the breakfast buffet had quite clearly been on the table for more than three hours, in 25 degrees celsius, and wasps where having piece of it as well, as there was no cover.
4. The milk for the cereal had gone sour, again due to being left outside for way to long. Staff removed but did not replace the milk after that.
5. Had to ask for coffee, cutlery and almost everyone else during breakfast

Bottomline, breakfast was a health hazard, and I can only recommend that staff is given a course in food hygiene and handling