I booked Jet 2 flights from Leeds-Bradford to Pisa myself and the Garden Hotel was recommended by Quartz Travel a local independent travel agency (who were very knowledgeable about Italy) for three nights, as a wedding anniversary surprise for my wife; our daughter & her boyfriend were also travelling with us. Later, and as an additional surprise, I arranged for some close friends to join us there.

Right from the outset, the hotel was very helpful. Initially, the agent e-mailed them and asked them to arrange for a transfer to take all four of us from Pisa Airport & back again (our friends were driving there from France.) They responded by return with an acceptable price, so we booked it. Some months later, we decided it would be better to hire a car, so we could see something of the Tuscan countryside and they cancelled the taxi transfer without any complaint. The day before we left, the agents asked for all three rooms to be near each other, but we did not have a reply before leaving for the airport.

We arrived in the late afternoon in a cloudburst, with a group checking in at the same time. Despite this, the harassed reception staff were friendly and cheerful. We had only paid the standard price, but in order to accommodate our request for three – more or less – adjacent rooms, we were accommodated in the Casabianca Wing. As far as we could tell, these were better than the standard rooms in another annexe, which we did not see – and seem to have drawn some adverse criticism from other contributors - so I can't comment on the quality of them. (The best rooms are in the older, original building). Umbrellas were found for us, so that we wouldn't get soaked on the short walk to our rooms.

The Casabianca rooms are in a separate block, a minute or so from reception; all are air-conditioned and have double or twin beds; views of the gardens; a TV with local channels, plus the BBC World Service (Channel 11); a phone and, whilst there is no radio or alarm, they will arrange for a wake-up call; and a fridge with reasonably priced - as hotel prices go - water and alcoholic drinks. The bathrooms all have a shower and bathtub as well as the obvious (!) facilities and a bidet too; the washbasins have mixer taps, so you may wash or shave at the temperature you prefer; as well as soap, shower caps and shampoo are provided, with plenty of towels. All in all, and bearing in mind that you don't travel to somewhere like Siena to sit in your room for three days, all three couples found the rooms good and more than fit for purpose: primarily to sleep and shower in! The only criticism we could make of the rooms is that the beds are relatively hard, which was fine for us but, if you like a really soft mattress, then these are not for you.

The weather being foul, we asked if we could get a table for dinner at the hotel but, with a group in – not to mention a good sized audience for Italy v Romania in the European Football Championships on the TV in the lounge – we had no chance of a table for six. No problem; I mentioned a restaurant that my wife and I had visited 15 years or so earlier that I knew was still good and they booked a table for us and called a taxi for us; excellent service from the reception desk staff.

And so it was for the remainder of our stay; although there is a bus service into the city, buses are infrequent at the weekend and it's about a half hour walk into the centre, so we called taxis morning and evening, all of which arrived promptly and were good value, with the cost shared between us, especially when we could get one of the 6 seat vehicles, though most have 4 seats.

The buffet breakfast is excellent, with a good choice of cereals, yoghurt, fresh fruit, pastries, cold ham & cheese and even scrambled eggs & bacon. The barman is a genial American (or Canadian: we didn't ask!) and, even when busy as when we arrived, we never had to wait long for a drink, which was always served with a smile.

The gardens are large, with many rose bushes, though these had been beaten down by the storm, and there are great views of the city from the terrace and pool area. We had thought about taking a swim before breakfast, had the weather been a bit kinder, but that is not an option as the pool does not open until 09:00. Some people may not like the fact that the hotel takes groups, though Americans with a tenuous grasp of which country they are in can be entertaining; a lady at the next table to us asked for “café au lait” at breakfast!

To sum up, unless you want to be right in the city centre, which would be better if can only stay for one or two nights, then I can confidently recommend this hotel but, if in doubt, do pay for the higher priced rooms.