Grand Hotel Minerva

Accueil très professionnel. Nous sommes dans la partie rénovée. Moderne et authentique. Vue sur la place mais bonne insonorisation. La chambre est très spacieuse. On n’a pas pu utiliser la terrasse donc à refaire ;-) néanmoins on a tester le bar et les cocktails sont bien réalisés. Un bon Old fashioned pour finir la soirée en beauté ;-)

Hotel is great if you are a first time visitor. They have a rooftop pool that have views of the horizon and it is breathtaking. The staff is very accommodating and spoke English very well. We werent able to try the restaurant in the hotel, but it was always packed. I would definitely recommend waking up for the breakfast buffet. It is worth it, this coming from a person who’s day starts at noon. Book early if you can, they get pricey as you wait. I would love to come back to this hotel if ever we go back to Florence. Also, all the local tourist sites are 20 mins walking distance from this hotel. Maybe not all but most :)

The location is great. The room is very basic. You never need a mini bar until you don’t have access to one. We had the eoom on the se ond floor the looks onto the plaza. The staff is very nice. I am hoping breakfast will make up for the basic feel of thus hotel. Two star because of the fact that this is our first night.

This hotel is awesome! We had a family suite that could sleep 5. The beds were so comfortable, they had outstanding service, and the kids loved the roof top pool. Great location.

This hotel was very nice. Our room was relatively small, but we didn’t expect much and wanted to spend most of our time out and about (or at the rooftop terrace and pool!) anyway. The staff were unbelievably helpful, offering restaurant recommendations and reservations, friendly service during meals, and just general congeniality. The location is perfect: near the train station, on a beautiful piazza, walking distance to most tourist spots and plenty of food.
The only complaint we have is that our room’s air conditioning had a bad smell. We probably could have switched rooms if we had asked, but we were too lazy.

We had a bad 1^st interaction and impression when we got here that made it our least favorite hotel experience my wife and I had in all of Italy on our honeymoon.
–The hotel is ½ remodeled and the other half is very old and feels like a hostel/​2 star hotel.
–The lobby has not been renovated it felt like it was stuck in the 80s.
–Our room was in the old part of the hotel — it was dated, dirty and gross (my wife often used the common bathroom off of the breakfast area or pool because they were so much nicer than the one in our room).
–There were cracks in the walls (see photos) and zero decoration in the room so it felt very stark.
–The internet didn’t work for almost 3 hours when we arrived and then we could only get it to work on the upper level floors, not the 1^st floor room we were in.
–We were really unhappy with our room, and when we told the man at the front desk about our problems he put us in a room on the 5^th floor.
–In this room, it was still old but there were no cracks, we had better sunlight and a nicer view over the piazza but…
–Our shower didn’t drain properly at all and I was constantly standing in 4 inches of water
–When I went to use my towel there were several long, dark, curly hairs on it that did not belong to me or my wife.
–The bed was old and we felt every single spring in it.
–There was no safe in our room, just a note saying that we could keep things at the front desk. (I was not comfortable with that at this hotel).
–The elevators are tiny and couldn’t even fit 2 people with 2 suitcases and 1 carry on bag.
–The fact that there is clearly a nice part of the hotel and a not nice part of the hotel is really crappy
–The man who checked us in seemed pretty unsympathetic to us being unhappy with an old room. I asked if any of the updated rooms were available and at first he said no, but then he had a bit of an attitude that we booked «a certain class of room» and that it was on their website. I might have been inclined to pay more too until his attitude completely turned me off. (Just for reference we paid 285 Euro per night, which is about $ 315) — I think for that I should have a room nicer than a Best Western, not worse.
–On the website the room distinction is not clear, and my travel agent didn’t know either when we booked. I looked it up and they call some rooms «classic» and some «contemporary style» — «classic» means outdated. «contemporary style» means renovated.
–I asked the front desk to make a dinner reservation for me and they told me that the restaurant I wanted to go to didn’t take reservations. I told them the website said they did. Then they said they do but only have 2 seatings 730 and 930. I asked for a 930 reservation. When I followed up the next afternoon they said they were going to call now. I never heard back from them, so I called the restaurant (from my US phone long distance) and did it myself with no problem.
–The breakfast is good and the staff at the breakfast is great.
–The rooftop pool view is great but the pool is smaller than it seems in photos and there are only 13 lounge chairs and about another 7 – 10 other kinds of chairs for the whole pool area. That means it accommodates 20 – 25 people at a hotel that has 102 rooms, which is not enough. It gets very crowded in the afternoon, especially with families and children and everyone has to hover for a place to sit.
–The bar staff were all very nice as were the housekeeping staff.
–The location is convenient to the train station.
–One night of our stay, we were told that the pool was going to close at 6pm because they were offering a cocktail party with oysters and fireworks for a holiday (for an extra 65 Euro per guest). We understood but at 5:45 the staff started taking all of the chairs around us away and we felt pressure to leave early. It wasn’t a huge deal but again, it was a bit rude and it just isn’t 4 star service.
–There was no staff at the pool, which is not typical for a 4 star hotel. I don’t need a pool boy to show me to my chair or present me with towels, but you have to bring your own towels from your room and when people leave the pool and leave their towels behind, nobody takes them away. Food was left there long after the guests went to their rooms. I saw a pigeon eat a lot of snacks and then knock over a plate and bowl (that was actually the highlight of my stay).
–Overall, our stay did not feel like it deserved the 4 Stars they claim to have and it was not romantic at all.
–The service at reception was horrible and made us feel like they didn’t care about our business. At 285 Euro per night I feel like they should. We paid a 4 star rate, but only got a 2 star room, 2 star service from the man who checked us in, better service from the breakfast staff and I will say the rooftop view is 4 stars.
–My experience seems different from other reviews but this was my honeymoon and my best advice is if you are going on honeymoon or a romantic trip do not stay here.

This hotel is located in the Piazza Santa Maria Novella which made it accessible to all the great restaurants and other hotels in Firenze! There is a rooftop swimming pool with a great view of the Duomo and Santa Maria Novella Square. Our family had fun swimming here! The daily breakfast had the best selection and service, we asked for soy cappuccino and the servers happily obliged. We had a toddler with us who needed milk and we didn’t know where to buy milk or how to buy milk and when I asked the restaurant, they gave us milk in a teapot and didn’t charge us for the 4 nights that we stayed! Amenities were good, robes, slippers, toiletries, coffee service and bottled water plus biscotti! Hotel was always clean and nice linen!
I would give this place a five star but their front desk personnel was kinda rude and customer service was mediocre. We asked for two taxis for our family and had a communication breakdown with one of the front desk personnel and she got all excited, glared at me and condemned me!!! Excuse me???
The other issue we had was again lack of communication. Our suite was described as a two bedroom apartment but it was actually a one bedroom suite with a living room that had a sofa bed that was not the most comfortable pull out bed… Plus, the refrigerator in our room was supposed to have complimentary snacks and drinks but no one pointed this out to us and there was a price list on the top which made us think that we were to be charged.
All in all, a great place to stay especially if you’re concerned about location, location, location! I would just pay more attention to the little details and the communication process.

Stayed here as part of a 3-​city visit of Italy (Rome, Florence and Venice). This hotel was by far our favorite during our visit.
What I loved:
Location: Amazing! Lot’s of amazing restaurants in walking distance
Hotel: clean, updated and an extremely helpful (and nice) staff. Also, the rooftop is amazing! You have to go up there for a glass of wine and to watch the sun set.
Location: Amazing. A lot to do in walking distance.
The hotel itself is a 4-​star to me but an extra half star for the rooftop!
Will come back here for sure.

Just arrived in Florence. Came upstairs for a cup of coffee. Fortunately the coffee machine was broken. Instead enjoyed an appertif, the wonderful rooftop terrace and the Spectacular view. Plus the Wonderful and friendly service. Amazing! 5+ stars

Perhaps I got the worst room here but I am genuinely surprised at the higher ratings. It’s a fantastic location just west of the core and it’s a minute walk to the train station and located in a picturesque piazza. The service is great… The room itself was the issue.
If you’re given room 102, ask for another one. The size is smaller than an office space with both the sink and toilet constantly leaking water. I was annoyed at the first but it provided some necessary white noise because the piazza attracts a drunken crowd that is loud. The room faces the centre and I thought that was great till I realized the noise level doesn’t die down till 2 am. Seeing how I needed sleep to rise at 6 am for meetings, this was not a good thing. Also the furniture is dated but still decent.
The included buffet breakfast is ok and it is a nice add in. It has your usual bread, muffin, yogurt, cheese, and cereal.
Overall, it’s a decent hotel in a fantastic location. If you can a great deal, it might be worth it but for business, I’d choose another place as it’s near impossible to get a good rest here.

Bien situé, chambre très confortable, service attentionné et efficace, pti déj buffet de bon niveau: un hôtel parfait pour profiter au mieux du centre historique de Florence !

Location! Location! Location!
Grand Hotel Minerva excellent location makes it my base whenever I visit Florence.
Piazza Santa Maria Novella where the hotel can be a little dark, a little seedy and even a little rowdy with the crowds that hang out at night.
But it is within walking distance of everything: bus station, train station, historical area and even a lot of the local tours has meet place just around the corner. Walking from the station the street can be quite uneven can be a little tricky if you have a lot of luggage.
The rooms are sizable and comfy for Europe standard.
The roof side pool gives you a great view of the Duomo in the distance… great place to chill and have a siesta after a whole day walking in the heat!

The Grand Hotel Minerva was the singular best hotel I’ve stayed at in Italy (although, admittedly, I’ve only been to about four or five, scattered around the country). From the moment I checked in to the moment I picked up my luggage, there wasn’t a single thing I could complain about this hotel.
The local is amazingly central, located an easy five-​minute walk from the Firenze train station, right on Piazza Santa Maria Novella itself. It’s a ten or fifteen minute walk away from the Firenze central shopping district and perhaps a twenty or thirty minute walk (depending on how leisurely you stroll) from sights such as the Boboli Gardens or Ponte Vecchio.
It seems that all the staff are pleasant and speak English proficiently. This goes for all of the front desk personnel, as well as the lovely people manning the breakfast bar (included in my rate). My room was comfortable and well-​accoutred and there’s (gasp!) free, generally reliable wi-​fi throughout the building! You will need to obtain a login and password from the front desk, but it’s a painless process.
I even managed to snap my room key (they’re the old-​fashioned turn kinds, –not– the more modern swipe cards) off in the lock to my room. Clearly, I don’t know my own strength. I brought the two twisted and broken bits back to the front desk sheepishly, and they rapidly replaced it with aplomb. Utterly professional.
Oh, and one of the guys working at reception is utter eye-​candy. I mean… could it get any better than that? Methinks not!

Having lived in Florence for 3 months, I had a firm idea of where I want to stay on my return visit a few years later.
I picked the Minerva not just because it has wonderful views of Santa Maria Novella (when it’s not have construction work done), but because it is the only hotel in the centre of Florence with a pool. No seriously; I did my research: other hotels in the centre have roof terraces, but if you want a pool you can either stay at the Minvera, or «head to the hills,» literally, to places such as Villa La Vedetta.
Florence is HOT in the summer, and the idea of being able to cool off with a dip in the pool was tantalising, as was the spectacular view of the city you got whilst doing so. Apart from the roof terrace (also great at night — especially on GioveDJ, when the hotel hosts aperitivo hour), the hotel itself was average. Rooms where clean, far enough sized, adequately decorated; breakfast buffet had a lot of choice, staff were helpful.
Nothing spectacular. But the pool alone makes up for it all.