We stayed at the Il Guelfo Bianco for three nights on a bed and breakfast basis. The hotel does not provide any other meals and so we ate those at local restaurants and other food outlets. The buffet breakfasts provided were of the continental type and comprised bruschetta, bread rolls, croissants, cold meat, cheese, jams, yoghurt, etc. It was of a a good standard. If we wanted eggs or fruit salad there was an extra charge.
The hotel is ideally located on quite a busy street in central Florence and is near to many sites. For example, the Gallarie dell'Accademia, which houses Michelangelo's David is two minutes walk away and the cathedral, Santa Maria Dell Fiore (Duomo), is within five minutes walk. There is a bank directly opposite the hotel with an ATM outside and another one in the foyer. The hotel has forty rooms over four floors and there is a lift.
We stayed in a beautiful Double Deluxe room. It was large, clean and very comfortable. It had a carved wooden ceiling and other original features. The bathroom had a shower and a bath. There was a large, flat screen TV and a minibar. Air conditioning was available but the weather was not that warm during our stay. The electric power in the room was only activated when the room was occupied by inserting the key fob in an appropriate slot in the wall. We assumed this meant that the air conditioning would only operate when we were actually in the room.
The hotel did not appear to be very full during our stay and the public areas on the ground floor did not seem to get much use. There were newspapers and magazines available but they appeared to be Italian publications only. There was also a computer available for use by guests for a small charge. We hardly encountered any other guests but those we saw at breakfast appeared to be a mix of Italian, British and American.
The hotel did not seem to be overrun with staff, maybe because they were not busy, and there seemed to be only one person on duty for most of the time. He or she worked at Reception but left there if someone wanted a drink from the bar or, as in our case, to take extra pillows to our room. More staff appeared in the mornings to serve breakfast and to service the rooms. All the staff were friendly and willing to help. Most spoke English.
We were glad that we found the Il Guelfo Bianco and would recommend it to anyone visiting Florence. It is ideally located, clean and friendly. We would not hesitate to return there if we visited Florence again.