Florence, Italy Reviews

The following is a list of reviews of hotels, restaurants and other services during our travel to Florence, Italy in July 2012.


Hotel Hermitage, Vicolo Marzio 1 (Piazza del Pesce) | 50122 Florence, Italy
We stayed in the Hotel Hermitage in Florence for two nights in early July. It was recommended by a relative.  The location was very central, as it is literally planted directly next to the Ponte Vecchio.  The entrance was somewhat hard to find at first, as the door is actually hidden around a corner in the tiny little square. The hotel is at least six floors. I thought it might be a bad sign that we were placed on the first room on the first floor, but quickly learned that there were other guests. Although the hotel is in a busy area, luckily they have good windows, as you could not hear any of the street noise in our room.  The rooms are very well-adorned with nice furnishings, including a large wardrobe for clothing and a TV. The bathroom was fairly decent-sized with a large jacuzzi tub and an intereresting shower in the tub.  However, it was a very tight space between the door and the toilet. They offered a typical Italian breakfast buffet and a very nice rooftop terrace.  Our first night there we purchased a bottle of wine from the hotel for a typical price, which was very convenient.  They even served it to us on the terrace.  Service was satisfactory. 


The Fish Pub, Piazza del Mercato Centrale 44/R, Firenze
We met friends here and sat outside for beers.  We did not eat here, but they offered good times for good prices during happy hour before we departed for dinner.  The service was good. $$


Trattoria Za-Za, Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 26  50123 Florence, Italy
Outstanding!  Our friends found this wonderful place- recommended by a local.  It really was one of the three best meals we had in Italy over two weeks.  We had reservations for 6:30 and sat outside at a sturdy table.  It was cozy and comfortable. The service was perfect.  Try the truffles- they are known for this! We sampled a liter of the house red wine.  We had a cheese and meat platter as an appetizer. We also had delicious fried zucchini flowers as well- wow! All four of us shared our meals and they were all excellent!  We had risotto with saffron, zucchini, and shrimp, fried chicken with rosemary potatoes, steak with truffles, and a trofie pasta with truffles. It was to die for!   Everything was awesome! Go here!  $$


Sun Cafe Firenze, Via de' Castellani, 50122 Florence, Italy
This place was the worst place we ate anywhere in Italy during our entire two week vacation!  This was horible.  We stopped here very hot and hungry- without doing any research.  From the street it looks ok- a snack bar with outdoor tables.  If anything, we should have gotten the food to go, as it was much cheaper, but we elected to stay and sit.  Prices were MUCH higher.  Regardless, I ordered a piece of pizza topped with mozzarella and tomato from the case and my husband ordered an egg panini.  We each order a coke.  Even the cokes didn't taste "right". Both dishes were ice cold in the middle.  It was FAR from fresh and although we hadn't eaten all day, we refused to finish it.  Service was poor.  We were floored when we got our bill.   €22.00 for the worst food we had anywhere!  We reluctantly left our payment and slouched off in disappointment. Avoid this place at all costs! $$


Ristorante Self-Service Leonardo, Via de' Pecori 11, 50123 Florence, Italy
After such a bad experience earlier in the day, we did some research ahead of time as to where to eat that night near the Duomo.  We wanted something comfortable, low-key, affordable, and hearty.  We found this place in Rick Steve's book and thought we would give it a try.  It is definitely not glamorous, but there was  small line of people waiting to get in when we arrived, so we took that as a good sign, although most were Americans and probably read the same book we had!  When they saw us lined up, they immediately let us in and everyone working there was incredibly friendly and helpful. This place is cafeteria-style.  You walk through a line and choose what you want and pay at the end of the line.  There were several choices of different salads, pastas, meats, sides, and desserts. We had quite an assortment- I had a green mixed salad, spaghetti, and soda.  My husband had fruit cocktail, gnocchi, a salad, and fried zucchini.  All of this only cost €22! Honestly, the best part of this place were FREE endless pitchers of ICE water.  This is almost unheard of in Italy, and we took advantage!  It was very good food for the price and was filling.  This place would be exactly where I would go in Florence with kids. Easy, cheap, and good.  They also have air conditioning, which is plus! Go here if you are not concerned about frills.  $ 


Gelateria de Neri, Via dei Neri, 22  50122 Florence, Italy
Great gelato with lots of choices! They probably had three times as many choices than other places we had been to. Seemed to be a popular place with lots of patrons.  Definitely go here! $

Monterosso al Mare, Italy Reviews

The following is a list of reviews of hotels, restaurants and other services during our travel to Monterosso al Mare, Italy in July 2012.

La Spiaggia Hotel, Via Lungomare, 98, 19016 Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre, Italy
This hotel was pretty awesome.  The furnishings were not quite as lush as many of the hotels we stayed in at the same price range, but the location is pretty perfect.  It sits right on the beach in Monterosso al Mare.  It is the "new" section of town, but the old town is just a 10 minute walk up the road and there is a LOT going on at this end.  Sometimes that was good and sometimes that was bad (like if you are really tired).  We had a second floor balcony room with a wonderful view, which we spent a lot of time on.  No air conditioning, but if you leave the balcony doors open all day and night, you can get a great ocean breeze.  There was also a fan provided.  The bathroom was pretty small- not a shower you want to try and shave your legs in.  The hotel's service was outstanding- the best customer service we saw in Italy!  Both Ella and Andrea, the owner, were particularly helpful and accommodating.  They would bend over backwards to make your stay perfect, recommend places to eat in and out of town, or whatever you could possibly need. My one and only complaint is that it can get quite noisy at night.  There are people out late at the restaurants and bars just a story below and since we had the window open (we had to in that heat), we heard their drunken banter until at least 1 or 2 in the morning.  It might be better if you are on the third or fourth story and would be much more quiet (but no view) if you had a room facing the back.  Overall, I would highly recommend this hotel.  


Ciak, Via Minzoni Don, 6, 19016 Monterosso al Mare, Italy
We stumbled upon this little restaurant when we were exploring old town Monterosso al Mare.  I immediately recognized the name from reading previous reviews, so we thought we would give it a try.  We were there for an early dinner and the service was excellent.  We had two guys looking after us as we sat on the patio.  I opted for a salad with fresh mozzarella, corn, lettuce, tomato, onion, and carrot.  It was the freshest salad I have ever had, and it was delicious!  My husband had the bruschetta Romana with anchovies.  Both were excellent and the cold beer hit the spot on a hot day in July! When we were done, the waiter offered us complimentary shots of Lemoncino and shared the history of the restaurant with us- as well as gave us the honest low down on Italian tipping.  I highly recommend this restaurant!  $$


Gelateria Produzione Propria, Via Fegina, Monterosso al Mare, Italy 
This gelateria is strategically placed right on the road across from La Spiaggia Hotel and at the entrance to the beach.  Bad gelato- rather unsatisfying really and HORRIBLE service!  The girl behind the counter could not have been more inconvenienced or rude.  Plus unlike many other gelaterias, they do not give samples.  This can be helpful when you don't speak Italian... DO not go here.  It was very disappointing. 


Stella Marina Bar, Via Fegina, Monterosso al Mare, Italy 
This is just a simple beach bar and restaurant with light fare featuring cold sandwiches on ciabatta or warm paninis of all sorts.  You can sit at the tables or you can order and take it to your beach chair.  We split a mozzarella and tomato panini, and it was VERY good for a cheap meal.  We also bought two giant Peroni beers and drank them on the beach.  I think it was somewhere around €12 for the one sandwiches and two large beers.  Very good for an easy cheap meal. $


Bar Gio, Via Fegina , 92. Monterosso al Mare 19016
We went here as an alternative to Bar Micky, which was closed. It was right outside our hotel and looked decent. We had to wait fo ra table, but not more than 10 minutes. We both ordered the Menu Turistico- 2 courses plus 1/4 bottle of the house wine. This was a small carafe that held about 2 glasses of wine each. My husband ordered the trofie pesto (a specialty in the area!), mixed fried seafood appetizer as well as the anchovie plate.  I opted for the spaghetti alla bolgnese and a fresh salad. We had the white wine.  It was all very good, and I would recommend it. The service was also very good. The seafood was fresh and spectacular. $$

Venice, Italy Reviews

The following is a list of reviews of hotels, restaurants and other services during our travel to Venice, Italy in July 2012.

Venice, Italy 

Casa Rezzonico
This was our first stop in Italy, and this hotel was recommended by family.  We stayed here for two nights.  The hotel was easy enough to find directly off the Vaporetto stop at Ca' Rezzonnico.  To find it, head straight back past the Ca'Rezzonico building.  When you come to a small campo, cut over to your right to the canal and continue to walk along the left side of the canal. Go past a small bridge and then the hotel will be on your left.  


We had a stately room located right on the canal with a picturesque view. There is a bell tower directly outside, so you do hear bells often, although this was not necessarily disturbing to us and we liked the charm. Very large, updated bathroom by European standards.  The bed was not necessarily wonderful by American standards, but was very much typical of the beds we stayed on in Europe. We never met either of the owners, but most employees were helpful and nice.  Upon checkout we used Travelers Checks in lieu of cash.  I know this is not common practice anymore, but I had pre-approval from the hotel.  (Since many of the places we were staying required cash or travelers checks, we opted for this for hotel payments only so we would not be carrying around huge amounts of cash on a daily basis.)  The employee that checked us out didn't really understand this too well and it ended up being quite a lengthy check-out process. 


Pros:

• We liked how close it was to Campo Santa Margherita.  Very lively at night with college kids, good food at Pier Dickens Pizza (see below) and great gelato at Il Doge (see below). 
• Scenic view from canal-facing window
• Nice, secluded garden
• Typical European breakfast including juice, cereal, coffee, croissants, yogurt
• Formal decor
• Large bathroom
• Air conditioning

Cons: 

• Must ring bell to enter.  Not a huge deal, but somewhat inconvenient. 
• There is always someone on duty to let you in or out, but they sleep on a cot in the "breakfast" room that leads to the back garden. Both nights we were there, we wanted to stay up (past 10:30 pm) and drink a bottle of wine in the garden, but didn't feel like we could due to the fact that we would be walking through the "bedroom" of the on-duty employee or inconveniencing them to stay up and wait for us. 

Pizza Pier Dickens, Campo S. Margherita, Venice, Italy

****We ate here on our first night in town because it was so close to our hotel and it had been recommended by my aunt. It was early for dinner and late for lunch by European standards, but we had just stumbled off of a plane and wanted food.  We were probably there around 1:30 pm. We sat outside under the covered patio.  Service was average. We ordered water, a coca cola light, stuffed green olives, and a margherita pizza. I was not a fan of the green olives, but Sam liked them ok.  I am not really sure what they were stuffed with- some sort of meat mixture.  However, the pizza (our first in Italy!) was amazing!!!!  We still agree that it was by far the best pizza we had in all of Italy!  Simple and perfect. Reasonably priced. $$

Il Doge, Campo Santa Margherita, Venice, Italy

****We stumbled upon this gelateria after wandering around in our first night in Venice. It was our first official sample of the famous Italian gelato, and it was a success!  Very creamy and good. I sampled something similar to Italian Wedding Cake and Sam opted for the amaretto and dark cherry. I highly recommend this place.  It was so good we ended up going back two more times since it was so close to our hotel! Super affordable!  $

La Pizzeria da Giorgio, Cannaregio(Lista di Spagna)230/a-30121 Venezia, Venice, Italy

***Very average in all respects. We stumbled upon this place our first night out in Venice.  We were wandering and ended up in this neighborhood near the Scalzi bridge and the train station.  The area is a bit touristy, but this restaurant had several people out front, which we considered to be a good sign.  We sat and were brought menus, although the server was a bit curt. We order a fairly inexpensive pizza with prosciutto and an awesome bruschetta.  I would say the latter was better than the pizza. We split a carafe of the house white wine, which was surprisingly good!  The service was something to be desired.  Not bad, but not good.  Although we didn't realize that this is much more common in Italy than in the U.S., the waiter actually answered his cell phone while waiting on us.  A couple nearby ate, paid, and then left, but returned several minutes later upset about their bill, as they felt the waiter had deceived the about the cost of the fish.  They were upset and the waiter didn't back down- just yelled back. $$

Bar Pizzeria Vittoria, Calle Lunga delle Chioverette 745, 30135 Venice, Italy

We stopped here in Venice while wandering around.  It has sturdy outdoor booths. It is located directly off of the Ferrovia stop, but on the other side of the bridge. We each ordered a glass of wine and split a margherita pizza. It was cheap and enjoyable.  $$

Bar Olimpia, Steps Nearest Train Station | Northern Side, Venice, Italy

Terrible. As predicted for something directly on the canal and at the stairs of the Scalzi bridge, this was a poor choice.  We were early for our train next door and wanted to grab something to drink while we passed some time. This place was close and looked presentable, so we thought we would give it a try. Mistake!  Sam got a cappuccino, and I ordered a Coca Cole light (the small European bottle) and we sat outside. Our bill was ridiculous!  The cappuccino was €3 and my Coca Cola Light was €6!!!!!  Do not go here!  $$