Hotel Arno Bellariva

This is a good location, although in full onslaught of the afternoon sun. The hotel is a very tired hotel, which is a real pity as it has a great location, beautiful architecture and a nice lounge - which is now very drepressive and mainly for the cat. I think this hotel is too expensive for what it offers, which is very basic offering. It is over priced especially as : - there is 1 towel , 1 handtowel and no soap or towel for the bidet!!! - the toilet mat is washed and faded to threads - blue or pink ! no white? - lots of mosquitos and you have to ask for a coil - no fridge, no tea etc in room or in the common area to , even to buy! you cannot charge almost such a high rate and not even have a coffe or tea machine in the corridor or even a water machine. Even an airbnb room without a kitchen offers this! This is a hot city, something to drink would be acceptable. especially as there are no shops in the near vicinity - you need to walk about 10mins. - the beds are not comfortable.. old spring variety. - It is however, very clean. - breakfast is correct The front office staff try to be helpful, It would also be good if they could recommend a close local restaurant - which they do not know!! and overall informed better. We are tourists afterall! Eventually I found the excellent Trattoria da i coco Filioppo around the corner after endless walking all over , where I ate all the nights I stayed at the hotel. yes, no lift, but I recommend the ground floor room - which is very nice and large - for wheelchair access.

okay, my dear husband thought he had booked five star hotel - which the Hotel Arno is not! However, taking into consideration that it is a two star hotel, I think that is rating is a bit rough. We soon learned that there was no elevator - no problems, we will manage to get our luggage to the second floor, okay it was the third floor! Joke on us, however, the guy manning the desk grabbed the heavier of our two items and he carried it all the way up with my 60 something husband right behind him, not to be outdone! I followed and was grateful for the the small seat outside the room to sit and recover on whilst my husband fought with the key and lock to the room. Once inside the dark and drab room was exceptionally clean with a relatively modern bathroom. There was a smallish tv, no fridge nor was there tea or coffee facilities. It was the towards the end of May and whilst it was cool in the room when we arrived, the afternoon heat soon made it unbearable - our air con didn't work, which wasn't a big drama as you could open a window to let fresh air and a breeze work its wonders. However, as soon as the Sun went down, the mosquitos appeared as did the music that intruded from the night life across the road. Closing the window kept assisted in keeping the music and mozzies at bay, but the heat then became nearly unbearable. A real catch 22. We spent 4 nights here and had the dilemma 3 out of the 4 nights. However, the two guys at the front desk were excellent with their service. They assisted with a couple of minor things and were most helpful when we requested a taxi or help with the television. The bathroom was near new and the linen was clean with a comfortable bed. The breakfast was continental with some hot food available. Our stay was during the fourth week of a 5 week trip and it was handy having a self-service laundromat two blocks away. The town centre was about 20 minutes away and the walk to and from, along the River Arno's banks was relaxing. Whilst it certainly wasn't a place we would normally stay in, we were happy enough to remain there mainly due to attentiveness of the staff.