Grand Hotel Minerva

Hotel is located in a great area in the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, area. The rooftop view in this hotel is stupendous. The rooms are a bit smaller than anticipated and the bathrooms have an odd configuration well at least the one we had, tub with a half glass in closure and hand held shower head. The beds were not very comfortable as were the pillows. When we checked out after our 3 day stay we mentioned how uncomfortable the beds and pillows were is when they informed us that they could provide other bedding amenities, lol which would’ve been nice to know when we had called on day 1 to ask for more comfortable pillows! Other than that the stay was great and felt needed to mention to request more comfortable bedding if you should stay there.

Great location. Beautiful views from room and rooftop bar/pool area. Staff fantastic. Decor in the room does not match the hotel decor-it’s like they tried to update the room but forgot about the hotel vibe!

A great hotel, very centrally located and an easy walk to any destination on either side of the river. The lounge staff, especially Cristina, Paolo and Luna were awesome!

The location of the hotel is excellent. The restaurant and rooftop staff were very attentive, breakfast was good, the coffee was lovely, and the overall setting felt refined. Our bedroom was clean and functional. Initially, our check-in experience was less than positive. We arrived early and asked if we could use the rooftop pool area, but the reception team were not very friendly. We were told it would be too busy, yet when we finally checked in, the rooftop was actually empty. The pool area itself is quite small, and there are no sun loungers, so it’s not ideal if you’re hoping to relax in the sun. Update: The team has since been very accommodating. On check-out, they kindly allowed us to stay by the pool longer and even offered us a complimentary drink as a gesture of goodwill. They also recognised that they had fallen short of their usual standards, which we appreciated. By the end of our stay, we did feel that this is a prestigious hotel that values its guests, and the positive follow-up left us with a much better impression overall.

The hotel is in a fabulous position. Everything is within walking distance. The hotel staff were all friendly and helpful and could not have done enough to help find my daughter's teddy which had been bundled up and taken to the laundry with the sheets. We booked it for the pool which I loved after a day of wandering the streets - it was the end of August and beginning of September and I wanted one last blast of sunshine before the autumn begins in earnest. The pool has a fantastic view over the city. However, the beds are very hard and the pillows are flat (and pretty hard too) - so maybe bring your own pillows. Not sure what I would suggest about the hard mattresses. We were also disappointed in breakfast so much so that we ended up going out for it. The pastries/pancakes didn't taste like they had been made fresh on site and the sausages were anaemic. On the plus side the bacon was crispy.