Stayed here three nights as part of a tour of Italy and found it to be a fairly nice, elaborate haven in the hectic city of Florence. After walking the city's narrow streets, it was relaxing to return to this hotel percehd along the Arno and facing a square. My main squeeze and I were fortunate to be assigned a massive suite that overlooked the Arno and was blessed with nice paneling, canopy bed, and ornate furnishings. Bathrooms were small, but functional. I'm not a big fan of stately old European hotels which often are raggedy and lack amenities. They assume that the traveler will spend his time in the piazzas and streets of the cities and not hang out in their rooms. Which is valid, but at night you have to come inside and I like to read before I go to sleep, but the lighting in the rooms is dim. Bathrooms are small and eccentric. But all in all, this is probably one of the best places to stay in Florence, so I don't want to overdo my criticisms. By the way, the food was great as were the dining rooms.

I stayed here in the hot summer of 2006. It was a very nice hotel and close to a majority of everything. The rooms were among the biggest I've stayed in through my stay in Italy. I spent 3 nights here. The rooms were very opulent with huge canopy beds. The staff was very friendly, especially the Conceirge. They reccomended a few night clubs which were a lot of fun such as Mecano and Central Park. They also reccomended a place for dinner called Pandemonio which was so incredible we went back every night. Typical environment with a "mama" and the best food! It had a very pretty view of the river. It was also close to my favorite, Harry's Bar so it was nice to grab an afternoon snack right there. It is located in a tiny square with the westin across the square. I would definetly reccomend this hotel to travelers through Florence.

This is one of the best hotels I've stayed with, and by far the best in Europe. No wonder it got world's best service from TA members!

I stayed at the Grand for 4 nights in Feb 2008 with my wife. We were upgraded from a standard room to premier room, which was very nice and has that wonderfull... err my english is not helping me, will you have to look at the pictures of previuos reviewer!

Staff are really friendly with geniune warmth and attention to detail. Andrea the barman is a really wonderful guy and one guest wrote on the guest log book that he is the best barman in the world. I agree.

Location is in a quite piazze opposite the Westin Excelsior on the Arno River. 10 - 15 min walk to all attractions and 5 min from train station.

Fantastic location beside the Arno River. Ensure to ask for a room with a view. The square outside at the weekends has a market and you are only ever 10-15 minutes walk to all the sites.

The hotel is dressed head to toe in traditional furnishings and drapes. The staff were very helpful and helped with making reservations for restaurants.

The hotel does not have any fancy bar or restaurant to write a glowing report about - there is a cafe and restuarant but to be honest we ate and drank out. Would be good to come back to fantastic bar and sip a glass of champagne.

Florence is an amazing city and a great location to go to in the winter - not as many tourists and we didn't queue for anything.

We flew into Pisa and took the bus then a taxi to the hotel. Others I know took the train which is just as easy.

Overall a great stay.