A truly amazing 4 star hotel. I should first say that we booked early through their web-site and received 30% of the entire stay. This made the stay even more amazing because the hotel was not only beautiful but reasonable.

Located just outside the center of town, the Lucchesi is a plush. luxurious hotel. We had marvelous room with a separate sitting room and balcony with views of the Duomo and the Arno River.

We will definitely stay there again

The Plaza Lucchesi is the quintessential Firenze hotel experience - from the location right on the Arno river, to the Murano glass chandeliers in every room, to the incredibly friendly and professional staff. The hotel and the rooms are nicely decorated and the beds and bedding are luxurious. We had two adjoining rooms, which is great if you are traveling with older children. We were here in August and can attest to the fact that the air conditioning works well! The breakfast that comes with the America plan is fantastic - fresh local cheeses, pastries, fruit, eggs, etc.
What really makes this hotel stand out, however, is the staff. From the moment we stepped into the hotel, the staff was nothing but friendly, helpful, and attentive. At check in, the concierge actually walked us to our room.
The staff really shined when my 10 yr old daughter fell in the room and broke her arm. The concierge lept into action - called a car, advised us not to go to the local hospital (where the ambulance would have taken us) and instead instructed the driver to take us to the orthopedic teaching hospital just outside of town. They arranged for new rooms (we needed to stay an extra day) and new train tickets, and helped us work with the hospital when communications became a problem.
I would highly recommend this hotel - especially if you can get a room with a river view - the city view is not bad, as it overlooks Santa Croce on the higher floors - moon light over the Arno and the Tuscan hills beyond is not to be missed.

I felt good about this booking because of the positive reviews and they were absolutely correct. First, upgrade to a room with a balcony and request a view of the Arno when you book. It is worth the money. The views are spectacular and make the stay special. The room is small but very comfortable - it was so nice to come back to relax after a long day walking the town. The room is very quiet and it was probably our best sleep during our trip. The staff was great and we were so relieved to get rid of the car for a couple of days. The breakfast was excellent - the best we had in Italy. And although they provide coffee feel free to request a cappucino.

The hotel is right near the beautiful Santa Croce Church and that felt like our Piazza for our visit since we always ended up back there while walking to the hotel. The Uffizzi is just a few blocks down the street and the best gelateria during our stay in Italy is just a couple of blocks away at Gelateria dei Neri, via del Neri, 20.

The highlights:
Great room.
Quiet.
Fantastic staff.
Great location.

The room makes the difference. I'll preface this review by saying that we splurged for an upgraded room and were not disappointed. Ask for room 302 and see for yourself! The room was spacious and bright, though the curtains and drapes did a solid job of blocking unwanted light. We also got to enjoy a balcony with a view overlooking the Arno river. We did have friends who stayed in a standard room, which appeared to be nice enough, but was considerably smaller than ours, with no balcony and no real view. That said, the room itself really made the stay so much more enjoyable.

I'm not sure how busy the hotel was, being our stay was toward the end of the tourist season, but I must say it was very quiet in our room. We could not hear anyone else's television through the walls, for example, and never heard another door slam in the hallway. Again, the windows and drapes did a great job of blocking road noise from the relatively busy street below.

Beyond the room, the staff was also superb. We had a small destination wedding in Florence and the staff was very accommodating with our various needs. The concierge desk helped us arrange dinner reservations and taxis with no delays. The only odd moment we experienced was when the maitre'd at the hotel restaurant refused to seat us, claiming there were no tables left on a Tuesday night. We're not completely sure what was going on--perhaps we were slightly underdressed for his liking. No biggie, though, as the place appeared somewhat overpriced. There are plenty of affordable restaurants in the neighborhood. We avoided room service, too, as the prices were exorbitant (9 euro/person service fee!). Our room had a fridge and the minibar items didn't take up too much room, so find a market and stock up on drinks.

The location of the hotel is perfect. It's far enough away from the major cites to keep the crowds away, but not too far away from them to walk to. The train station is a 10-15 minute walk, very easy, but don't try to do it with luggage.

I'm a very paranoid traveler when it comes to hotel rooms--I just dread a noisy, dirty, uncomfortable room. I was wholly satisfied with Plaza Lucchesi and feel we got great value for our weak dollars. I cannot stress enough how spending the extra money for an upgraded room likely made a huge difference.