Rivoli Boutique Hotel

Rivoli Boutique Hotel is a historic boutique property housed in a former 14th-century Franciscan monastery, complete with its own cloisters (now a garden bar/sitting area). The exteriors are charming and old-fashioned, with an arched doorway, exposed wooden beams, and shuttered windows. The lobby inside features a mix of Old-World features (think wooden ceilings, area rugs, and floral upholstered furniture). Other common areas include a lovely courtyard filled with potted plants and flowers, a glass-covered walkway, and a contrastingly modern restaurant with exposed red-brick ceilings and piping and a charcoal-dominant color scheme. Most guests are international tourists, including couples, families, and groups of friends. 

Rivoli Boutique Hotel is located in the heart of Florence, in an area with plenty of shops, cafes, restaurants, and other hotels. It's a 10-minute walk from the Oltrarno area, where there are tons of authentic, family-run places to eat. Nearby points of interest in include the 14th-century Santa Maria Novella church (a four-minute walk), the iconic Duomo (about 10 minutes to reach on foot), and Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio (12-minute walk). It's a 14-minute walk to the Uffizi Gallery, which houses Botticelli's "Birth of Venus." The Galleria dell’Accademia, where Michelangelo's famous "David" statue is housed, is a 10-minute drive from the hotel. The 13th-century Basilica di San Miniato al Monte takes closer to 15 minutes to reach by car. Getting to the railway station takes about seven minutes on foot. It's around a 25-minute drive to Florence Airport, Peretola. 

Many of the rooms were renovated in 2017. The cheapest of the lot are the snug Single Rooms and the two-person Twin Rooms with interior views and limited natural light. These units are in sharp contrast to the more expensive Balcony Rooms, which offer large terraces with tables and chairs. Family Rooms with added sofa beds are also available. Deluxe Family Rooms feature two bedrooms, one furnished with two sofa beds. Amenities are standard across categories, with small wall-mounted flat-screen TVs, minibars, safes, and free Wi-Fi. Decor in renovated rooms is classic but sleek, with light-gray marbling on walls and headboards and cobalt-blue crushed velvet chairs and bed throws paired with lightwood-hued parquet floors, simple white furniture, and small Renaissance art prints on the walls. Top-category Prestige Rooms have a gray-dominant color scheme and huge mini-tiled walk-in hydro jet showers. The rooms that haven't been renovated, such as the Single, Comfort, and Budget Rooms, still follow a dated decor scheme, with lots of muted blue accents, but have duty rose-hued walls and older furniture. Some past guests have complained of wear and tear. Bathrooms are small and come with bidets, shower/tub combos or tiny walk-in showers, hairdryers, and toiletries on tiny granite-topped counters.Light sleepers may prefer a courtyard-facing room, as units that look out over the street can be noisy. 

Amenities at the Rivoli are nice, especially given the hotel's small size. The buffet breakfast spread is included in room rates and features pastries, fruits, and cereals, with all sorts of organic locally sourced options and some gluten-free items and made-to-order espresso drinks. For lunch and dinner, Ristorante Benedicta serves classic Italian fare and desserts, with a solid wine list to boot. Room service is available, but it's not 24/7. There's also a Garden Bar, with cocktails, snacks, and coffee drinks that guests can take in the hotel's pretty interior cloister courtyard or inside in the elegant sitting area. Other features include a large outdoor whirlpool hot tub (measuring 20 square meters/215 square feet) with a couple of adjacent lounge chairs. For events, there are three meeting spaces, two of which can be combined to accommodate 80 guests theater-style. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel.