Hotel Berchielli

Extraordinary! Perfect location (our room overlooked the Arno). The room was spacious(!), elegant and comfortable. Concierge staff were friendly, attentive and helpful. Above and beyond service... when an item was mislaid during (outside) laundering, the concierge staff spent days following up with the laundry service to find the missing item; it was recovered a couple of days after we checked out and couriered to our home address. (It arrived home before we did!) The daily breakfast offered a great selection, and the evening "tapas" offerings in the lobby bar were a nice touch. Highest recommendation - I hope to visit again!

SPECTACULAR HOTEL ! My wife and I boarded the Bullet Train around 9.30am on Sunday, March 23rd in Rome and arrived in Florence at 11.15am. What a fabulous high speed train ride ! We grabbed a taxi and arrived here about midday. SO GOOD TO BE BACK ! We spent just the one night here 18 months ago and totally loved it. This time we're here for 4 days. FRIENDLY STAFF ! Checking in was a breeze and then we took the elevator up to our 5th floor king suite with a gorgeous river view. HARD TO BEAT ! It is such a beautiful location on the River Arno. After freshening up we headed out for lunch and found a terrific cafe called Trinita just over the bridge. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at UnicoUnique virtually right next door and had a look around. Lots of upscale clothing and beautiful jewelry to sooth female souls. The owner Fabio was very charming. I bought a beautiful red scarf ( made at Lake Como in Lombardy ) for my wife. Lots of different pieces of jewelry caught my wife's eye...particularly the hand made earrings. We found an ATM close by to withdraw a large sum of cash to cover our private guided tour expenses for the next few days. I picked up a couple of Belgian beers at Carrefour Express to enjoy back in our hotel room. And then we checked out Ristorante il Paiolo an Italian restaurant highly recommended by one of the hotel reception staff. It looked ideal so I made a reservation for 6pm that evening with charming Nina who turned out to be our server at dinner. The next morning we enjoyed a spectacular brekkie in the breakfast dining room at the hotel....best buffet breakfast anywhere and 4 fabulous double shot cappuccinos made expertly by barista Monica. AND THEN ! Our good friend Martin and also our limo tour driver picked us up at 9am for a day tour of Tuscany. INCREDIBLE SCENERY ! We stopped for lunch at La Bicondola a restaurant inside San Gimignano a beautiful castle. After lunch we swooned over our insanely delicious NOCCIOLONE ( nutty hazelnut chocolate ) gelatos from Gelateria Dondoli...one of the most famous gelato spots in the world. The next day Martin picked us up at 9am for a tour of Cinque Terre...THE ITALIAN RIVIERA. After Martin parked his limo he joined us for the train rides between the little towns. We stopped for a delicious lunch at La Scogliera in Riomaggiore. That night my wife and I enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Ristorante Borgo Antico recommended to us by Martin. Our pizza was amazing ! The next morning we were looked after by our dear friend Roberto ( jack of all trades ) in the breakfast dining room with fabulous double shot cappuccinos. After brekkie we went for a walk along the pedestrian paths on either side of the River Arno. And then we revisited a cheerful Fabio at UnicoUnique where my wife bought a number of pairs of earrings for herself and close family. After another lovely lunch at Trinita we did a tour of Palazzo Pitti...a beautiful palace once owned by the famous Medici family. Later in the evening we enjoyed a sensational dinner at Indian Palace...Kiran the manager looked after us perfectly. TIME TO GO ! After delicious double shot cappuccinos ( made by barista Roberto ) and an early brekkie in the breakfast dining room we said goodbye to all the wonderful staff. At 9am Martin our good friend & limo driver picked us up outside for the long drive to Salerno. BEST EVER !

In May 25 we stayed at Hotel Berchielli, in a beautiful, air conditioned room over looking the Arno. We could hear the live music on the Bridges at sunset when we opened the Gorgeous French windows . The service was great & the breakfast was everything you could want. We would love to stay there again.