The Hotel Caravaggio is a 10 mintue walk, straight up one street, from S.M. Novella train station. We stayed here for three nights in June 2008, 2 adults and 2 teenagers in a huge room with the biggest bathroom I've seen in Europe - now just to clarify, the room was handicapped traveler friendly hence the large area, but since it was at the back away from street noise (which you should ask for as others point out) it was perfect; AC worked well and you'll need it in summer n Florence. Their breakfast room is lovely (see picture on web site) and breakfast selection was great. Leonardo was helpful and friendly at the front desk.

Only problem was Florence itself - completely overrun with tourists and has become a haven for students and American punks. This, along with overpriced entry fees for every church and museum and no good city pass leads me to discourage a long stay in this town. Use Florence as we did, home base for trips to nearby towns in Tuscany such as Siena and Pisa.

The hotel is in a good location near the train station and within 5-10 minutes walk to the Mercato Centrale and the Duomo. The rooms are small but clean. However, it is noisy.

If you are at all sensitive to noise, then it is very important that you get a room in the back of the hotel. We stayed in the front and the traffic and other street noise was very loud. I had earplugs and it was still difficult to sleep (I have spent hundreds of nights in hotel rooms around the world for business and leisure travel so I do have some good comparisons).

I asked to change rooms (or even hotels) and the staff were not very sympathetic saying that it is a 'city hotel' and that they would charge me a cancelation fee if I moved hotels (48 hour cancelation policy).

Had a wonderful 2 nights in Hotel Caravaggio. This has to be one of the best small hotels I have ever encountered in a European city. The staff were so friendly and helpful. Breakfast was lovely. Our room was spotless. Location was great - 5 min walk from train station, 10 minutes from shops and sights. What a bargain - highly recommended.

Although this hotel can be a bit hard to find.. (we highly recommend taking your GPS).. it is a great little hotel. The rooms were very clean, the beds were comfortable.. it has very good air conditioning. The bathrooms are a good size and very clean.

This hotel has a small cafe, with seating outside, really nice for a cup of espresso. They also have great views of the Duomo. Although, you may not get all the convienences of a large hotel chain, you really feel like you're getting an authentic italian experience at Hotel Caravaggio.

This hotel is within walking distance of almost all the major attractions. Although I highly recommend renting a scooter.. fyi, you can rent scooters online before your trip, if you don't and you're travelling during the busy time, you might be out of luck.

My husband and I highly recommend this hotel.