Bettoja Relais Certosa Hotel

“OK but not brilliant”

Pros: free pick up from airport (although they hadn't acknowledged my email so I wasn't sure I was going to get it). Free shutle to town (between 8 and 11am and again at 5 and 6pm) Nice swimming pool. Nice gardens. Cons: my room was on the ground floor and a bit dark (looking out onto a wall); no wi-fi reception in the room; shower so small you had to have the door open. (I asked to change rooms but the hotel was full.) Horrible food (i.e. breakfasts with no fresh fruit or salad, only processed meat, cheese, and eggs. When I arrived, I found out that the restuarant didn't open till 8pm, so I got a sandwich that was frankly inedible. As such, I chose not to use it for dinner.

“OK but not great”

The hotel was ok but the courtesy bus was not operational for 1 day of our stay and we had to wait for about 1 hour for a local bus. Although the pool area was fine there was a shortage of sun beds, with most being used by hotel employees and their friends and family.

“Good location/ average rooms/ fair price”

Great rural location. Convenient free shuttle to center of Florence. 30 minutes away. Rooms have a awkard set-up , Double bed on mezzanine with very steep escalator. Beds are really uncomfortable. Rooms are private with bathroom . Breakfast is OK. Good for Families, business/ money saving travelers

“Unfriendly and distant”

The hotel looks nice enough, but it is a distance to town. This would not have been an issue if the little restaurant down the street were open in the evenings. It is wonderful and the best food we had in Italy, but since tourist season is waning, they now close after lunch. We were told the hotel does not provide shuttle service on the weekends. A taxi is about 20 Euros into Florence, but the bus is convenient. Our small twin room was on four levels--pretty dangerous in the dark. The levels are irregular as well, and naturally I had a nasty fall. The front desk staff did a nice job with English. The Wi-Fi is available for purchase and is only available in the lobby. The restaurant, with wonderful table settings and haute service, was not great. They restricted the menu to the same two choices for three of the five nights we were there. After having it the first night, we went elsewhere, rather than eathing the same meal day after day. There was no lift. Ultimately, we would have been happier elsewhere.

“Not impressed”

The location of the hotel is nice, in a little village and close to public transport. However the service was really bad, attention from staff was almost non existent Additionally they had parties/weddings with loud music almost every night in the pool area (which would be often closed after 5-6 to prepare for the party). Overall avoid it!

“Not what I expected”

There were ants in the shower and the floors of the room felt dirty. The grounds outside of our room needed to be watered and there was simply a feeling of "uncleanliness." Also, you had to sign up for the van into Florence-the times were not always convenient nor was there a large selection of times. Therefore, we constantly had to take a taxi-this cost at least 10 euro one way. Spend the extra money and stay in town-it will save you time and money in the long run.

“Will never go back here”

The grounds of this hotel are beautiful, however, the rooms are AWFUL!!!! The bathroom smelled like urine when we arrived, the room was dirty and not at all well maintatined. DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL. We had a terrible experience, as did our friends who stayed in neighboring rooms, all of which were disgusting. One of the showers was full of mildew. Even by European standards, there is no way this hotel deserves even 3 stars. This hotel uses its impressive views and villa to mask its true appearance - filthiness - do not be fooled.

“A Wonderful Retreat Near Florence”

Stayed 3 nights ~ Charming! Very beautiful grounds. We had extra luggage b/c cruising, also. They changed our room to 'ground' floor in main building with a nice patio. A HUGE room per European sizing. Staff helped with all baggage & refused a tip! Room had a nice patio for early morning reading. Excellent free shuttle, 10-15 minutes to Florence; dropped us near the Duomo. Staff reserved us tickets to Academia. Restaurant is expensive for dinner, wonderful for free breakfast.