The only thing good to say about this place was the location. We travel very much and have seen many hotels around the world but this one ranks at the bottom. Tiny bathroom, you literally are facing the wall on the toilet Shower drain didn't drain properly and left with water rising while showering. The room was very dusty. When we started the AC, we saw the amount of dust flying as the sun was shining inside the room. The bed was actually 2 single beds with king sheets so when sleeping you are falling between the cracks of the mattresses. The sheets had stains on them. The elevator is tiny, only 2 people can fit and limited luggage The location is very nice in front of the piazza but the noise is there all night through 2am and then the noise starts back again at 7am from the restaurants below setting-up for the morning breakfasts with tables and chairs. On Google maps it says "free breakfast" so we had booked at this location. When arriving they told us that there was no "free breakfast" and we showed the google maps mentioning it. The employee gave us free breakfast coupons for the 2 nights stay we had at the local restaurant nearby. The following morning the manager Toni was there at the reception and told us we weren't allowed for the free breakfast. After showing the google maps "free breakfast" he said that the reservation in Italian written language was mentioned no breakfast. So we needed to return our coupons and this was not included even though it was still written "free breakfast" and showing it to him. We told him that we would write a review so that others wouldn't get hooked with the free breakfast mention and he didn't care and said do your review and don't care about the bad ratings. So here I am mentioning this to others who wish to book at this hotel and to avoid you from booking here.

WHERE IS THE ZERO STAR??? This hotel need a big 0 just because of the Manager's attitude and the wrong advertising. The pictures looks great on internet but they are really smalls, dusty and smell bad. The location is wonderful but many more hotels are really closes to the train's station. FREE breakfast on google but NO. Forget about that part. Even the manager said that he don't care if it's on google. We tried to change it ourself but we were not able too. The manager doesn't want to change it either. He simply don't care. Don't book this hotel. Plenty more great hotels available around this area.

Albergo Universo is well positioned within Florence to be a great spot from which to explore the city. The hotel is within a five minute walk of the train station, and a fifteen to 20 minute walk of all of the major sites in Florence. Another is plus is that the hotel is right on piazza Santa Maria Novella, an active taxi stand almost rought outside the front door, and a number of good bars, restaurants and gelaterie nearby. The front entry is easy to find and the small lobby is very modern looking. A small sitting area and a modest front desk fill the space with the stairs and a small lift available to get up to the rooms. We arrived slightly early for our reservation but the front desk staff indicated that one of our two rooms were ready so we were able to drop off our luggage directly into a room without having to have the front desk staff attend to it. The staff at the front desk were great during our entire stay - giving us some good recommendations and directing us to the nearest taxi stand. The check-in process was very straightforward and the two gentlemen tending the desk had a significantly better grasp of English than I did of Italian, but they were patient and we were able to get through the process without incident. Since our rooms were on the third floor (second floor europe) we did not use the lift and instead made the quick climb. The hotel is a little like a maze, and a couple of spots where you need to go up one or two stairs, but we figured it our in short order. Hotel Universo is what I would call a standard hotel for Italy with a double bed (only slightly smaller and a US queen-size) which was firm, but not too much so. It you are looking for luxury, please look elsewhere. This hotel is inexpensive and is a solid, well-kept property but lacks a lot of "frills". The room was clean and also had a small desk with a reasonable sized-bathroom. There were more than enough power plugs so that we could charge our phones over-night. My wife was very pleased with the hair-dryer provided in the room, and we both thought that the towels were very good. The small flat-screen TV with a couple of English-language channels and available wi-fi were a nice plus. The room was extremely clean and quiet, providing a very good night's sleep for us.

A very bad hotel. The whole room covered with dust. The room so so small, the bathroom small too.And the lights are dim. It's very noisy outside because there’s a square. When I checked the bedding, I found that there were stains on it, which was very dirty. I told the front desk to change the room.The front desk said that I could not change the room cause I touched the room. The question is, if I don't touch the bedding, how do I know it's so dirty? If I don't touch the table, how do I know it's full of dust? If I don't turn on the light, how do I know the light is so dim? Your hotel hides all the dirt in the back, and then displays to the guests with false photos with cleanliness. In the end, I quarreled with the receptionist with a very bad attitude and left the hotel. I can’t stand staying in this place for one night.😅😨

Would NOT recommend this hotel at all!!! Dirty, rooms are very small, in a noisy area. The ONLY PLUS is the location! We had an incident- got room 301- the AC is NOT working- called front desk - spoke to a guy named TONY- extremely rude- told us. “ this is NOT the United States where u can blast the AC “. Insisted that it was working! Waited for the next front desk personnel- he sent a maintenance guy check the AC and sure enough- the man said it DOES NOT WORK!!! He said they will fix it in the morning. Upon arrival the following day from tours- they claimed it is fix- ONLY to walk in the room with a puddle of water leaking from the AC. And there were no other rooms to move us to!!! DO NOT GO HERE!!! More hotels in the area.

first of all i wasnt in the hotel just in the restaurant upstairs. i was very happy that universal was one of the restaurants which has still open after 11pm. the prices seemed ok, but after we ordered for over 50 euros we are really disappointed! we said before we ordered 2 times we want some spicy things and he said yes it comes but it didn’t he said he forget it after we ate. spaghetti with cheese was disgusting or not typical for me. cheese tasted like water and the noodles were to hard. 12 euro is way to much even 5 euro is to much. pizza cheese wasn’t melted and the vegetables had no taste. therefore we ordered again chili or spicy things. we got if for the last bite. wow. water was fine and the waiter was rlly friendly but he forgot so many things. the last point is that i paid in front of the cashier with cash money and i have to wait for 10pm in to get my cash! i gave the waiter 2 euros cause it is not his fault he was friendly and clumsy but still frinedly. all in all waste of money go to the city buy a 5 euro pizza but never go there for food. i can’t believe they got this place and make food like this. if u can see at universal no one eat the plate completely.

Is there anyone who wants to go to this hotel after seeing the picture I posted? When I entered this room, it covered with dust. I saw dust with hair on the floor in the room and manager said it was “pollen”. Pollen with hair in the room? It doesn’t make sense. Even we saw too much dust on the bed, curtains and telephone as well. We checked in at 6pm and we even couldn’t lay down on the bed until 10pm, waited for house kipper. And I’m not sure they change or laundry the bedding. First night, I saw something on the bedding, second day morning, I asked to make up room but the something was still on the bedding. It was the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed. Please do not spend money for this hotel

The rooms don't deserve even a single star. We stayed here for a night recently and the experience was horrible. Many levels in the hotel do not have direct elevator access. You need to go a level higher or lower then use the stairs. This is very inconvenient for luggage/children/senior citizens. The room was dark and dingy. The lamp on one side of the room wasn't working. I had to bring forward the desk to check the socket. This exposed dust behind the desk which had not been cleaned since 1980. The aircon unit in the room displayed 16 degrees but had just the fan on and no cooling. It leaked water all night directly on the table beneath which was beside the bed.The table already had major water damage which meant that the aircon leakage was an old, unfixed issue. This was exactly over the charging point for my phone and laptop. I had to use a towel to cover both to protect a short circuit. The bathroom had a used ear bud on the floor from the previous guest. Overall, the hotel is eerie (especially if you dont have a room with the view in front) I will not stay there again even if someone paid me to. Just an honest opinion.

We had an exceptional stay at Hotel Universo. Our room got upgraded to a deluxe and it was one of the most beautiful hotel rooms we've been to. Everything was clean and stocked up with products. Apart from the amazing central location of this hotel, the staff was truly some of the friendliest and helpful we have come across. We were always greeted with a smile. We strongly recommend this hotel to anyone that values a great central location, cleanliness and comfortable beds, amazing staff and great prices.

This hotel does not need should be a 0 the one is for the location. They had us in a small room that smelt like mold, we asked to change rooms they found one that was ok but not as advertised the room still smelt as u walked in . Very smelly and dirty . If allergic to mold or dust I wld not recommend staying.

The location is perfect - right next to the central train station. All the major sights are close by. Staff is friendly and helpful. Note: They don't offer breakfast anymore

Rooms are definitely outdated. Bathrooms are small. Rooms were cleaned with Lysol (or a similar cleaning product) and really smelled of it (and floors were slippery because of it). We had to air the room out every time we came in. Location is good (in all honestly though, any hotel within 20 mins walk from the train station is in a good location). Biggest issue is the noise. We could hear people above us flushing their toilet, and the water running down the pipes, at all times. Noise was also coming from outside (we were not facing the beautiful Piazza, we were facing the AC unit for the building next door). Bottom line: very noisy. Breakfast was at par, cereals, yogurt, cheese, cold cuts, croissants, fruit, espresso/cappuccino on demand, etc... no eggs though. Overall, this place is waaaaay overpriced for what it offers. It's just okay. Would not stay here again, Florence is littered with hotel options.

Location was great. However, the elevators didn't take you to each floor, and you had to haul your luggage up and down stairs, to get to your room. One night I spilled some water on my blanket, and requested a new blanket. The staff member I talked to refused at first, stating that they were just a 3 star hotel, so apparently, I couldn't expect them to help me with something like this??? They couldn't even access the cupboard where the blankets were, at night, so they ended up bringing me several flat sheets. My room with a twin bed was very basic. Some of the larger rooms had nicer accommodations.

5 min to train station and 8-10 min to duomo/ponte vecchio. Very friendly staff and clean rooms. First they gave us a room with wellhole view :) then we asked and they change with the available city view room. Thanks for that! Hotel is in one of the main square (santa maria novella) so there are lots of noise during the night which is very normal. If you want to stay in the center be prepared for this. There are lots of cafes and restaurants next to hotel.

Pretty much everything you'd hope for in a 3-star hotel except breakfast, and the cafe next door has you covered in that front. Great location, friendly staff, clean rooms with AC, and a good price.

I give a solid four stars. This one is location, location, location. Close to the train terminal. Right in front of Piazzi di Santa Maria Novella near so many restaurants. This is an easy stager home from too much vino, ubriaco. Ha! Clean rooms, great staff. Rooms little on small size and I can’t stand when there is a step entering into bathroom.

This hotel is located in such a great place! Lisa really made our stay so much better with awesome local recommendations.The room was so clean and the bed was really comfortable, thank you for a lovely stay!

We had one night booked in hotel universo but unfortunately the key card lock on the door was broken and they couldn't let us into our room, however the staff very quickly got us an upgraded room at a nearby 4 star hotel. We were blown away by their amazing service and stayed at the nicest hotel we had come across yet on our trip. They solved the problem very fast and far exceeded our expectations. Thank you so much to the staff!

Our room in the Hotel Universo had a beautiful view of Piazza di Santa Marie Novella, and the hotel is generally situation great for visitors to Florence. The rooms are fairly small and generally the hotel is designed in a pretty vertical and narrow fashion. The complimentary breakfast is good but they have limited to no hot breakfast. Generally, I enjoyed my stay at Hotel Universo.

Hotel was great! Was located in the heart of the city, easy walking distance to everything including train station. It was clean, had lots of hot water and awesome water pressure. Buffet breakfast was simple and good. Negatives they do not have a terrace over looking the city as shown on the web page, no wifi and they charge for anything taken out of the mini fridge. Still I would defiantly recomend and stay again.

Great location. Close to EVERYTHING. 4 minutes from train (all flat). We got an upgrade to top floor (wonderful surprise). Comfortable beds. Pleasant view. Friendly staff. Lots of stairs (small elevator so we took the stairs often). Breakfast is basic but good. Thank you Universo.

The best hotel we have ever stayed in Europe under $100. Clean and nice room. Comfortable bed and great shower. Nice variety and tasty breakfast included. Good location, close to the train station and walking distance to attractions. Staff was friendly and helpful. If I ever return to Florence I am sure I will be staying at this hotel.

Location is excellent as it’s a 2 minute walk to train/bus while still being an easy walk to the Old Town and attractions. We had a gorgeous room overlooking the Santa Maria Novella church and piazza. We stayed in March so the hotel wasn’t completely full and the square was quiet at night and in the morning. Lots of great little patio bars on either side of the hotel. Breakfast was nice but light.

The location of this hotel is amazing. They take care of parking for you ($46/day). Everything you need to see or do in Florence is walkable from this location. It is also very close to the train station(walkable). The guest relations were amazing. Tony in particular was super helpful and arranged for our car park while we visited in Rome for 2 days. I rate the room a 3 star because it lacked a few necessities. Hooks / armoire / drawers/ a full length mirror (or even a second mirror outside of the bathroom one). These added amenities would improve guests satisfaction.

Honestly, if you want to sleep in the night after a tiring day exploring Florence, this hotel is absolutely not for you. It's poorly soundproofed, you can hear everything that's happening in the neighboring rooms, the screams of drunk tourists, the doors slamming violently even at 2am. Oh yes, there is no breakfast even if it is mentioned here and there. Communication with staff isn't great either so apart from the excellent location, I wouldn't recommend it.