Istituto Gould

Clean ensuite twin room on a budget.

At €28 per person per night for a private twin room with ensuite shower, I couldnt complain about the noise of mopeds and drunk American exchange students from the street below. (Luckily i brought earplugs!) Having said that, i would advise anyone else to ask for a quieter back room when booking, as it would have made our stay perfect.
We were pretty much left to our own devices for the whole 4 nights of our stay, which suited us fine. There were hardly any other guests and no curfew, so we came and went unnoticed.
A service of breakfast lunch and dinner is only available to groups of over 24 people with advance notice, and housekeeping is not guaranteed every day. There is a stock cupboard with a sign for guests to help themselves to toilet rolls and anything else they might need during their stay, but this was locked. However, the room was well stocked for our stay so we didnt need anything. (We were just being nosey).
There are vending machines for hot and cold drinks, and just up the street is a 24hr vending service with hot and cold snacks and drinks.

Unique Quality: The hostel is located in a palazzo constructed in the mid 1600’s, and has a quiet, cool courtyard at the entrance. It is a 15 minute walk from the main tourist area of Florence, just across the river.
The profits from the hostel go towards various social programmes for the elderly, children and others in need.