We enjoyed our stay at Novella house. It was older, large and quirky - definitely felt like a real family lived there so we were fine with it. The room in the back that faced the backyard was quieter, the room that was on the street side was noisier. Good a/c, two separate kitchens and bathrooms but none were en-suite. It was amazingly spacious, 14 foot ceilings (fresco painted) in the main living area and rustic. Great for a large group, a total of 4 large sofas (2 in each living room).

It was not the cleanest place we stayed in but I think it was mostly due to the age of the place. The beds were comfortable and the sheets were crisp and clean. Showers could have been scrubbed more. Kitchen was well supplied except for paper towels so we picked some up our self. No coffee maker though.

Location - great. A short walk to everything, fantastic restaurants on the same street. We got take away food from the bar on Via Della Scala, facing Santa maria novella a few times, great lasagna, lemon chicken and fantastic farro with mushrooms. It was great not having to have a 2 hour meal sometimes. Good gelato across the street from that. And Francesco recommended a pizzeria one block away which was good but a few doors down was Trattoria Sostanza OMG! The steak was amazing, butter chicken to die for and a simple artichoke omelet blew our minds. Make a reservation - seats only about 20 people, 2 seatings a night.

Overall, enjoyed our stay. The elevator was old and quirky but it worked and no walking up 3 flights of stairs! There was construction going on next door so the days could be noisy but we were touring most of the time. It was fine at night.