Hanging Out in Hostel Archi Rossi

Florence is a great base if you want to explore the other cities of Italy. It served as my base for my Cinque Terre, San Gimignano and Siena daytrips. You can also visit Pisa and Lucca. I had a roommate who stayed in Florence for 6 days and she just town hopped everyday.

I immediately liked Hostel Archi Rossi's website. The hostel is also near the train station of Florence - Santa Maria Novella. I didn't get lost trying to find the hostel. I liked how prompt the hostel was in answering my emails. I was this skeptical first time booker of a hostel so I wanted to make sure I understood everything. They patiently answered all my questions. I reserved directly using their website.

Hostel's lobby

Florence has this city tax for tourists which costs €1 per night of stay – payable in cash upon arrival.  I decided to pay by credit card because it has better rates. I was conserving my cash because ATM withdrawal rates are higher.

Forgive me, but for some reason, I forgot to take a picture of the hostel’s room. I’ve been putting it off and putting it off because I had four nights to spare thinking that I’d get the chance. Well, I forgot. The rooms are fine for its price. The upper bunk bed was just quite low. I hit my head a couple of times since I stayed in the lower bunk. The bathroom was spacious and well maintained - it is being cleaned everyday.

Hostel Archi Rossi is reasonable priced at €25 euros a night for an all-female four-bed dorm room with a private bathroom. The hostel serves free breakfast and has wifi. The wifi is not very reliable though – it conked out on me a couple of times. They have this alternate wifi from the neighbor hotel but it depends on which room you are staying. Our room was equipped with a personal computer. The lobby has PCs you can use for free.

Outside the breakfast hall.

The place has this hip and happy vibe. The walls have drawings on them from the visitors. The dude on the front desk briefed me on the basic rules breakfast time, lock-out time, no curfew. The hostel also offers free walking tours which I skipped. I knew better this time.

There's a wild dog

You can choose your breakfast. It is not a lot, but it is breakfast nonetheless. It won’t last you ‘til lunch though.

My usual pick because it has bacon.

The breakfast hall

The hostel has laundry machines you can use for €3 to wash, and another €3 to dry your clothes. The machine does not stop once you hit the button. I learned this the hard way. I did not put the clothes in yet but I hit the button already. I wasted €3 and around 30 minutes of my time. 

Overall, Hostel Archi Rossi is a nice place for backpackers staying in Florence for a couple of nights. Since I stayed here for four nights, I frequently changed roommates. Most of them did a counterclockwise Europe tour compared to my clockwise route. I got a fair share of recommendations and warnings for Paris and Rome.