Unbelievably friendly and warm staff who gladly gave expert travel advice and recommendations that only a Roman would normally be privy to. - Loic Diels
I LOVE this website and will gladly recommend it to anyone headed this way. Nothing disappointed us! - Mary-Iris Taylor
I have been using Cross-Pollinate for about 10 years now. The service is consistently great and I can always find just the kind of apartment we like, at the right price. - Hirani Himona
A really great idea - with a network of hand picked little rooms/guesthouses. If only we could have this in more city destinations! - Zoe Buck
I love Cross-Pollinate and every time we go to a new city I look to see whether they have some accommodations over there. - Arantza Aldea
The two places I have stayed at from Cross-Pollinate have been among the best across Europe. Highly recommended. - Nicholas Burn
Thanks a lot to Cross-Pollinate for the opportunity to experience a city as an insider! We really enjoyed our stay in Rome and Venice and look forward to more. - Tatiana Marchenko
Cross-Pollinate was very helpful when the owner of the B&B wanted to charge us for the baby under 2 y o. It would have been difficult without them since the owners did not speak any english. - Yulia Pichugina
This was our only stay with a C-P apartment and we were very pleased with the entire process. Will look to use them again on our next Europe trip! - Anthony Giglio
Great web site and quick response from the team a CP made the whole experience easy and hassle free. I have already recommended CP to quite of few of my airline industry colleagues and I'm sure they will make use of their excellent service. - Shane Pickles
Cross-Pollinate was extremely helpful! They found us a place to stay in our price range when many other places of business couldn't help us. - Sarah Seminutin
Cross-Pollinate was very easy to use, and it is so much better to stay in places like these than big corporate hotels; you get a much better feel for the place. - Kaspar Deane
Very straight forward. Well done. Definitely would use it again. Love these type of alternatives to hotels! - John White
Cross-Pollinate was fantastic and easy to use. We used Cross-Pollinate to book a room in Florence (the second leg of our trip), which was everything I thought it would be. We have recommended Cross-Pollinate to our friends. - Barbara Carlin
Cross-Pollinate are great - the descriptions are accurate and they are very responsive to questions. - Dominique Bayne
Cross Pollinate was just the best. I had tried a couple of places before coming upon them. As soon as I sent the first email I stopped looking for any more websites. I just wish they expanded to every city in Europe. Their knowledge, helpfulness, etc. was second to none. - Caroline Collis
Lanterna Fiorentina B & B
Lanterna Fiorentina B & B is a small, comfortable 3-room Bed & Breakfast just a 10-minute walk from the train station. The owner, Gianna, lives on one side of the completely renovated apartment, and the other side is occupied by the guestrooms. The rooms are all cheerful and colorful, with each having its own intriguing color scheme: coral, jasper, and jade. The rooms are different in size (one can only be a single, another is a double, and a third is spacious enough for a third single bed), but all have air-conditioning, satellite TV, hair dryer, electric kettle (with a selection of coffee, tea, and infusions), double-glazed windows, and WiFi connection. One of the rooms is accessible for disabled guests. A breakfast voucher is included in the price, so that guests can go have a light Italian breakfast at a nearby café. Guests will be welcomed by Gianna in the common room, who will be happy to answer any questions you have about visiting Florence, including assistance with reserving museum tickets, restaurant suggestions, and information about bike rentals, guided tours of Florence, or a bicycle tour in the Tuscan countryside. Lanterna Fiorentina is on the first floor (with elevator) of a building in the heart of the 18th-century quarter of the city, an important area during the time Florence was briefly the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Besides being convenient to the train station, it's also within walking distance of other main sights in Florence like the Accademia, the Medici chapels, the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, the Uffizi gallery, the Ponte Vecchio, and the lively market of San Lorenzo. Less than 100 meters from the B & B is Piazza Indipendenza, one of the biggest squares in Florence, where you can relax on some park benches under the shade of the big plane trees.
Amenities
  • air-conditioning
  • tea kettle
  • hair dryer
  • iron (upon request)
  • cable/satellite TV
  • WiFi
  • independent heating
  • 1st floor
  • with elevator
  • breakfast voucher (at nearby cafe) included
  • linen and towels provided
  • double glazed windows
Reviews
Michael Crawford on Oct 2016:


Great room, and superb locaton for a tourist visit to Florence! Small but clean and light. On a busy street but the room was very sound proof and very quiet. Easy walk to all the major sights in Florence and a bonus: right near the city market. The city market is a wonderful locale for great food and wine and a real taste of Italian culture. The restuarants in the area were close and superb. Our hostess, Gianna, was just wonderful and generous. Great service and concern for our happiness and well being. Thanks Cross-Pollinate
A little bigger room, but that is a minor issue.
Cross-Pollinate offers a great range of tourist accomodations and for very competitive pricing. The locations and the proprietors (and westayed at two Cross-Pollinate properties) were superb. Can't be beat for value. And Cross-Pollinate was attentive to all our communications, a must when traveling in a foreign country.
Mike Davis on Oct 2014:


The location is great. You can walk from the train station, and walk to the Duomo very easily from the location. There is a laundry two blocks down that we left our laundry with and picked up in the evening. The gelato shop two doors down was great, and is where we had a coffee and pastry for the included breakfast each morning. We had very little contact with the owner, but she was friendly and paid attention to details. We were able to keep our luggage there after check-out the last day. The front window is double glazed and kept the street noise low. It was a great stay, and we really enjoyed Florence.
The noise in the hallway was pretty easy to hear. If someone was locking and unlocking doors you could hear it through and under the gap at the bottom of the door.
Cross-Pollinate was very helpful, and always prompt to respond to our emails.
Sarah Ellis on Apr 2014:


The location was great and hosted very helpful
We thought that breakfast would include more than a Danish and coffee so we had to buy breakfast anyway.
Cross pollinate has been just great!
Susan on Sep 2013:


Location, price, owner on premises who was friendly and helpful.
Directions to B&B! Taking the direct route from Santa Maria Novella station per via Nationale, then take a right at XXVll Aprile to # 11.
Easy, quick, informative
Mauricio Díaz on Sep 2013:


Host was very kind and helpful, the place is safe, clean and cozy. Probably will come back.
Breakfast is very limited. It is a little bit noisy, you can almost hear the other guests breathing.
Very helful will continue using this network.
anonymous on Jun 2013:


Great space. Wonderful location. I could walk everywhere. Owner was very nice.
I had the back room that overlooked a courtyard down bellow. The windows are very very thin and didn't block any noise at all. If people were talking in the courtyard it sounded like they were in your room. And after talking to someone staying on the street side thy had the same problem and could hear the traffic all night. I also got lost on my way there even with her direction, I ended up wondering around for over and hour looking. Make sure you look at the street names not just her landmarks.
Cross-Pollinate was a great help for me. Ill use them on my next trip for sure.
anonymous on May 2013:

Location. Close to sights and the train station. The new Gelateria down the block (Gelateria Leonardo) was a pleasant find!
Walls easily transmit sound between guest rooms. This was problematic when trying to sleep and guests in the next room either had the TV on or were having a long phone/skype call with their ex-girlfriend after 1 am.
anonymous on Sep 2011:

Location
Easy to use. Properties have all been of good value.
Ratings
average score
4.7 / 5.0
Price/Value
4.6
Comfort
4.3
Cleanliness
4.9
Accuracy of listing
4.6
Location
4.5
Helpfulness of owner / staff / host
4.7
Helpfulness of Cross-Pollinate
5.0
Booking details
Booking details: guesthouse (owner lives on premises), 3 guestrooms, with private bathroom (ensuite)
Payment accepted: cash on arrival in euro, Visa, Mastercard, American Express
Minimum stay: minimum stay of 2 nights
Cancellations allowed up to: 5 days before arrival
Occupancy: double
Bed options: 1 queen (160 cm) or 2 singles
Policies & Extra Charges: non-smoking, check-out time is 10:30 am, room will be ready by 12 pm for check-in, luggage can be held before check-in, luggage can be left after check-out, city tourist tax included in price
Spoken Language(s):
Rates and Availability
Location
 Lanterna Fiorentina B & B
A
Stazione Santa Maria Novella
B
Duomo
C
Uffizi
D
Boboli Gardens
E
Ponte Vecchio
F
Piazza della Signoria
G
Galleria dell’Accademia
H
Pitti Palace
I
Piazza Santo Spirito
J
Mercato Centrale