After spending 5 nights in Rome, my friend and I left the city and took a 3-hour bus ride to the beautiful and historic city of Florence in the famous Tuscany Region. We spent 4 nights in the city and stayed with YellowSquare Florence. This lively and social hostel will be today’s hostel of the day feature. Read on below to know more details about the property and check out if you would consider staying in for your next Florence trip.
YellowSquare Florence
YellowSquare Florence is 1 of 3 YellowSquare Hostels in Italy. According to the hostel’s website, the YellowSquare brand started out in 1999 when the founders decided to buy a small apartment and rent out a few beds. 20 years later, they now have 3 branches in Italy – Rome, Florence and Milan.
YellowSquare Florence has 2 buildings – a 6-storey main building which houses reception, common areas, bar, swimming pool and dormitory rooms and a single storey building at rear where the private rooms are mostly located. The hostel has over 200 beds in both dormitory and private rooms. This hostel branch opened its doors to guests last year.
Location & Access
YellowSquare Florence is located at Viale Francesco Redi, 19, 50144 Firenze FI, Italy. It is 1.5 to 2 kilometers away from Florence city center. It is near Redi tram stop on the Tram Line 2 – Vespucci (4th tram stop from Unità, 3rd tram stop from Alamanni-Stazione (Santa Maria Novella Train Station) and 8th stop from Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola (Florence Airport)). The hostel is 3 to 5 minutes away by foot (220 meters) from the Redi tram stop. Alternatively, the city center is 20 to 30 minutes away by foot from the hostel.
The hostel is in a relatively quiet neighborhood. There are supermarkets, shops and restaurants nearby but are at the rear part, not along the main road. The nearest airport, Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola (Florence Airport), is a tram ride away from Redi tram stop. Flixbus’ pick-up and drop off station in Villa Constanza is 30 minutes away by tram with a change to Tram Line 1 – Leonardo at Alamanni-Stazione tram stop.
Room Options
YellowSquare Florence has rooms for all types of travelers. The property has both dormitory rooms and private rooms with different types of configurations.
The hostel’s dormitory room configurations are as follows: 8-bed mixed dormitory room, 8-bed female dormitory room, 6-bed mixed dormitory room, 6-bed female dormitory room, 4-bed mixed dormitory room and 4-bed female dormitory room. All these dormitory rooms feature in-room shower and ensuite, air conditioning and heating systems, a table and chair (per room), lockers, daily housekeeping and free Wi-Fi connection. All dormitory beds have a pillow, blanket, individual lights and personal security locker. Towels are not included and are available for rent from reception.
The private rooms have the following configurations: double or twin private room, triple private room (1 full bed and 1 bunk bed), quadruple private room (2 bunk beds) and sextuple private room with 3 bunk beds. These private rooms have the same features as that of the dormitory rooms except for towels which are already included in these rooms.
My friend and I booked our stay directly with YellowSquare Florence and paid €83.60 for 4 nights in a 4-bed mixed dormitory room. On top of this, hostel visitors were asked to pay €3 city tax per person per night. This city tax has been increased to €3.50 per person per night as of 1 April 2023. Including the city tax, we paid €95.60 each. We were charged by our bank ₱5,791.09 including foreign currency transaction conversion fee – roughly ₱1,447.77 per night. It is still not bad!
We were assigned an upper and lower bunk beds at Room 304 facing the main road. The room had just the right amount of space for 4 people. The toilet and shower were clean throughout our stay.
Guest Facilities & Amenities
Like any other hostel, YellowSquare Florence also has a long list of facilities and amenities to enjoy.
Free Wi-Fi Access – All guests have access to a free and fast Wi-Fi connection available throughout the property.
In-House Bar & Restaurant – YellowSquare has an in-house bar and restaurant in the ground floor called Barmezzo. It serves breakfast from 7:30am to 11:30am, lunch from 12:30pm to 2:30pm and aperitivo and dinner from 6:30pm to 11:30pm. They have a long list of food and drinks to choose from.
Basement Bar & Club – The hostel has an in-house bar and club named Bargiù Club. Weekend parties and (sometimes) events are held in this place.
Rooftop Swimming Pool – YellowSquare Florence has a rooftop swimming pool which guests can enjoy during late spring and summer.
Rooftop Deck – It also has a small lounge area in the rooftop beside the swimming pool. This deck offers a beautiful view of Florence city center.
Rooftop Bar – The hostel operates a rooftop beside the swimming pool. This bar, named Barsù, is usually open during summer and warm seasons.
In-Room Shower & Toilet – All private and dormitory rooms have showers and toilets.
Lounge Areas – The property has a communal lounge area by the reception. The tables and chairs are comfortable to sit in.
Kitchen & Dining Area – Guests who want to cook their own food can do so in the communal kitchen and dining area at Floor 0.
Orthus Garden & Terraza Zen – YellowSquare has a relaxing garden and terrace where guests can chill during their stay.
Boardgames – The hostel has boardgames which guests can borrow and play with in the lounge area.
Meeting Room – Guests who need to conduct private meetings can use the meeting room in Floor 0. Reach out to reception to know how use this room.
Music Studio – The hostel also has a music studio for those who need to use it.
Daily Hostel Activities – YellowSquare Florence hosts daily activities which guests can join and enjoy. They have walking tours, cooking classes, art activities, movie, karaoke and comedy nights. Check out the more updated schedule near reception or in the noticeboards inside the elevators.
Common Toilets & Changing Rooms – The property has common toilets and changing rooms which guests can use during their stay.
Luggage Storage – Guests who arrive before the check-in hours and guests who need to leave their bags after check-out can have their stuff stored at the luggage room at no extra cost. Please approach reception if you want to use the luggage room before check-in or after check-out.
24-Hour Reception – YellowSquare’s reception is open 24 hours every day. There will always be someone who will entertain your questions or address your concerns. Check-in starts at 3:00pm and check-out is allowed until 10:00am only.
Multi-Lingual & Friendly Staff – The hostel staff speak many languages – Italian, English and a few more. Guests who do not speak Italian or English can still communicate with and can ask questions to the staff at any time.
Secured Room Access – Rooms can only be opened by the access card assigned to each guest. This access card only works on the guest’s assigned room.
Lift Access – Guests travelling with large suitcases need not to worry about bringing their luggage up to the rooms and down. The hostel has a lift open to all guests.
Secured Hostel Premises – The hostel is a safe place to stay. It is equipped with security surveillance systems that work every day of the week. It has security cameras almost everywhere.
Hostel Experience
I had a nice stay with YellowSquare Florence. My friend and I were mostly there to just rest and sleep but we still had a great time.
We liked the following during our stay. First, YellowSquare had the best and most affordable rates per night when we booked directly with them. The direct booking included a flexible cancellation term where guests can cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before the intended stay. Second, YellowSquare Florence’ colors and layout are aesthetic and very pleasing to the eyes. The walls, the rooms and even the common areas all had vibrant colors and interiors.
Third, the hostel’s rooftop terrace is nice and relaxing. It has a beautiful view of the Florence city center especially at night. Lastly, the hostel’s vibe is superb; the atmosphere is lively and social. All the staff and even guests are friendly and hospitable. It is easy to gain new friends once you stay in the hostel’s common areas.
Our experience was not perfect. The check-in staff forgot to give us the yellow armband which was later asked from us when we checked-in at the Milan property. Second, the shower area in Room 304 was a bit small but it was still alright. We believe it was mostly due to the building’s layout.
This sums up our stay with YellowSquare Florence. Will I go back and stay with them again in the future? I say yes! I look forward to going back and joining all the hostel’s activities and events.
Do you have questions about YellowSquare Florence? If yes, you may reach out to them on the following platforms:
YellowSquare Florence
Address: Viale Francesco Redi, 19, 50144 Firenze FI, Italy
Phone Number: +39 055 031 7718
E-mail address: questions@yellowsquare.it
Website: www.yellowsquare.it
Facebook: www.facebook.com/yellowsquareflorence
Instagram: www.instagram.com/yellowsquarehostel
Have you stayed with YellowSquare Florence in the past? Care to share your hostel experience in the comments section below? Do you have any questions about the hostel or my experience? Feel free comment down below. You may also send these questions via e-mail to contact@thewkndtravel.com.
Thanks for joining me in today’s Hostel of the Day feature. Please also take time to check out my previous HOTD features by clicking this. You’ll find my other hostel reviews about Le Village Montmartre in Paris, The Bed KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, The RomeHello in Rome & Z Hostel here in the Philippines. Before you go, can you visit my social media pages –Facebook & Instagram – and like or follow them? Thank you & see you in the next one!
PS. Photos were taken using my OnePlus 9 Pro.