Derek,
Thanks for your message. We were very pleased with the trip and the hotel selections.
The hotel in Rome was central to everything without being in the middle of all the craziness.
The hotel in Florence was spectacular. Beautiful rooms, great staff terrific location.
The hotel in Pisa was a perfect for our needs. You could view the Leaning Tower from the rooftop and it was two minute walk to get there. It is probably the best hotel in Pisa, but is a bit dated. No worries, you warned us. I would recommend it for anyone who is looking for convenience to the Tower. Again, nothing wrong with it - just a but dated.
All transfers and tours worked fine. If I am nitpicking the one thing I would change is the amount of time allocated to getting us to our trains. We arrived 90+ minutes early for our trains. I understand that it is better to be early than late but it was a bit too conservative.
Thanks for your help and best wishes with your new opportunity.
Scott K.