There was the
Airone Pisa Park Hotel. Staff was decent but the room I got was fantastic. Huge bed, TV, wireless internet, big bathroom (I opted out of the bath), and like I said the rooms in the back have a great view of the mountains. Plus there is a restaurant- all windows, can see the whole range. It was closed for the winter though. They did have a bike rack of good mountain bikes for guests to borrow, which comes in handy when you want to go to the grocery store. I had real good wine (under 2 Euros) and brie every day for lunch. My friend and I had a ball. There is a pool for guests as well; an outdoor one, so closed for the winter. Downside to the Airone: it is about two miles out of Pisa. But the bus that is down the street from the Airone goes straight to the inner city and you'll know which stop you have to get off at to see The [Leaning] Tower.
There was the
Alex House in Florence. The double bed private suite was the room I got. The room was huge- had a lil' table next to the window (not much view but the street was city sounds amazing). Plus you are literally minutes by foot from all the good museums. Downside was the street got pretty noisy on the weekend. This was just a cheap hotel. If you are willing to shell out the money, I can only imagine what the other places in Florence where like.
And first hand experience: Germany isn't that great in winter (no sun).