We went to Pisa with no hotel reservation, which in the first place makes me nervous since I like to check Tripadvisor before booking any hotel! As soon as we got to the train station in Pisa, we started walking around, pulling luggage behind us. We wandered to Hotel Minerva and took a chance. The lady receptionist was very nice to us, telling us we could look at the room before commiting to a reservation. There were 4 of us (2 couples) and she showed us the quad room. It was one double bed and a couch-type of furniture which turns into a bunk bed, or so we were told. We opted to get 2 rooms! The first room was big, comfortable and clean. The 2nd room was small with a long hallway to the door. Since we were only spending one night at the hotel, we didn't complain. The room I had was the smaller one, but it had a nice view of the backyard. I spent a lot of time watching the owner's dog run around in the back (which made me miss my own dog!). The people there are all friendly and very helpful. Be aware that any time you leave the hotel, you must leave your key with the receptionist.
The Leaning Tower is only about 20 mins away by foot. The train station is about a 15 min walk and the Pisa airport is only about 5 minutes by taxi.
Breakfast is served in the morning in the room adjacent to the reception area. There isn't too much of a variety. Just some bread, cheese, ham slices and various fruit drinks. They also serve hot drinks (coffee, tea) from the back. You may find more variety at a cafe in town.
We also tried the recommended Galileo restaurant which was around the corner and down 2 blocks. We had a wonderful dinner there. Their pizzas were fresh and big! The seafood pasta was also delicious. It looked like a lot of locals ordered their pizzas and took them home. One lady walked out with 5 boxes!

We booked 2 nights totally on the basis of the tripadvisor reviews. The location was ok and, true the hotel was clean but, oh dear how dreary, from the civil but dreary receptionist to the serviceable but dreary (and small quad) room, to the dreary breakfast room with dreary tinned fruit salad (in Italy!!).

Their recommendation of the Galileo restaurant was, as other commentators had expressed, good. But there has got to be a better three star in Pisa. But for the cleanliness we would probably have up sticks and slept at the airport on our last night!!

Can't recommend it but have to say don't know Pisa well enough to suggest anywhere else.

We stayed here for 4 days and had a lovely stay. What I want from a hotel is the following: a comfortable bed, a clean room, a quiet outlook, a good location, friendly staff and, most importantly in hot weather, good air conditioning! Hotel Minerva had all of those, so no complaints. For a 3 star hotel, this is way better than some so-called 4 star hotels I've stayed in. If you require a large room with lots of facilities, then this probably isn't for you but it will do very nicely for everyone else. We had a room overlooking the garden, so it was very quiet. A breakfast buffet is included and you get your choice of freshly made coffee as you like it - great cappuccino, for instance. The location is good - ten minutes walk from the station and - unbelievably - about five minutes in a taxi from the airport! But, don't worry, you don't get any aircraft noise. It's about a 20-25 minute walk to the leaning tower but that makes it good in my book because you're far enough away from the touristy bits. If touristy bits are what you're after, you can do Pisa in a day. If, like us, you also like to just soak up the atmosphere of a very pleasant normal Italian town, then you'll like Pisa.

I searched around (on internet) for a nice hotel in Pisa, and found it hard to find something nice. I decided on the Minerva Hotel in the end. We stayed here 1 night to see Pisa (I agree one day is o.k. to see the sights in Pisa) before travelling through to Lucca. Nice hotel with a personal touch (chat, pasta present when you leave). We had a quiet room at the back (you hear the birds singing in the morning) and a great shower. Breakfast is also fine. Would recommend it to friends. All the sights are within walking distance (ca. 10 minutes)and the hotel is also conveniently near the train station (but not too near like other, somewhat dreary, hotels we saw).