Firenze Hotels

Hotel Paretaio

Country estate with a simple but stylish 17th-century farmhouse at its heart. Many guests come for the horse riding. Inside, bedrooms are rustic, with equestrian prints, worn terracotta floors and whitewashed walls; one of the nicest is in the old dovecot. Meals are communal, eaten round a long larchwood table. San Filippo, 50021 Barberino Val d’Elsa, Firenze.

Hotel Osteria del Vicario

The approach through modern Certaldo is discouraging, but press on to the old town and this simple, well-priced inn. Via Rivellino 3, 50052 Certaldo Alto, Firenze.

Hotel Annalena

A traditional pensione with solid comforts and a huge drawing room. Bedrooms vary in size; acceptable bathrooms. Via Romana 34, 50125 Firenze.

Hotel Grand

 Early 1900s palazzo whose winter garden lobby is especially evocative. Bedrooms, frescoed with Renaissance scenes, have all modern luxury. Piazza Ognissanti 1, 50123 Firenze.

Hotel Royal

This B&B hotel is cool and elegant, and its large, peaceful garden and parking spaces are a huge plus. Bedrooms are functional; some are small. Good value for money. Via delle Ruote 52, 50123 Firenze.

Hotel Tornabuoni Beacci

On the elegant prime shopping street, a long-established pensione with old-world atmosphere. Rooftop terrace. Via de Tornabuoni 3, 50123 Firenze.

Hotel Excelsior

Florence’s grandest hotel is made from two 19th-century houses that stand next to the River Arno. Its fabulous interiors abound in oil paintings, marble staircases, statues and stained glass windows. The rooms are spacious and old-fashioned in style; many have good views over the river. Close to the train station. Piazza d’Ognissanti 1, 50123 Firenze.

Hotel Morandi alla Crocetta

 This house just behind the archaeological museum was a brothel in Medici times, and subsequently a convent. The Antuono family has lived here since the 1920s, and now runs the first-rate hotel. There are many special touches, from frescoed rooms to phones in the bathrooms. Via Laura 50, 50121 Firenze.

Hotel Loggiato dei Serviti

This vaulted hotel is airy and calm, and is set in a traffic-free square by the Ospedale degli Innocenti. The decoration is spare and elegant, with carved wooden bedheads and a few well-chosen pieces of furniture. The place is popular with visiting art historians so book well in advance. Breakfast is very good. Piazza della SS Annunziata 3, 50122 Firenze.

Hotel Porta Rossa

Italy’s second oldest hotel, dating from 1386, is a purposeful, bustling and civilized place. Leather couches and stained glass decorate the vaulted reception area. Bedrooms are comparatively plain but are large; it’s worth asking for the tower suite with its views over town. Best of all is the hotel’s central location, close to Piazza della Signoria. Via Porta Rossa 19, 50123 Firenze.

Hotel Torre di Bellosguardo

This 16th-century villa with tower rests on a hill overlooking the city, just south of the Porta Romana. It aims to be a home from home and what makes the place special is the affable owner Giovanni Franchetti. Bedrooms are large and solidly furnished. There is a minimum two-night stay at weekends. Via Roti Michelozzi 2, 50124 Firenze.

Hotel Villa Cora

A pleasure palace on the outskirts of Florence, this Renaissance-style 19th-century mansion was once the home of Baron Oppenheim and later Napoleon’s wife Empress Eugenia. The formal interior includes ceilings encrusted with stucco, Murano glass chandeliers and regally draped beds. Viale Niccolò Machiavelli 18, 50125 Firenze.

Hotel Salvadonica

Olive oil and wine are still produced on this large farm estate. The guest rooms are in a couple of huge farmhouses; there are also ten apartments in the grounds. It’s an easy drive into Florence; there are many alternative distractions on site, including horseriding, billiards, tennis and football. Via Grevigiana 82, 50024 Mercatale Val di Pesa, Firenze

Hotel Villa le Barone

This 16th-century villa in the countryside south of Florence is run along the lines of a house party, with honesty bar and a ‘reception’ in the form of a visitor’s book. Rooms have the feeling of a private home furnished with personal effects. There are two sitting rooms and a pool with a view to lounge by. Via San Leolino 19, 50020 Panzano in Chianti, Firenze.

Hotel Villa Campestri

This square Renaissance villa on a hillside south of Vicchio is one of the area’s few good places to stay. Bedrooms are grand; some are in the main house, others in a farmhouse next door. Public rooms mix tapestries with Art Nouveau stained glass. Via di Campestri 19, 50039 Vicchio di Mugello, Firenze.

Hotel Paggeria Medicea Terracotta pantiles, cool arcades and a formal garden characterize this hotel in a village near Florence. Created from the servant’s wing of a 16th-century Medici villa, it is imbued with an understated elegance. Dinner is served on a terrace overlooking vineyards; food is Tuscan with a Renaissance flavour. Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, 59015 Artimino, Firenze.