Top 10: the best design hotels in Florence
An insider's guide into the top design hotels in Florence, including the best for tasteful bedrooms, fashionable furnishings, period features, romantic restaurants and central locations, near the Ponte Vecchio, the River Arno and the Oltrarno district.
J.K. Place Firenze
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
One of Italy’s classiest townhouse hotels, J.K. Place Firenze has been much imitated since its launch, but few of the copies match the warm, suave, elegant original. You’re as likely to find fashion designers launching their Pitti Uomo men’s collections here as couples in town for a long weekend treat. It all feels a little like you’ve stepped into the house of a classy collector, a rich Florentine uncle who likes to set classical French and Italian antiques off against Moroccan lamps and Chinese lacquered sideboards. Rooms are impeccably tasteful without being remotely cold, the 20 guestrooms and suites derive much of their charm not only from Bonan’s sapient design scheme, but from the no-expenses-spared quality of the materials used. Read expert review From ￡324per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
? The most romantic Florence hotels
Portrait Firenze
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
With a commanding position on the River Arno, right next to the Ponte Vecchio, the Portrait Firenze is possibly the best located hotel in Florence. A luxury boutique hotel, it is part of the Lungarno Collection belonging to the family of high-fashion Italian shoe-maker-to-the-stars Salvatore Ferragamo. The modern Italian designer interiors in greys, creams, whites and browns are elegant and inoffensive. Clean white walls are adorned with black-and-white 1930s-60s photos of international stars in Florence, many of them Ferragamo’s clients; Clark Gable, the Duke of Windsor, Ingrid Bergman, Le Corbusier, Audrey Hepburn with Ferragamo himself. Read expert review From ￡420per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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AdAstra
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
AdAstra is set in the largest private garden ‘intra moenia’ (between walls) in Europe. Yet, it's a mere stroll away from the buzzing nightlife of the boho-chic Oltrarno neighbourhood, south of the river. Inspired by the concept of a Parisian hotel particulier, this boutique hotel has the feel of an aristocratic private apartment which is not far from the truth – the Marchese Torrigiani lives on the ground floor. The owners have taken the period features (frescoes, vast chandeliers, fine stucco-work and creaky original parquet floors) and added a quirky yet convincing mix of vintage, up-cyled and reclaimed furniture, objéts and knick knacks from the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies. The result is classy, comfortable and highly original. Read expert review From ￡94per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
? The best boutique hotels in Florence
Soprarno Suites
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
A stylish, shabby-chic guesthouse in Florence’s ‘Left Bank’ Oltrarno district, popular with fans of vintage design, modern beatniks and families with teens. Owners Matteo and Betty have a passion for vintage design which is reflected in the eclectic décor of this charming and contemporary guest house. Reception is on the first floor (there’s an old-fashioned lift, or the stairs); some of the bedrooms are here, others on the second floor. Both ‘apartments’ have book-lined lounges, and the kitchen of the first-floor space is available for guests’ use; there’s also an honesty bar. The bedrooms are so different, and all so delightful. ‘Camera di Betty’ (no. 11) – perhaps the most romantic, with its baby-blue colour scheme and in-room clawfoot bath. Read expert review From ￡93per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Hotel Savoy
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
This centrally located Rocco Forte Collection property is the only one of Florence’s five-star hotels that manages to preserve its grand hotel cachet while seeming fresh, hip and artsy. Curated by Sir Rocco Forte’s interior designer sister, the design is a sapient mix of contemporary artworks (including several large repeat-pattern ‘fashion’ canvases of shoes or hats) and more classical soft furnishings and antiques. The style might be defined as comfortable contemporary chic. The 88 rooms and 14 suites are in the same relaxed modern-classic idiom as the communal areas, and the excellent service is old school – in the good sense. Read expert review From ￡261per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Continentale
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
Perhaps the most playfully chic of the six Florentine properties in Leonardo Ferragamo’s Lungarno group, the Continentale occupies an enviable position overlooking the Ponte Vecchio. It’s a stylish address, perfect for a romantic long weekend, with the bonus of a rooftop bar and a small, intimate spa. You might expect the closest hotel to Florence’s famous Ponte Vecchio to play it safe on the design front. Not so the Continentale, which raids late 1950s and early 1960s style books for its inspirations, making for a bright, light and airy space pitched somewhere between Audrey Hepburn and Twiggy. Rooms are equally stylish but take the colour palette back to a soothing combo of white, cream, leather and teak. Read expert review From ￡132per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
? The best Florence hotels near the Ponte Vecchio
Milu Hotel
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
A refreshing change from the more traditional hotels in Florence, design-led Milu offers a young, dynamic vibe, an eclectic contemporary art collection and a fabulous location. Style hounds will lap up the sleek, clean lines and contemporary aesthetic of this design-led hotel, spread over five floors of two 15th-century aristocratic palazzi giving an interesting juxtaposition of old and new. Italian design pieces from the likes of Morotti, Moroso and MDF Italia, splashes of colour and touches of humour save things from being too antiseptic. The minimalism is at its most pared-back in the 22 predominantly white bedrooms; some will love it, others less so. Read expert review From ￡75per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
? Where to stay in Florence: hotels by district
Firenze Number Nine
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
An affordable design hotel in a great central location. It’s popular with savvy web-surfing visitors due to its high aggregator review ratings, but would suit anyone looking for a good-value perch handy for the centro storico and the station, including single travellers. Expect a handsome boutique number, done out like a refined contemporary townhouse (complete with library and wood fire) in a smart classic style. Decorated in soothing pastels and earth colours, the 44 rooms vary quite a lot in size and desirability, though bathrooms are mostly spacious. Breakfast is a generous buffet spread. The restaurant is staffed by teachers and trainees from the city’s Saffi hotel school and culinary academy. Read expert review From ￡68per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Riva Lofts Florence
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
7Telegraph expert rating
Riva Lofts is a hip, laid-back home-from-home with a house-party feel and a location that is as off-beat as the hotel itself. It's a stylish retreat offering sharp design and keen prices, as well as modern suites, a riverside garden, swimming pool and complimentary bikes. Renowned local architect Claudio Nardi has transformed a small complex of 19th-century artisan workshops into a laid-back urban retreat with nine suites. His signature minimalist style is warmed by lots of stone, wood and glass, and an eclectic mix of vintage pieces and modern classics plus the odd antique. Along with a very relaxed management style, the result is welcoming, even cosy, especially in the open plan living room, with its honesty bar and open fire. Read expert review From ￡125per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
? The most romantic hotels in Florence
Floroom 1
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
7Telegraph expert rating
Under the same management and with the same sharp design sense, these two four-room centro storico B&Bs – one on either side of the river – are perfect perches for independent travellers who don’t need 24-hour room service and are keen to explore. Both these sister B&Bs are done out in a cool contemporary idiom that plays off against the historic setting and ancient exposed ceiling beams. The dominant colour palette is black and white, enhanced – especially in Floroom 1 – by large B&W photos of Florentine landmarks, some of which act as bed headboards. Sure, you’ll recognise the occasional Ikea piece, but they’ve been placed by someone with real design flair. Read expert review From ￡106per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
