Fabulous Florentine stays

Nicky Swallow

selects her favourite boutique hotels, boasting private gardens, romantic rooms and sumptuous décor

Soprarno Suites

The position is perfect – a hop, skip and jump from Palazzo Pitti, in the middle of the Oltrarno district. The owners have a passion for vintage design which is reflected in the eclectic décor of this charming and contemporary guest house. The rooms are delightful. The Camera del tipografo or Printer’s Room, features shelves of ancient wooden type rescued from a former printshop in Viareggio, while Camera di Betty is perhaps the most romantic, with its baby-blue colour scheme and in-room clawfoot bath. features (frescoes, vast chandeliers, fine stuccowork 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. Of the nine bedrooms, seven are in the main house and two are in a garden annex; all are quite lovely. JK Place, on the lively Piazza Santa Maria Novella, is a distillation of Florentine elegance. Its classiccontemporary décor is the result of a meeting of minds between hotelier Ori Kafri and interior designer Michele Bonan. 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 – with its mid-20th-century retro touches – but from the no-expenses-spared quality of the materials used. contemporary Asian minimalism in the downstairs communal rooms, leaving lots of blank wall space for regularly changing art and photography exhibits. The out-and-out look-at-me design of the communal areas is toned down in the rooms – welcoming refuges that make discreet use of rich materials such as teak, leather, cashmere and linen. The hotel is located on a quiet street between Piazza Santa Maria Novella and the Carraia bridge. This is the family residence of a Florentine Marquis, Lorenzo Niccolini di Camugliano, and although a few things have changed since the Palazzo’s 16th-century foundation, lashings of ceiling fresco, decorative stuccowork and antique furniture remain. A hanging garden adds to the sense of being in a privileged refuge from the city bustle. The 10 rooms vary in size and Lying on a quiet street 300 metres north of the Duomo, this hotel is well located. It’s laid out over the five floors of a period townhouse: the spa is in the basement; the café-restaurant and reception area on street level; and the rooms are just three-to-a-floor on top.

Marianna Gagliardi’s interiors are characterised by a palette of rich colours, use of sumptuous velvets and silks, and a sober, neoclassical look. Rooms all have dark, hardwood floors, heavy silk drapes, rich velvet headboards, and fine white linens; the pale lilacgrey walls are hung with handsome monochrome photos of artworks. If the idea of escaping the crowds appeals, Riva’s location – squeezed between the south bank of the Arno and a busy main road several kilometres west of the city centre – will work for you. Architect Claudio Nardi has transformed a small complex of 19thcentury 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. The nine ultra-modern suites have independent entrances. The riverside garden and the hammocks and lap pool are bonuses. Set on a quiet street, the 1865 lies a short stroll from the Sant’Ambogio market area. Styled by Guido Ciompi, the opulent salon, which serves as reception area, breakfast room and lounge, harks back to the glory days of the mid-19th century, when Florence was Italy’s capital. The winered velvet walls, deep sofas and huge gilded mirror are quite a contrast to the chic, contemporary bedrooms with their moody, muted colours and pared-back furnishings, but the overall effect is deeply comfortable. In the eastern part of the centro storico, all the main sites are within walking distance. At times it feels like you’re staying in a museum, so magnificent is the period décor in this former nobleman’s townhouse. Appreciating these venerable historic surroundings is the key to the experience: communal rooms, like the music room with its delicate stucco- There is probably no more strategic position in the whole of Florence: on a corner overlooking the city’s historic bridge, the Ponte Vecchio. You might expect the closest hotel to Florence’s famous bridge to play it safe on the design front. Not so the Continentale, which raids late Fifties and early Sixties style books for its inspirations, making for a bright, light and airy space pitched somewhere between Audrey Hepburn and Twiggy. With their smooth oak floors and soothing cream and white colour schemes, the 43 rooms and suites are tranquil refuges from the tourist bustle down below.

The La Terrazza rooftop bar, in the shade of a medieval tower, is a lovely place for breakfast and lunch.