The royal treatment
At Four Seasons Firenze, your first intimation of its grandeur is the four hectares of private gardens that surround the two Renaissance palaces. The stunning property dates back to the 15th century and boasts an impressive residential history including a Pope, an order of nuns, five centuries of Florentine nobility and viceroy of Egypt (who sold it when his harem was barred from moving in).
Its sumptuous Royal Suite (della Gherardesca) (€18,000, RM83,000 per night), and indeed the whole property, is the result of almost a decade’s worth of restoration. The effort was overseen by three of Florence’s governmental agencies whose role included determining which period artistic and cultural artefacts should be restored. As such, artworks seen throughout the property range from priceless 15th-century bas-reliefs to intricately hand-painted chinoiserie wallpaper from the 19th century.
The Royal Suite, with its magnificent vaulted ceilings, features its original Capodimonte Maioliche-style ceramic floor by Ignazio Chiaiese and a wealth of murals, stuccos, ormolu and brocades. A generous 234 sqm in total, the suite boasts a soothing duck-egg blue dining room, a regal lilac study, a gallery outfitted with parquet floors and silk wallpaper, a powder room and an extravagant marble bathroom, all crowned with a ravishing rococo fresco by the 17th-century painter Baldassare Franceschini in the master bedroom.
As one would expect from such a superlative property, the hotel houses a one-Michelin-starred restaurant, Il Palagio, and an award-winning spa featuring bespoke products from Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, one of the world’s oldest pharmacies dating back to the 13th-century Florentine monks. Life is sweet no matter what the season in Florence, but all the more so at Four Seasons.
