Florence, the name conjures up visions of sweeping vine terraces, tumbling flowers, and of course, some of the very finest art in the world. Belmond Villa San Michelle is everything you could dream of in a luxury hotel in Tuscany, and more. You sweep up the drive, and you are greeted by an overwhelming view of Florence. We just wanted to stand and admire. On this warm early summer day there was a light haze over the city, and it looked like something out of a dream.
“Monastic calm meets opulent luxury.”
Belmond Villa San Michelle was once a monastery, but there is nothing monastic about the place whatsoever – except perhaps the peace and calm of the atmosphere. The reception area is so beautiful, that again, we just wanted to stand and stare, but, we were whisked off to our suite, located in a separate building which used to be the orangery, with its own private gardens.
You can choose to have one, two or three bedrooms, making this perfect location for a family holiday, with a real feel of being in your own luxury villa. The suite is complete with a grand terrace, impressive dark wood furnishings, lavish drapes, walk in closet, a bathroom big enough to hold a party in, a small kitchen for impromptu snacks, concealed plasma screen TV, a separate washroom and a cunningly concealed safe, located behind a painting in true luxury style.
A unique touch - we were able to choose our own room scent from a collection of natural perfumes. We chose refreshing lavender, but we could have opted for citrus, ylang ylang and more.
We peeked into some of the rooms and suites in the main building, and found them to be very charming, with antique style furnishings and light and airy cream and pastel colour schemes.
The main feature of the grounds is the large terrace pool, again overlooking the magnificent view of Florence. We spent hours here, gazing, swimming and sipping wine, and we also loved the riotously flowery gardens, full of the most carefully tended plants, a gardener’s delight, immaculately maintained yet with a feeling of lack of horticultural restraint which is perhaps more English than Italian.
Of course, we are always excited by great food, and so we took the opportunity to dine at La Loggia. On another occasion, we are determined to try the cookery school, ppen from May to July, and in September and October, the school has very small classes, is completely hands on, and teaches classic Tuscan cuisine.
There is of course the obligatory fitness room and small spa, but frankly the surrounding countryside and of course Florence itself offers all you could want in the way of walking and exploring.
The hotel can organise some unique tours of Florence, including an ice cream tour, rafting, vintage shopping and a chocolate tasting experience which was one of our favourites.
Belmond Villa San Michelle is part of the Belmond group; you can have a tour of Italy staying at Belmond hotels, and this is something which we can recommend without reservation.
The Bill: £490 per night
