Hotel Review: Four Seasons Florence

The Four Seasons Florence is hands down one of my favorite hotels I’ve ever stayed at, and that’s saying something (be sure to read some of my other hotel reviews here!)

This hotel, without a doubt, reflects the pure romance of Florence. The lobby greets you with a gorgeous statue, a decadent floral design and envelops you in romance with it’s scent and fabrics. You instantly feel it’s luxury – but without any pretense.

The lobby isn’t gigantic — it’s intimate. It’s welcoming. It’s full of class and charm.

The staff is incredibly lovely. At almost every turn we were greeted with “Buongiorno!” Everyone from the hostess, to the people behind the desk to housekeeping stopped to  asked how we were and if they could help us with anything. You never saw a staff member look down as you passed them. Their eyes were always up and eager to assist or make you feel welcome.

When we stayed at the Four Seasons Florence, we were a party of five. I traveled with my husband and three younger children (our 14-year-old daughter and identical twin 11-year-olds)

We are Four Seasons Elite members, so the General Manager graciously upgraded us from two Superior rooms to a two-bedroom deluxe suite. However, even if you’re not a FS Elite member, I have no doubt you’ll have an esquisite room (and experience the same level of service.)

My husband and I were in the larger kind bedroom suite which connected to another room with two twin beds. Our daughter slept on a rollaway.

The main room had an oversized bathroom with separate soaking tub and shower, a living area and a king bed. The connecting room (made via an internal small foyer/connecting space) had two twin beds.

All of the gorgeous Four Seasons luxuries were there – showers with hot, heavy water pressure, gorgeous deep soaking tubs, incredibly soft beds and linens and beautiful furnishings.

Our room looked out over the Four Seasons grounds so we opened the windows to listen to the sounds (oh, how I love Italy and their ability to open windows to soak in the air and sounds!)

We ate breakfast every day in the Il Palagio restaurant. We typically use The Luxury Travel Group to book our trips so they are usually able to give us complimentary breakfasts – read more about the 5 Reasons to Hire a Travel Agent here) so we took advantage of that benefit by eating at the hotel. However, for this trip we traveled with Abercrombie & Kent.

Il Palagio has an indoor/outdoor component.

As a landscape lover, I loved to sit outside while eating breakfast.  The grounds are immaculate and you can sit outside with your coffee and pasty under the canopy of trees and next to planters of lemon trees. My daughter and I enjoyed beautiful mommy and daughter morning here and it was so special. We sipped our coffee out of china and afterwards we went shopping. Heaven!

The indoor space is lovely. It’s covered in this rich purple and beautiful design.

We had dinner at the Atrium Ball in the hotel one evening As expected, the service was excellent, drinks yummy and food even yummier. One son had squab. He’s eleven years old. It as his first squab. I just remember my son saying “OK – I officially love pigeons.” Ha!

If I could recreate a room in my home to resemble this dining room I would. You just wanted to sink into the environment and never leave. It was decadent. It was relaxing, It felt special and it felt gracious. I loved the lighting, I loved the fabric on the furniture, I loved the bar – I loved it all! It’s the perfect place for even a local to stop by for drinks. It’s not terribly fancy – it just makes you feel romantic.

We were there in late September, and were really in Florence to sites, so we didn’t get a chance to swim in the pool or visit the spa. Next time for sure! I did grab a glass of wine though and strolled through the gorgeous grounds as the sun was setting just soaking it all in. The pool is large and it looks like there is a nice adjacent bar that’s operational during the summer!

If you’re in Florence, I highly recommend staying here. Nothing about it let me down. It was lovely through and through!