Hotel La Gemma

A hospitality venture could hardly ask for a more auspicious setting than a 19th-century Florentine villa that once housed the Guild of Hoteliers. Today it’s an Art Deco–inspired luxury boutique hotel decorated in a striking palette inspired by the colors of the nearby Duomo. This is the Hotel La Gemma, whose rooms and suites effortlessly mix period architecture and Deco elegance with a graphic contemporary sensibility.

It’s the work of a Florentine family with designs on expanding across Italy, and it’s a fine start, striking some balances that are difficult to achieve: luxurious but not ostentatious, central but not busy, memorable but not eccentric. They come in a wide variety of sizes and layouts, but exhibit a consistent interior style, crafted by well-known Italian designers and exhibiting high-end local craftsmanship.

The subterranean Allure Spa offers everything from a Turkish bath to ultra-modern treatments by Biologique Recherche. And while its rooms and suites are a chic refuge from the city, La Gemma’s restaurant and bar are places where travelers and locals connect. Luca’s by Paulo Airaudo updates Florentine classics for a modern palate, and Luca’s Bar is a perfectly stylish cocktail bar.