Velona's Jungle Luxury Suites

If we had a nickel for every pocket-sized jungle-themed luxury boutique hotel we’ve seen over the years, we’d have a grand total of five cents. Velona’s Jungle Luxury Suites is the only one of its kind, and much of that has to do with Velona himself. That’s Pasquale Velona, antique dealer and dear departed grandfather of the proprietor, Veronica Grechi — this hotel, just to the west of Florence’s busy city center, clearly contains generations’ worth of details.

The dedication to the jungle theme is thorough; it’s the rare surface that isn’t festooned with animal-print upholstery, peacock-feather prints, big-cat portraiture, or jungle-foliage wallpaper. But of course the appeal of Velona’s Jungle is greater than the sum of its wildlife kitsch; the suites aren’t just visually stimulating, they’re exceedingly luxurious as well, as comfortable as any of Italy’s finest luxury suites, just a lot more comfortable while they’re at it. Take the minibar, for example, stuffed to the (sorry) gills with free, citrusy soft drinks — plus prosecco and craft beer for purchase when the mood strikes.

There’s also the matter of the atmosphere, a private-house intimacy that a larger hotel would never be able to match. And the Jungle is animal-friendly in more ways than one — your pets are welcome, for one thing, and you won’t find animals on the breakfast menu either; all the dishes are vegetarian, if not vegan. At a time when Florence’s luxury hotels are all beginning to blend together a bit, it’s refreshing to find one that’s comfortable being an entirely different animal.