Villa Tolomei Hotel & Resort

This is why they make such a big deal about Florence. Just a few minutes from the crush of the crowds on the Ponte Vecchio, you just might find yourself in one of those gorgeous Tuscan villas everyone’s always going on about. The fuss, needless to say, is not misplaced — a hotel like Villa Tolomei is the sort of thing that just might restore your faith in the virtues of classic luxury hospitality.

Classic, of course, leaves plenty of room for modernization. Villa Tolomei’s rooms and suites are a conscious homage to the estate’s fourteenth-century heritage, but they’ve been brought up to date for the contemporary customer — one who’s developed a taste for the visual simplicity, not to mention the high-tech gadgetry, familiar to patrons of the world’s boutique hotels. It’s a combination of old-world, gilt-edged opulence and clean-lined, present-day style.

There’s a gorgeous pool, a well-equipped gym, and several acres of parkland with views of the city below. Though the view is perhaps best taken in from the terrace of Il Conventino a Marignolle, the hotel’s restaurant, where the cuisine is traditional yet elegant — a bit like Villa Tolomei itself.