NH Collection Firenze Porta Rossa

“Nondescript” isn’t exactly the right word, but there’s little indication, beyond a certain wine-red door, of what lies behind the NH Porta Rossa’s weathered Florentine facade. Here, especially, literally yards from the Uffizi and the Duomo, along streets thronged with pedestrian traffic, a hotel ought to be a hideaway, not another photo opportunity, and the Porta Rossa is exactly that — what’s on the other side of that discreet red door belongs to guests only.

The building dates to the twelfth century, and the hotel has a legitimate claim on the status of Florence’s oldest. It’s no museum, though; apart from some rediscovered frescoes, and a wealth of carefully preserved architectural detail, it’s a remarkably contemporary space, with 20th-century modernist furniture existing happily side-by-side with antiques of all eras, in that effortless, quintessentially Italian manner.

At the basic level the rooms are possessed of a certain stark elegance, mod comforts meeting historic atmosphere. Suites spread outwards as well as upwards, many with timbered ceilings or frescoes, and the Monalda Suite sits atop the building’s ancient tower, with a panoramic view of all of central Florence. Equally sumptuous: the aromas emanating from the "truffle experience" restaurant, a vault-ceilinged space with special emphasis on Tuscan plates and full-bodied Italian wines.