Florence Travel Guide: Best Boutique Hotels & Restaurants

2026-02-18 · By Splendid

Florence is a city where every corner is a canvas: Renaissance façades, marble piazzas, and light that turns even quiet streets into works of art. For the design-minded traveler, two hotels capture the city’s soul - The James and Hotel Savoy - each offering a unique lens on this timeless city.

The newest jewel in Manfredi Fine Hotels’ crown, The James is a love letter to Florence, hidden away on Via di Mezzo in Florence’s Sant’Ambrogio quarter, this 16th-century residence feels like stepping into a living story - where time slows and the city’s past whispers through frescoed ceilings, design-led suites, and terraces that open to the Florentine sky. Intimate common spaces invite lingering, from the softly lit restaurant serving seasonal Florentine plates to the convivial bar where evenings unfold over negronis and conversation.

“In the heart of my childhood home - a Renaissance residence built in 1564, adorned with vaulted ceilings and fading frescoes - I set out to create more than just a boutique hotel: a narrative retreat where each suite whispers its own story.” – James Cavagnari

Architect James Cavagnari has transformed the home of his childhood into a temple of quiet beauty. Every suite is its own narrative: curated objects, custom-made furniture, rare fabrics, and light calibrated to create atmosphere rather than simply illuminate. It is a place where architecture becomes storytelling and hospitality an art - intimate, rare, and profoundly moving.

The James Restaurant is an intimate dining room where Mediterranean culture and Tuscan tradition meet with a contemporary twist. Refined brass accents and honeyed woods play against a punchy, modern palette, while sumptuous textiles soften every edge. The lighting is low and flattering, casting a golden glow that makes the room feel like a secret you’ve just been let in on. Regional art punctuates the space, lending soul and a sense of place; so that by the time your plate arrives, the design has already become part of the story you’re tasting. Menus celebrate the region, with seasonal produce and refined Tuscan classics reimagined with a light, modern touch - each dish as considered as the space itself.

1564 Lounge Bar complements with its own distinctive style -perfect for early-evening cocktails or a lingering nightcap, and an ideal backdrop for intimate conversation beneath soft light. The mood is shaded and cinematic: moody velvet, candlelight that flickers like memory, and playlists that drift through the room like perfume.

For the design-minded traveler, The James is an address of pure intention - a hidden sanctuary where history, art, and contemporary craft converge. This is more than a stay; it is a journey through memory, proportion, and feeling - an experience that lingers long after you depart. Luxury here is quiet and deeply personal, expressed through bespoke furniture, hand-picked vintage treasures, and light that shapes mood as much as it illuminates. As evening falls, the rooftop terrace beckons - the Arno glinting in the distance, the city bathed in gold - the perfect setting for aperitivo and quiet reflection.

Overlooking Piazza della Repubblica, Hotel Savoy is a timeless landmark offering a front-row seat to Florence’s energy. Interiors by Olga Polizzi mix Renaissance inspirations with bold Emilio Pucci patterns, bringing a playful yet polished spirit to this historic address. Rooms and suites are elegant, light-filled, and many offer views of the Duomo or the square.

Hotel Savoy is ideal for travelers seeking traditional luxury - refined service, a prime location steps from Florence’s major landmarks, and a lively yet sophisticated atmosphere. The ground-floor Irene offers Tuscan cuisine with a contemporary twist, perfect for those who want to taste the city without leaving the comfort of the hotel.

Service is refined but warm, the kind that remembers how you take your espresso. Step outside and you’re mere moments from the Uffizi, the Duomo, and Via de’ Tornabuoni’s elegant boutiques.

Hotel Savoy has partnered with storied jeweller Cassetti to craft “Golden Hour on the Arno” - an experience that distills Florence’s beauty into one unforgettable evening: the journey begins with a guided stroll through the city’s historic heart, ending at Cassetti’s prestigious Ponte Vecchio atelier, where guests enjoy private access to its archive of vintage brooches, rings, and necklaces - each piece a glittering fragment of Florence’s goldsmithing history.

As the sun begins to set, a traditional renaiolo boat awaits on the Arno. Guests drift along the river as palazzi glow in the golden light, accompanied by live violin music and a perfectly chilled aperitivo. The evening concludes back at Hotel Savoy with a late dinner at Irene, where Chef Pierangelini serves Tuscan specialities paired with golden-hued wines - a fitting finale to a night steeped in beauty, craft, and Florentine soul.

Florence is a city that reveals itself slowly, like a canvas brushed by light - where Renaissance façades, marble piazzas, and quiet alleys become living works of art. Whether it’s the curated intimacy of The James Suite Hotel Firenze 1564 or the timeless glamour of Hotel Savoy, each offers its own perspective on the city’s soul.

Our Editors’ Top Picks | Florence Local Highlights

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We hope this guide helps you see Florence in all her moods - elegant, expressive, and endlessly inspiring - inviting you to wander slowly, linger longer, and experience the city through a designer’s eye. Come for the galleries, stay for the architecture, and leave with a little of Florence’s magic stitched into your memory.

PhotographyAll photography by Splendid Magazine, captured on the Leica M Series and Apple iPhone 17 Pro.