World's Best

Travel + Leisure Readers’ 5 Favorite Hotels in Florence of 2023

Classic Florentine opulence stole T+L readers’ hearts in our annual “World’s Best Awards” survey for 2023.

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Be A Travel Writer, an online course for aspiring travel journalists. A New Yorker based in Los Angeles, she has a special interest in beach destinations, outdoor adventures, unique hotels, pet-friendly travel with her golden retriever, @travelswithcali, and all things Italy.

" tabindex="0" data-inline-tooltip="true"> Nina Ruggiero

Published on July 11, 2023

Florence is brimming with Renaissance art and architecture; coveted Italian leather and gold; and decadent dishes such as pappardelle with wild boar ragu and massive Florentine steaks. It’s the capital of Tuscany, a region beloved for its vineyards, truffle-filled forests, and sprawling hilltop villas. Of course, T+L readers visiting such a place are looking to luxuriate — and that means they have high hotel expectations. They may be tucking into bed at night buzzed from culture and Chianti, but they’re still keeping a keen eye on the opulent details offered at their favorite five-star properties. This is not a city built on minimalism after all.

How Voting Works

Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Nearly 165,000 T+L readers completed the 2023 survey, an increase of nearly 25 percent over pre-pandemic voting levels. A total of more than 685,000 votes were cast across over 8,500 unique properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.).

Hotels were classified as either resort hotel, city hotel, or safari lodge based on their location and amenities, and they were specifically rated on the criteria below:

Rooms/facilities
Location
Service
Food
Value

For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses.

Bedroom in the Presidential Da Vinci Suite at St. Regis Florence — Courtesy of St. Regis Florence

What Readers Loved

The St. Regis brand’s Italian outposts wooed our readers this year, taking No. 1 spots in both Florence and Venice, and No. 2 in Rome. Rocco Forte Hotels, another big Rome winner, also took a spot in Firenze’s top five — one reader said the brand’s “lovely” Hotel Savoy (No. 3) was all-around perfect.

Name-dropping aside, each hotel on this list creates a palpable connection to the destination. Entering the lobby at the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze (No. 4) feels a bit like stepping into the Accademia Gallery; its grounds are reminiscent of a miniature Boboli Gardens. Readers applauded the Helvetia & Bristol Firenze for its recent upgrades — a major 2019 renovation utilized master Italian artisans to restore its original glamour. Readers hailed No. 5, the Brunelleschi Hotel, for its fascinating history: it was built inside a medieval church and the city’s oldest tower.

The Winner

The St. Regis Florence

Bar at St. Regis Florence — Courtesy of St. Regis Florence

Set regally along the banks of the Arno River, the St. Regis Florence feels like a members’ club for modern-day Medicis (though technically it occupies a palazzo built for another noble family, the Giuntinis). Its rooms’ grand balconies, canopied beds, brocade-draped windows, and crystal chandeliers serve all the classic Florentine splendor. (Pay extra for a river view — guests swear it’s worth it.) “Our home in Florence! Magical!” one T+L reader swooned. The hotel’s 19 suites include one designed by Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta, and additional private suites comprise its luxurious Clarins spa. Don’t miss the Winter Garden restaurant, where aperitivi and Tuscan cuisine are served in what is possibly this lavish hotel’s most impressive setting of all.