The best spa hotels in Florence
An expert guide to the top spa hotels in Florence, including the best for swimming pools, hot tubs, hammams, saunas, and luxurious treatments, as well as gourmet dining, rooms with river views and beautiful gardens, in locations near the Duomo, Uffizi Gallery and Ponte Vecchio.
Villa Cora
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
It’s easy to understand why this relatively new arrival on the Florence high-end hotel scene has been such a hit since it opened. Meticulously restored, it centres on an eclectic late-19th century villa that feels like a Tuscan film-set fantasy, yet facilities and service are those of a modern luxury hotel. The in-house spa, with its Sarah Chapman facial care range and Officina Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella body line, takes its place comfortably among the city’s top wellness centres for a spot of pampering. There’s a gym, sauna, tepidarium and hammam. The outside pool is heated, and open all year. Read expert review From £235per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
9Telegraph expert rating
As soon as you walk into the lobby – a Renaissance loggia, decorated with original bas reliefs and stuccoes – you realise that this is no ordinary luxe kip. The spa is outstanding. It's housed in an ochre-yellow pavilion giving onto the park, and has 10 treatment rooms – two of them doubles – and in a nice touch, uses the products of historic body care and beauty lab Officina Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, as well as dipping into the ranges of Rephase, Arangara and Black Pearl. Signature treatments include a Chianti wine massage, and a full-body treatment based on iris root powder. Prices are on the high side, but that’s the Four Seasons for you. Read expert review From £356per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Grand Amore Hotel and Spa
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
This smart 11-room boutique hotel a few hundred yards north of the Duomo has quickly made its mark thanks to a combination of excellent location, sharp design, superb service and plenty of bang for one’s buck. The basement spa with sauna, Turkish bath, whirlpool tub (essential oils available) and massage menu are bonuses in such a small city-centre hotel. Treatments range from facials to hydro massages for couples with champagne. Bedrooms – all heavy silk drapes, rich velvet headboards, and fine white linens – are a post-spa treat; two top-floor connecting rooms have terraces and views of Brunelleschi’s dome. Read expert review From £181per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Ville Sull'Arno
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
A rare thing in the heart of Florence: a riverside hotel with a pool. The 19th-century villa offers alfresco dining beside the Arno, and an eclectic selection of rooms. The basement spa has a touch of Ancient Roman decadence about it. Facilities include a caldarium (Roman-inspired room with a hot plunge bath), emotional shower, chromotherapy, and private hydro-suite. For a truly pampering stay, bag one of the four loft rooms, two of which have hot tubs on their river-facing balconies (327, the Library Room, is a favourite). There's also a small but verdant garden set around a good-sized pool. Read expert review From £92per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Il Salviatino
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
If you want to enter into the Henry James spirit of a patrician villa surrounded by acres of well-tended formal gardens in the hills above the city – whose Duomo is perfectly framed in the view from the front terrace – then Il Salviatino will deliver. There’s a luxurious spa that uses Dr Vranjes products – though be aware that even the most basic massage starts at €120 (£104). There's a double-level pool (with floats for kids) and a fitness centre with Technogym equipment. The 11-acre private park surrounding the hotel also allows you to walk or jog without ever leaving the gates. Read expert review From £376per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Golden Tower Hotel & Spa
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
7Telegraph expert rating
A five-star boutique hotel with an unbeatable location a stone's throw away from central sights and shopping. The Golden Tower is one of the very few hotels in central Florence that can boast a spa. The wellness centre is small but comes complete with sauna, Turkish bath, whirlpool tub and treatment rooms for various massages. It is a great bonus after a hard day's sightseeing. The 28 bedrooms and suites are pleasant enough and certainly comfortable. They vary from compact singles and classic doubles to the roomy suites stacked one on top of the other in the medieval stone tower, one of which has a terrace with a whirlpool tub. Read expert review From £207per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Villa La Massa
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
8Telegraph expert rating
This 16th-century Medici villa on a bucolic stretch of the Arno still breathes the spirit of the age of elegant, unhurried travel. Though Florence is just down the road, many guests find it difficult to tear themselves away from the large pool that dominates the lawn. Another draw is the Arno Spa, a soothing pamper-space carved out of the Villa’s former cellars that uses skincare and beauty products from Florence’s famed Officina Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella. On the personnel front, service is old-school excellent. Yoga sessions and art classes can be arranged on request. Read expert review From £397per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
