If you’re a hotel designer who loves period features there’s nowhere in the world with a deeper well to draw from than Tuscany. In the region that inspired the writing of A Room with a View, everyone is hoping to open their bedroom curtains to a fine piazza, golden hills or an azure coast. And modern-day travellers are able to have their morning coffee and cornetto under Renaissance frescoes, retiring for the night in fortified hilltop villages.
When it comes to cities, Florence has the glamour — the cradle of the Renaissance is home to some of the world’s most extraordinary art and architecture. Siena has the romance and Pisa the lopsided charm. And while the medieval towns of Arezzo, Volterra, Cortona, Lucca and Pienza might not be on your radar, they each deserve a little pilgrimage of their own.
The story of the region is changing. It might still be about raffia-wound chianti flasks and sprawling rental villas for some, but it’s also added luxe boutique hotels and starchitect-designed cantinas alongside bold Super Tuscan wines and world-class art. Whichever aspect you choose to explore, we have the ideal place to stay. These are 29 of the best hotels in Tuscany for your next Italian adventure.
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1. Ottantotto Firenze, Florence
££ | Best for romantic city breaks
This is the kind of bolt hole that everyone hopes to find in Florence — a pint-sized palazetto that looks unassuming from the outside, but beyond the front door reveals surprises galore: spiral staircases, cotto floors, original beams and an ultra-romantic secret garden that makes a dreamy setting for breakfast. The design is very much medieval minimalism, its muted tones contrasting with the carefully chosen furniture and original beams. There are seven rooms in all; the split-level Beaton Suite is great fun, with a floating staircase leading up to a little kitchen and roof terrace. The hotel is in hip Oltrarno, an arty quarter on the left bank of the Arno.
2. Villa Sassolini, Moncioni
£££ | SPA | POOL | Best for a stylish rural retreat
This romantic manor was used as a country retreat by several noble Tuscan families. It is ensconced in the Chianti hills in the quiet village of Moncioni, overlooking swathes of vineyards and olive groves. It now belongs to the designer Massimo Tani, who has renovated it with a clever marriage of historical charm and contemporary style; rooms hunker under hefty beams and frescoed ceilings, but never feel cramped or claustrophobic. There’s an indulgent spa and two restaurants: one with glass windows over the valley; the other a more laid-back affair beside the hotel’s lavender-fringed garden pool.
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3. La Guardia, Isola del Giglio
££ | SPA | Best for contemporary coastal escapes
If the mainland feels too busy — and at times it does, especially in summer — Giglio makes the perfect getaway. Part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, it’s a bewitching little island of granite cliffs and greenery, and this delightful hotel makes a swanky place to stay. It overlooks the main port and blends sleek modernism with playful design. Pieces of rustic furniture, rattan lampshades and local handicrafts are dotted round, giving it a more homely feel than might otherwise be the case. The views of the Tyrhennian Sea are knockout, and the Terrazza restaurant is a super place to try the island’s food. Ferries buzz across to the archipelago from Porto Santo Stefano, about 2.5 hours drive south of Florence.
4. La Roqqa, Porto Ercole
££ | Best for welcoming Italianate aesthetics
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The latest arrival from the team behind the smart rustic farmhouse hotel La Capitana in the Tuscan Maremma, the 55-suite La Roqqa in smart Porto Ercole is a triumph of Italian design from the Milanese architects Ludovica Serafini and Roberto Palomba. From the framework of the old Hotel Don Pedro they have created a modernist masterpiece, with mid-century classic furniture set against a bold backdrop of terracotta, green and blue hues. The watchword here is sustainability — wines, vegetables and even the staff are Tuscan-sourced, including the executive chef Francesco Ferretti, who presides over the Scirocco rooftop restaurant. Guests can while away the days at the lively Isolotto Beach Club or explore the Argentario coast in a skippered boat.
5. Locanda Rossa, Capalbio
£ | SPA | POOL | Best for off-season value
Deep in a grove of 4,000 olive trees, this sprawling agriturismo is a not-so-well-kept secret among the Italian guests who beat a path to its Crittall doors. When it opened in 2010 its original 12 airy bedrooms, in a cluster of old farm buildings, were painted red (hence the Rossa of the name). Now its 20 new rooms and suites from the Roman designer Tommaso Ziffer — many with private gardens — are adorned in graphic style, bold against the glass and timber frame. With two pools, a spa, an indoor-outdoor dining room and a padel court, Locanda Rossa punches way above its weight. It’s a swift cycle ride to the historic hilltop of Capalbio, or three miles to the coast.
6. Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco, Montalcino
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£££ | SPA | POOL | Best for luxurious gourmet getaways
When Massimo and Chiara Ferragamo, of the Florentine fashion family, opened their 900-year-old country estate in the Unesco-protected Val d’Orcia to friends and family, they set the bar high. Now managed by Rosewood, this hilltop enclave — created from restored farmhouses of the 17th and 18th centuries — features 42 creamy suites and 11 renovated private villas, each with a heated pool. Framed by 5,000 acres of prime Tuscan countryside, the place is a knockout, with prices to match. Guests have a choice of two restaurants ― the Michelin-starred Campo del Drago and the rustic Osteria La Canonica ― plus access to the cooking school, spa and fitness centre, private golf club and tennis and bocce courts, as well as an award-winning winery that produces the Brunello di Montalcino of dreams.
7. La Pescaia Resort, Castiglione della Pescaia
££ | POOL | Best for an immersive family holiday
An antidote to the showier hotels found on parts of the Tuscan coast, La Pescaia is an organic farm offering 14 simple rooms, with four-posters and floaty white linens, run by Beatrice and Margherita Ramella, sisters who relocated from Milan. Almost everyone here is under 40, but the ethos is as old as the hills that surround this 19th-century borgo — expansive hospitality based on home-grown food and the warmest of welcomes. Two apartments, Fattore (Farmer) and Guardiacaccia(Gamekeeper), are available for longer stays, allowing guests to make the most of the on-site riding school and help out on the farm. Everyone is made to feel welcome, including the free-range animals that wander about the house.
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8. La Serena, Forte dei Marmi
££ | POOL | Best for town and coast
One of Tuscany’s heritage high-end seaside resorts, Forte has broad sands, glamorous beach clubs ― many with buzzing bars and ritzy restaurants ― and a notable roster of Italian guests. What it’s lacked thus far is a modernist boutique hotel; a situation remedied by the arrival of La Serena. Its 30 rooms and suites are simply styled, with light woods and natural linens, while the colourful public areas provide wall space for local artists and the lush garden has a small sculpture park. There’s a concierge on hand to book your lunch in the finest restaurants, secure the shadiest beach bed or call a skipper to sail you up the coast.
9. L’Andana, Castiglione della Pescaia
££ | SPA | POOL | Best for bucolic escapism
L’Andana hits the sweet spot: close enough to the coast to enjoy the yacht-club glamour, but deep enough in the Tuscan hills to shelter from the summer heat. At the heart of this 1,200-acre wine estate is La Villa — a one-time Medici residence where Grand Duke Leopold II would summer with his court — with 57 rooms and suites, plus a four-bedroom private house, La Scuderia, reimagined by the architect and designer Ettore Mocchetti. Decor is of the refined-boho style loved by the international crowd who spend their summers here. The Michelin-starred Trattoria Enrico Bartolini, the Acquagiusta winery and an impressive Espa spa add to this all-round super-Tuscan experience.
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10. AdAstra, Florence
£ | Best for a home-from-home sentiment
Oltrarno, south of the river, is where the real life of Florence goes on. Surrounded by a magical walled garden, complete with neo-gothic stargazing tower, AdAstra is an accidental guesthouse on the upper floors of a noble palazzo, where the graphic artist Betty Soldi and the interior designer Matteo Perduca have established their quirky 14-room B&B. Each bedroom is unique — three on a wraparound terrace and two are suites in the garden — but all have a mid-century vibe, decorated with pop art, film posters and flamboyant chandeliers, against a framework of frescoed ceilings and herringbone parquet floors. AdAstra feels like the kind of secret spot you’d only share with friends, so count yourself lucky to have found it.
11. Castelfalfi, Montaione
££ | SPA | POOL Best for golf fans
Less than an hour from Pisa, this five-star, 2,700-acre resort stands within rural scenery that looks as though it has been lifted from the backdrop of a Renaissance painting. With space in abundance, it hosts the largest golf course in Tuscany, as well as loads of alternative activities — everything from ebiking and archery to yoga classes and pizza-making lessons. Loafers will find themselves equally well catered for: there’s an indoor-outdoor infinity pool attached to the recently revamped spa, high-end shopping at the restored historic village Il Borgo and restaurants serving Castelfalfi’s organic wine and olive oil. Choose a room with a view or blow the budget on your own villa.
12. Terme di Saturnia Natural Spa and Golf Resort, Maremma
££ | SPA | POOL | Best for a fantastic spa break
Though almost unheard of outside Italy, this wellness destination is popular with weekenders from Florence and Rome. Surely among few hotels where spending all day in your robe is positively encouraged, it’s built from marble around an ancient thermal spring, which bubbles from the ground at 37.5C. Here, opportunities to feel better about yourself are endless: stroll from one of the quietly luxurious bedrooms to a treatment at the enormous 53-room spa, making pitstops at the juice bar, gym or pool. The golf course is also well worth exploring, even if you head straight to the wisteria-clad trattoria tucked between the 6th and 16th holes.
13. Hotel della Fortezza, Sorano
£ | Best for soaking up history
Crossing the moat into this repurposed 12th-century fortress feels a little like stepping into a fairytale. Rooms are traditional — some with exposed beams and all with wooden shutters opening on to either the Etruscan Valley or the village — and a visiting masseur can be booked on request. The hotel’s courtyard terrace is a romantic spot for a sundowner, while the EnoRistro restaurant serves a pared-back menu of zero-mile dishes such as pappardelle with wild boar. Sorano is the third point on a triangle of picturesque south Tuscan towns — be sure to swing by Pitigliano and Sovana, which are less than 15 minutes’ drive away.
14. La Bandita Townhouse, Pienza
££ | Best for boutique bolt hole stays
Pienza has been called an ideal Renaissance town, looking out from its perch over the wheat-coloured rolling hills of the Val d’Orcia. You can enjoy it best outside day-tripper hours by staying on site, at the discreet, 12-room La Bandita Townhouse, which combines chunky 500-year-old stone walls with a sleek, contemporary-home feel in that effortless Tuscan way. Space is a mite too tight here to fit in a swimming pool, but for that you could try La Bandita’s sister property — an eight-bedroom luxury villa five miles away.
15. Castello La Leccia, Castellina in Chianti
£££ | POOL | Best for drinking in Tuscan glory
Simple things done very well is the essence of this luxury villa and wine retreat in the Chianti heartland. The infinity pool and pergola-shaded terrace afford panoramic views over the Tuscan hills, while the 12 rooms inside the 18th-century stone manor house are entirely unfussy and clean-lined under the rough wooden beams. Though it might feel appropriate here to leave your days as open as possible, that would be to miss out on the wealth of possibilities offered — not just wine tasting but also horse riding, yoga and truffle hunting.
16. Hotel Renaissance, Florence
£ | Best for fantastic city-centre value
One of the most central hotels in Florence is also among its best-value options. Hotel Renaissance is just steps from the Piazza della Signoria, and in a location such as that a building will have known almost too many periods to pick which details to keep. The overall design scheme is a soothing white and pale grey, but it’s a fun game to spot vestiges of delicate frescoes and sturdy sandstone doorways around the nine rooms. Some are located in a medieval tower, and the highest-priced ones have hammam-style bathrooms.
17. Hotel Il Pellicano, Porto Ercole
£££ | SPA | POOL | Best for a taste of la dolce vita
What began as a socialite’s hideaway in the 1960s is now one of the most alluring luxury hotels along the coast. Set above a cove on Monte Argentario, a green and rugged peninsula tenuously attached to southernmost Tuscany, this ensemble of faux-rustic buildings has a Michelin-starred restaurant, a tennis court, wine tasting and cooking classes, and a seemingly limitless array of sunning spots on terraces running down to the sea. If you manage to escape its magnetic pull for a day, it’s well placed for excursions to the Maremma, Tuscany’s “cowboy country”.
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18. Castello di Gargonza, Monte San Savino
£ | POOL | Best for away-from-it-all authenticity
The 13th-century wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines must have been traumatic, but we can at least thank them for their legacy of strategically — and therefore scenically — located castles just waiting for a hotel conversion. This place controls the high point of the road between Arezzo and Siena, and its 13 close-knit buildings house guest rooms with wooden beams and big fireplaces that are often booked up for weddings. You’ll find the (unheated) outdoor pool beyond the oval ring of walls and a second protective line of cypress trees.
19. Albergo Chiusarelli, Siena
£ | Best for discovering the Red City
We’ll assume that you’re here to explore a world heritage site and jewel box of art history, not for the vantage point from the vine-shaded terrace for home games featuring the local football team ACN Siena. Housed in a neoclassical villa from 1870 on the edge of the historic centre of Siena, the 48-room Hotel Chiusarelli is a genteel and generously priced establishment, with a barrel-vaulted breakfast room and black-leather sofas butting up against colourful trompe l’oeil frescoes. The hotel is even good on parking.
20. Borgo Pignano, Volterra
££ | SPA | POOL | Best for sustainable luxury
Based around an 18th-century villa on an even older estate midway between Volterra and San Gimignano, Borgo Pignano is a rather luxurious microcosm of Tuscany. There’s a strong emphasis on sustainability, and not only involving self-sufficiency in the kitchens — even the spa treatments use herbs grown on the estate. The site has two outdoor pools: one for younger children and the other an infinity pool dramatically cut into an old limestone quarry. There are 14 gracious rooms and suites in the main building and other villas dotted around.
21. Palazzo Guadagni, Florence
££ | Best for channelling Italian heritage
In Oltrarno, Florence’s “Left Bank”, the severe-from-the-outside Palazzo Guadagni dates from 1505 and stands on the corner of a quiet square. No two rooms are alike — some have tall ceilings; others views to the Duomo — but all have the uncontrived mismatched feel of a Florentine noble family having accumulated furniture and decorative inspiration over the centuries. The best feature is found on the top floor: a wrap-around loggia where you can sit back at sunset with an aperitivo and enjoy panoramic views over the tiled roofs of the city.
22. Paradu EcoVillage and Resort, Donoratico
£ | POOL | Best for beach days with the family
The central part of the Tuscan coast is much less developed than the resort-filled north, and for large stretches here hardly any buildings break the greenery that blankets the dunes. This low-impact resort is on a sandy beach that runs for an uninterrupted six miles, with a choice of wooden-decked chalets that feel much more structured inside than they may appear and safari-style glamping tents. The range of family-friendly activities is huge, from mini-golf to bocce, but grown-ups might like to slink off to the nearby Bolgheri region, cradle of the Super Tuscan wines, the area’s finest reds.
23. Badia a Coltibuono, Gaiole in Chianti
£ | POOL | Best for stepping back in time
Almost forgotten amid the forested hills in the east of the Chianti Classico region is this agricultural estate that is nearly 1,000 years old. The cloistered buildings recall the days when monks lived here, but for six generations the Stucchi Prinetti family have been in charge. Rooms mostly follow the solid, heirloom-dotted style of the Tuscan countryside, and there’s a restaurant serving equally traditional meat-focused dishes. Above all, most people seem to come here for the historic wine cellars, along with tastings and cooking classes.
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24. Il Battistero Residenza d’Epoca, Siena
£ | Best for rough-luxe vibes
Facing the polychrome marble façade of Siena Cathedral’s baptistery, this may be the most historically informed of the city’s boutique hotels, with each of the five suites and two rooms named after a key Sienese figure from the past. Not that this has constrained the choices in decoration. Modern Mutina tiles and giant Artemide lamps are as at home here as framed old maps and a pale wood headboard carved with garlands. Make time for a tasting in the brick-vaulted wine cellar, dug into the rock.
25. Bagni di Pisa Palace & Thermal Spa, San Giuliano Terme
££ | SPA | POOL | Best for quiet splendour
Though home to Tuscany’s largest airport and most eccentric tower, Pisa often feels lacking in hotel terms. One alternative is to base yourself four miles out of town, in a thermal spa that was once the summer residence of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and now offers 61 rooms and suites. Even if you’re not here to take a cure, there’s much to appreciate besides the outdoor pools, including the old-world feel of a place once favoured by the Romantic poets Shelley and Byron and strolls among the citrus and olive groves above the hotel.
26. Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, Florence
£££ | SPA | POOL | Best for culture vultures
The 15th-century Palazzo della Gherardesca ― now a Four Seasons ― has served as the most splendid of the luxury hotels in Florence since 2008. It’s on the northern edge of the city’s historic core, but walking distances are never that far in Florence, and the size of the gardens here would put most parks to shame. It’s certainly big enough for an outdoor pool, which would be rare in town. Even the “entry-level” rooms have impressive marble bathrooms, and the sense of opulence continues with fine brocades and original ceiling frescoes, as well as the concierge’s tailor-made city experiences.
27. Castello di Ama, Gaiole in Chianti
££ | Best for wine and art lovers
This ancient borgo on a Chianti hillside must be the loveliest open-air art museum in Italy. The collection began in 2000 with Michelangelo Pistoletto’s work Ama’s Tree. Today it champions installations by contemporary greats such as Anish Kapoor, Louise Bourgeois, Daniel Buren and Jenny Holzer. Their works are scattered among the estate’s 200-acre vineyard, where you will also find a world-class Chianti Classico by the winemaker Marco Pallanti. But Lorenza Sebasti’s Project Ama is really about hospitality. Stay in one of five noble suites in the 18th-century Villa Ricucci, eat on the balcony of Villa Pianigiani next door and follow the exquisite art trail through the vines, ending up at a tiny church.
castellodiama.com
28. Palazzo Passerini, Cortona
££ | Best for palatial privacy
The location for Frances Mayes’s novel Under the Tuscan Sun, hilltop Cortona is home to the two-suite Palazzo Passerini. This 15th-century palace, built on Etruscan foundations, has been renovated by the owner-architects Charles Collett and Mark Farmer over three painstaking years, with the thoughtful addition of Italian antiques, bespoke modern furniture and commissioned art. Offering a “very private retreat”, the Loggia and Residenza suites can be rented independently or together. A two-day itinerary is available for guests, including cookery classes, truffle hunting when in season and a wine-tasting tour.
palazzopasserini.com
29. Casa Newton, Pienza
£££ | POOL | Best for pure R&R
Three years in the making, Casa Newton is a leap forward for high-end hospitality in the Val d’Orcia. Owned by the Swiss art aficionados Philippe and Tonie Bertherat, and serving as a showroom for their collection, this nine-room, two-suite design hotel welcomes guests with a neon installation by Joseph Kosuth in reception and prints by Josef Albers up the stairs. From a blood-red exterior façade, the colour theme continues inside with Gio Ponti sofas in orange velvet in the salon and rich Venetian wall coverings in the bedrooms. While the design is Milan circa 1970, the feel is much older — the timeless sense of dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing, pervades the estate.
casa-newton.com
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Additional reporting by Orla Thomas
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