Luxury Travel Advisor - November 2008 - (Page 46)

HOTELS The Four Seasons Florence After more than seven years of restoration, the new Four Seasons Hotel Florence (www. fourseasons.com/florence) in the magnificent Palazzo della Gherardesca is open at last. After our recent visit, we say that for Four Seasons lovers, it was definitely worth the wait. The hotel is surrounded by 11 manicured acres of historic private gardens, away from the bustle of the city center. The setting is a fantasy and we hear that running this hotel is the dream job for General Manager Patrizio Cipollini (patrizio. cipollini@fourseasons.com), a Tuscan who was at the Four Seasons Hotel Milan for more than 10 years before coming back to his roots in central Italy. The director of sales and marketing is Thomas Citterio (thomas.citterio@fourseasons.com) and the one to contact for special requests. Envision your top version of romance and his staff will make it happen. There are 117 rooms within the 15th-century palazzo and the 16th-century Conventino across the park. Guests enter the hotel through a soaring frescoed courtyard and continue through public spaces, such as the light-filled Atrium Bar, that balance Renaissance sensibilities with contemporary color moods. Rooms in the palazzo building opened in summer 2008, with Conventino rooms opening later this fall. Between the two buildings, graveled walkways run through acres of manicured grass, mature trees, benches and a marble Ionic temple, which we thought was perfect for a wedding or commitment ceremony. The piano nobile, traditionally the noble floor of a grand palazzo, has eight frescoed suites, plus an intimate ballroom ideal for smaller weddings. The Della Gherardesca Royal Suite (No. 120) is divinely inspired—more than 2,000 square feet festooned with brocades and crystal chandeliers, frescoed ceilings, 18th-century tiled floors and five huge windows overlooking the garden lining the long living room. There is a second, more intimate living room, one spacious and damask-swagged bedroom and a glorious bathroom with an island bathtub. We’re told the dining room, which seats 10, was designed for elegant, leisurely meals, rather than business meetings, and is serviced from the kitchen at the DIVINELY INSPIRED FRESCOES adorn much of the interior of the Four Seasons Florence. 46 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | November 2008 http://www.fourseasons.com/florence http://www.fourseasons.com/florence

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Luxury Travel Advisor - November 2008 Contents Publisher's Letter Editor's Letter Las Vegas Australia Virginia's Northern Neck Posh Penthouses K Club Four Seasons Florence Entertaining Luxury Caribbean Spas The Pulse Jetset Report Luxury Lifestyles Just Back Luxury Travel Expo Sightings Source List Virtuoso Insert

Luxury Travel Advisor - November 2008

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