Virtuoso Life - September/October 2008 - (Page 48) T he Editors’ List Designed to Please FOUR SEASOnS HOTEL FIREnZE nObLE EnDEAVOR When the Italian Ministry of Fine Arts and Culture oversees a seven-year-long renovation for a hotel opening, you know it’s going to be worth the wait. Such is the case with the newly opened Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, which occupies a grand, art-filled fifteenth-century palazzo and a sixteenthcentury convent, both burnished to their current shine under close supervision from two Italian government agencies. Besides a collection of Renaissance-era bas-reliefs and frescoes, this former dwelling of the Della Gherardesca noble family is home to a private 11-acre garden – the largest in Florence. The 117 rooms spread throughout the Palazzo and the just-opened Conventino include the frescoed Della Gherardesca Suite in the one-time nobles’ quarters. Doubles from approximate $778, including breakfast daily and an $80 spa credit. A Four Seasons Firenze room and (right) the Della Gherardesca Suite. Bar with a Buzz � � � STRAVInSKy bAR, HOTEL DE RUSSIE, ROmE COCKTAILS WITH A TWIST Hotel guests mix with slickly attired locals in the Stravinsky Bar at the 122-room hot spot Hotel de Russie. The bar maintains an atmosphere of classic elegance – plush purple chairs indoors and a scattering of iron tables with umbrellas in the adjoining courtyard. What really sets the Stravinsky apart, though, are its cocktails. Bar manager Massimo D’Addezio – named best barman in Italy this year by the respected Espresso Ristoranti d’Italia guide – has dreamed up daring martinis, such as the Cohibatini (tobacco leafinfused vodka, Bacardi 8, corbezzolo honey, and lime). The bar’s signature cocktail, the de Russie Martini, blends vodka and sherry and is served with a spoonful of caviar. Doubles from approximate $900, including continental breakfast daily and two drinks at Stravinsky Bar. 48 V I RT U O S O L I F E
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