Villa Cora

Wow. Wow. Wow. The most stunning villa in Florence. Staff are friendly, food incredible with the chef making things off menu to accommodate dietary requirements. Rooms are beautiful, pool area amazing. If it’s within your budget, don’t look elsewhere, just book.

We made the right choice with Villa Cora, a sanctuary of peace and tranquillity set against breathtaking views of Florence. Impeccable service delivered invisibly, the way it should be. Close enough to the city that we could walk down to it in ten minutes, and take the complimentary shuttle to ease the journey back up. Florence is a city to experience - a once in a lifetime event – that we fully enjoyed and which was perfectly matched with the experience at the hotel. Our Suite, Antonella, gave us views over the Duomo and was perfectly air-conditioned, no motor hum, just silence and comfort. It was spacious and perfectly appointed. The hotel has a 5th panoramic terrace from which we enjoyed the daytime view over the city, at night the cupola of the Duomo lit like a candle reminded us of how fortunate we were to take this trip. The heated pool in the afternoon served cocktails against a backdrop of music that blended perfectly with the surroundings, and in the evening, we dined poolside again with live music that was never invasive, and was the perfect accompaniment to our 20th wedding anniversary. Breakfast as seamless, great coffee and everything you would expect to see but they had a whole room dedicated to freshly made cakes! We only ever travel five-star, and know what to expect. The five-star rating in some hotels is a criteria sheet to meet the requirements and stops there. What five-star has always really been about is the service. From dropping our bags at reception, being greeted by the calm and welcoming reception team, through to our farewell, we found real five-star hospitality at Villa Cora. We could have stayed right in the centre, but after a day wandering around the sights, being able to pull the plug on the noise and sensory overload, to retreat back to Villa Cora was by far the best decision we took. Highly recommended.