Villa San Michele review: Why Stay

There are plenty of beautiful hotels in Florence. Some overlook the Arno, others sit steps from the Duomo or hide behind grand Renaissance façades. Villa San Michele does something entirely different.

Set high in the hills of Fiesole, around twenty minutes above the city, the former monastery allows you to experience Florence from a distance. Not geographical distance, but perspective. The Duomo, the Palazzo Vecchio and the city’s sea of terracotta rooftops are laid out before you in a way that makes Florence feel less like a collection of landmarks and more like a complete work of art.

Halfway through our stay, my mother looked up from her coffee and asked whether we actually needed to go into Florence that day. It was a fair question. The hotel runs a complimentary shuttle into the city throughout the day, making museums, restaurants and shopping effortlessly accessible. Yet we found ourselves repeatedly postponing our departures, distracted by the changing light on the skyline below.

The renovation has only strengthened that temptation. Following an 18-month closure, Belmond has transformed one of Florence’s most beloved hotels into one of Italy’s most compelling places to stay.

Location

Fiesole has long been Florence’s escape valve. For centuries, wealthy Florentines built villas in these hills to escape the heat and bustle of the city below, and it remains one of the most desirable addresses in Tuscany. Villa San Michele occupies a particularly enviable position, surrounded by gardens and woodland where Leonardo da Vinci is said to have tested one of his early flying machines.

The location offers the best of both worlds. Florence remains close enough for spontaneous lunches, gallery visits or evening aperitivo, while the hotel itself feels entirely removed from the crowds. Returning each afternoon feels like leaving one world and entering another.

Vibe

The hotel never really feels like a hotel. Guests arrive through a former chapel adorned with frescoes before drifting through cloisters, drawing rooms and terraces that seem to reveal themselves gradually. The atmosphere is more private Florentine residence than luxury resort. Guests move between the handful of rooms, gardens and terraces as though they’ve borrowed a particularly grand Florentine home for the weekend. You quickly develop favourite corners: a particular armchair in the cloisters, a quiet spot in the gardens, a table overlooking Florence at sunset.

The former cloisters, now enclosed beneath glass and transformed into a sumptuous drawing room framed by ivy-covered walls, remain one of the property’s most atmospheric spaces.

One of the most successful aspects of the renovation is that it has elevated the public spaces without stripping away their character. The old Villa San Michele possessed immense charm but there were moments when the interiors felt secondary to the view. Now, the balance feels far more considered.

You no longer feel as though stepping indoors means missing the main attraction. The elegant new bar, beautifully redesigned lounges and intimate garden spaces are destinations in themselves. More than once, I found myself lingering over a Negroni indoors long after I’d intended to return to the terrace.

Story

Villa San Michele began life as a Franciscan monastery more than 600 years ago and remains one of the most historically significant hotels in Italy. Its Michelangelo-inspired façade, original cloisters, chapel and terraced gardens continue to define the property today.

Belmond’s recent restoration has approached this history with admirable restraint. Rather than attempting a dramatic reinvention, the project focuses on enhancing what was already there. Working with Florence-based Luigi Fragola Architects, Belmond looked to local artisans, craftspeople and makers to shape the next chapter of the hotel. The new interiors draw heavily on Tuscan craftsmanship, from textiles and ceramics to antiques and bespoke pieces sourced across the region. The result feels contemporary without losing its soul.

Rooms & Suites

Returning after three years, what struck me most wasn’t what had changed outside, but what had changed inside. Previously, the temptation was always to head straight back to the terrace. The view was simply too distracting. This time, I found myself lingering in the room.

The redesign feels less like a hotel refurbishment and more like a collection of beautifully considered Florentine residences. The rooms now feel like elegant homes rather than luxury hotel rooms, layered with antiques, handcrafted details, books, ceramics and artwork that reflect the city beyond their windows.

Guests can choose between rooms housed within the monastery itself and those scattered throughout the terraced gardens. Many enjoy private outdoor space and city views, while the new signature suites represent some of the most desirable accommodation in Tuscany. Three new signature suites anchor the redesign. Limonaia occupies the former orangery and feels like the home of an art collector hidden among the gardens. Botanica takes inspiration from the estate’s flora and historic herbariums, while The Grand Tour references the aristocratic travellers who once passed through Florence in pursuit of culture and beauty.

Most importantly, the rooms now hold your attention in a way they perhaps didn’t before. The view remains extraordinary, but it finally has competition.

Food & Drink

The dining offering has evolved significantly since my previous stay. What was once a single flagship restaurant has become three distinct experiences, each making the most of the hotel’s extraordinary setting. Executive Chef Alessandro Cozzolino now oversees both a tasting-menu restaurant beneath the monastery’s historic loggia and a more relaxed Tuscan dining concept, while the poolside Grill remains one of the most enjoyable spots in Florence for long lunches of wood-fired pizza, pasta and classic Italian dishes.

What impressed us most, however, was the service. My mother is vegan, something that can still present challenges in Italy’s more traditional dining rooms. Here, it never felt like an issue. Tasting menus were adapted without fuss, dishes appeared thoughtfully reimagined rather than substituted, and every member of staff seemed instinctively aware of what she could and couldn’t eat. It was seamless, generous hospitality rather than performative accommodation.

Breakfast remains one of the highlights of the stay. Served in the monastery’s former refectory beneath a dramatic Last Supper fresco, it combines historic grandeur with modern expectations. Alongside pastries, cakes and local specialities sits an impressive spread of fresh fruit, yoghurts, chia puddings, juices and wellness-focused options, complemented by an extensive à la carte menu. It’s the sort of breakfast that encourages you to stay with a coffee long after the meal is finished.

Spa & Facilities

The headline addition is the new Villa San Michele Spa by Guerlain, remarkably the first dedicated spa in the hotel’s history. Housed within the monastery, the three-treatment-room sanctuary draws inspiration from the building’s monastic past while introducing a wellness offering the property has long lacked.

The restored gardens remain one of the property’s greatest assets. Tiered terraces hide roses, citrus trees, herb gardens and secluded viewpoints, while landscape designer Luca Ghezzi has subtly reworked the 9,700-square-metre grounds, introducing Renaissance-inspired planting, hidden corners and new pathways.

At the top of the estate, the pale-blue swimming pool remains one of the best places to spend an afternoon. Most guests still position their loungers towards Florence rather than the water itself, which tells you everything you need to know. Another thoughtful addition is a partnership with Milanese lifestyle brand La DoubleJ, bringing sound healing, yoga and wellbeing experiences into the gardens and woodland surrounding the estate.

Anything To Add?

The hotel has long embraced contemporary art, and one of my strongest memories from a previous stay was Leandro Erlich’s Window & Ladder installation, which appeared to suspend an open window in the sky above Florence, inviting guests to quite literally view the city from a different perspective. It felt entirely fitting for a hotel whose greatest luxury has always been its outlook.

On our final evening, we found ourselves doing exactly what we’d done throughout the stay: looking at Florence. The city slowly shifted from gold to pink to blue as the sun disappeared behind the hills. Conversations softened. Glasses lingered half-finished on tables. Nobody seemed particularly eager to leave.

Many hotels claim to be destinations in their own right. Villa San Michele is one of the few that genuinely is. Florence may lie just twenty minutes away, but there is a strong chance you’ll find yourself questioning whether you need to visit quite as often as planned. And that, perhaps, is the highest compliment I can give it.

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