Grand Hotel Baglioni, Florence

About Grand Hotel Baglioni

Centrally positioned within the cultural triangle formed by the Duomo, San Lorenzo and Santa Maria Novella, the 18th century Grand Hotel Baglioni was once the residence to the Carrega Bertolini Princes.

Today it is a stylish hotel featuring a fabulous panoramic restaurant and a rooftop garden with views towards Brunelleschi's dome and the city below, making it an ideal venue for a romantic candlelit dinner. The large public rooms boast cosy alcoves and ornate ceilings, and the guestrooms adopt a particularly Florentine style with mahogany furniture, parquet flooring and decorative fabrics.

Frescoes, paintings, sculptures and the permanent photography exhibition depict a century of Florentine history, when this impressive hotel first opened its doors to international travelers in 1903.

Citalia has selected Superior rooms for its guests.

Accommodation:

Rooms have a warm, comfortable atmosphere as a result of the traditional Tuscan style furnishings, which include mahogany and wrought iron furniture, warm parquet and lacunar ceilings, lead glass windows and Florentine ceramics in the bathroom. Room facilities include a shower and bath, air conditioning, heating, internet, telephone, satellite television, safe and hairdryer. Rooms are around 18 metres squared in size and they have twin beds but doubles are also available. It is possible to request an interconnecting room, or to add a single bed for a third person.

Deluxe
This spacious bedroom is 28 metres squared and boasts a view overlooking the Santa Maria Novella Church. A bathrobe and slippers are provided and it is possible to add a third or fourth single bed.

Junior Suite
This luxuriously furnished, large suite is 35 metres squared and it features a King-size double bed with the option of adding two single beds for a third and fourth guest. A bathrobe and slippers are provided.

Single Room
Single rooms are available with a bath or shower.

Supplements (from):

Deluxe £11. Junior Suite £24. Single £30. Half Board £42.

Facilities:

Panoramic rooftop restaurant Terrazza Brunelleschi
Bar
Roof garden
Lift
Valet service to nearby garage (payable locally approx. 25 Euros per day)

Information:

The hotel has 93 air-conditioned rooms. Transfer time from Pisa airport: 1 hour 20 Mins. Transfer time from Florence airport: 20 mins. Child prices apply to ages 2-11 years. Official Rating 4 Star

About Florence

For a tiny city-state, Florence enjoys an enormous reputation for art, scholarship, architecture and science that belies its concentrated size. Contemporary Florence spills into the lush Tuscan countryside, but the hub of its centro storico, a treasure trove of culture, stylish living and epicurean thrills, can be crossed at a leisurely pace within half an hour. The compact nature of this honey-coloured enclave lends it an intimate atmosphere, zealously preserved by a municipality that ferociously defends ancient civic liberties whose martial and banking skills not only once ruled the papacy, but also had a profound influence on shaping European culture for over five centuries.

Florence is an erudite university centre, bursting with youthful enthusiasm and a down to earth population, who rejoice in a philosophical way of life dedicated to eating, drinking and romantic pleasures. Easy if you are one of its privileged citizens to take its lofty Renaissance accomplishments for granted, but successive generations of visitors have come here to grasp its magnificence and leave with their cheeks flushed by the city's gilded beauty.

A few short steps from Santa Maria Novella railway station stands Florence's Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore), Europe's fourth largest church and famed for its orange-tiled dome. The Baptistry, with its soaring Campanile designed by Giotto in 1334, traces its origins to the 4th century with its provenance inscribed on bronze doors. Meandering, cobbled lanes lead to the Piazza della Signoria and its famous Palazzo Vecchio, a monumental icon to the city founders' independent republicanism.

Close by, the Galleria degli Uffizi houses Italy's greatest collection of paintings, its magnificent interiors exhibiting priceless works including Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus', where he reveals the lithesome grace of his mistress who posed as a model for many of his presentations of pagan goddesses and saintly madonnas.

Walking through Florence, an overwhelming number of historic places reveal Michelangelo's statuary and lead curious eyes to pry at Palazzo Pitti and its Boboli Gardens graced by ornamental lakes and dominated by a hill on which Forte di Belvedere warns amorous couples against the intrusion of vengeful husbands. From Piazza della Signoria avid shoppers can discover the ancient quarter of San Lorenzo (named after The Magnificent). Here rises a 19th century palazzo built in stone, iron and glass consecrated to the Tuscan passion for food with galleries of butchers, greengrocers and pasta counters.

Huddling round this is a maze of al fresco stalls, retailing high quality leather goods and stylish apparel, and for those in search of the ultra chic, the district of Oltrarno, traditionally an artisans' quarter, has become one of the most illustrious fashion centres in the world.
Smart boutiques line its Borgo San Iacopo, whose tributary lanes are punctuated with exclusive restaurants, cosy bars and trattorie, specialising in delicious traditional Tuscan cuisine. Crossing the River Arno on the Ponte Vecchio, an ancient bridge crammed with jewellery workshops and goldsmith's shops, is a must during your stay in this Renaissance capital of Tuscany.