24 Hours at Villa Cora, Florence
Let’s be honest, the city of Florence is always worth a visit. Personally, I love the city so much that it’s even worth the seven hours’ drive from our new base Munich directly to the capital of Tuscany. Unfortunately, the usual lunch pitstop in Verona or Modena had to be cancelled – only because all of our favourite restaurants are closed on Mondays. This is also the reason why we decided to stay two nights in Florence and not just one – I mean I can’t say no to having dinner at Da Delfina in Artimino. The other reason for my trip, of course, was to see some of Florence’s most impressive properties. First and foremost, I was in for finally staying at Villa Cora – a hotel I wanted to see for a long time but haven’t made it yet. While I am more the Fiesole or San Casciano in Val di Pesa type, I was in for a surprise and agreed to stay close to Piazzale Michelangelo and the city centre of Florence.
First things first, the arrival was easy, and we didn’t have to enter the traffic jungle of the old town, as Villa Cora is located on the outskirts of the city. Parking was free of charge which I found super cool and even though there was no bellman to help us at the time, we were warmly welcomed by the front desk attendant. He immediately checked us in and explained all the different facilities of the hotel along with the new health regulations. One of the rules was that they had to close the spa, which I wanted to see so badly. However, the outdoor pool was still open (they have it heated in winter), so I wasn’t terrified of not having a great time. After check-in, we walked through the impressive public spaces of Villa Cora before heading up to our room. Basically, Villa Cora is a real boutique hotel with a lot of hiding points within the grounds. There is a garden building with public spaces and standard rooms, then there is the poolside restaurant, and then we have the main villa with its bar, breakfast room, lounge and seating room as well as the main salon with stunning paintings and mirrors – like in Chateau de Versailles.
A cute little elevator ride later, we arrived on the second floor where our Suite Aurora was located. Situated on the corner of the main villa, we had one of the most amazing views Villa Cora has. Overlooking the city of Florence from the bedroom and the pool from the bedroom, I couldn’t have hoped for a better room. When entering the suite, a feeling of space welcomed us thanks to the airy living room that came with a sofa, an armchair, a writing desk with television and a sideboard with a Nespresso coffee machine. Due to the Corona regulations, they removed the rug in the bedroom as well as the decorative pillows on the beds plus all soap bars in the bathrooms and replaced them with liquid hand wash by Maison Francis Kurkdjian – so no complaint on this one! Little later, when our suitcases arrived, we were surprised to find the walk-in wardrobe with safe, hangers and laundry accessories. The bedroom was located in a separate room on the corner of the building and boasted two twin beds, a sideboard with television and an armchair.
I absolutely loved the set of welcome amenities consisting of a large fruit basket along with a bottle of Tuscan red wine. When doing the tour with the front desk attendant, he brought up to our attention that this is their newest suite boasting one of the first recently renovated bathrooms. After looking at the pictures of the former bathrooms at Villa Cora, I don’t know if I prefer the old or the new version. I found the bathroom to look very dark and I think that this green and black marble fits better to a city hotel in Zurich rather than a medieval villa in Tuscany. However, it had everything I could wish for in a bathroom: from a proper walk-in shower, separate bathtub, toilet and bidet as well as double vanities. A real surprise were the amenities by perfumer Maison Francis Kurkdjian – their smell is really unique and pleasant. Unfortunately, the shower functions aren’t easy to figure out – so don’t wonder if you find yourself wet all over even if you just wanted to use the hand shower. The towels were plush, and housekeeping was also doing a great job.
Having told you earlier, the main highlight of the hotel is the really pretty outdoor pool – literally one of the most beautiful hotel pools in any city hotel. And the best of all, it’s open all year round. Imagine coming in January for Pitti Uomo (menswear fair in Florence), and after a busy day, you can just dip into the heated pool swimming underneath the pine trees. Gosh, I definitely have to come back in winter just to check this out. Back to my summer stay this time. While we were pretty unlucky on our day of arrival, where we didn’t even get any available sunbed nor lounge seating, I made sure to be the first one in the pool on the next morning. Being there while breakfast is served was the best decision I have made as I had the pool all to myself. The only thing missing was a staff member walking around asking if one wants to order coffee. Generally, I have the feeling that there is room for improvement when it comes to the staff being more pro-active.
Breakfast is served in the most beautiful room in the medieval villa in the form of a buffet. Seating is either inside in the gorgeous salon or on the stunning terrace, overlooking the gardens and buildings of Florence. I haven’t seen a breakfast buffet with so many staff members before. Due to the corona regulations, guests aren’t allowed to take anything by themselves (this was during our stay and can be different nowadays) but instead show and tell the staff and they will put it on your plate. I enjoyed the high-quality salmon along with great focaccia and a bit of ricotta cheese. The cappuccino was of good quality, and also the orange juice was fresh and tasted good. I also saw a breakfast menu with hot dishes which reads excellent, however, also included prices indicating that the warm dishes have to be paid additionally. Check-out was very fast as well, and after they have packed my car, they handed us over a bag with water and sweets for the drive to the seaside! Overall, I had a great stay at one of Florence’s most beautiful hotels and can recommend Villa Cora for all those looking for a luxurious hotel in a posh setting.
We were guests of the Villa Cora during our stay in Florence, however, all the above written expresses our own opinion and has not been influenced.
