If you appreciate the finer things in life – from shopping for heritage haute couture to drinking signature cocktails in an art deco lounge bar, we recommend a short break at La Gemma Hotel in Florence.
When it comes to celebrating timeless design, the Tuscan capital of Florence always delivers.
Begin your stay in Florence at the design-led and ever-so glamorous La Gemma Hotel. In its iconic position on Via Calimala surrounded by the city’s top landmarks and shopping streets, you can easily step out and explore.
Despite only opening in the summer of 2023, this 19th century palazzo hotel has a gloriously elegant appeal that evokes another time with its charismatic art deco interiors, which are further topped off with exceptional service.
La Gemma Hotel was the brainchild of the youngest generation of the distinguished Florentine Cecchi family, who have a shared wealth of experience in the arts, architecture, fashion, and design. You will be welcomed into the hotel like you are their honoured guest being hosted in a luxurious home.
Within the hotel, you’ll find a colour palette of vibrant greens, powder pinks, and gentle ivories that have been inspired by the city’s cathedral, as well as opulent marbles, sumptuous fabrics, and bold geometric patterns. In LUCA’s restaurant and lounge for example, you’ll find a most stylish cocktail bar with a chequerboard marble floor and nostalgic velvet seating.
Cosy up for the night and listen to soothing notes of vintage jazz as you sip on signature cocktails such as a naughty negroni, or a summer-scented Sgroppino, which is essentially a decadent slush-puppy for adults!
While you’ve got top Italian brands like Gucci, Ferragamo, and Pucci lining Via Tornabuoni, which is just a five-minute amble from the hotel, you’ll also find a local passion for pre-loved clothing and accessories all across the city.
Stories from the past come to life with the many boutiques teeming with vintage and upcycled wares. We recommend you start your shopping experience at one of the two large Melrose Vintage stores, whose doors have been open since 1988. In a mishmash of labyrinthine rooms you can lose yourself in everything from designer classics to military trench coats and retro sportswear.
Or you may like to venture back into a genteel world of 19th century London with a visit to Tartan Vintage, where you can unearth tweed and plaid fabrics aplenty as Burberry and Barbour fantastically collide with Gucci and Loro Piana.
For uber luxurious vintage wins, head to Mercatino di Ninni, where a former model with a great eye (that’s Ninni) sells designer labels from the likes of Bottega Veneta, Valentino, Emilio Pucci, and Fendi, spanning from the 1960s to the 1990s.
And where would you be without Recollection, which sits on the other side of the river in the hip and happening neighbourhood of Oltrano? This curated collection of vintage robes and fashion accessories sits alongside decadent antique furniture, also for sale.
Speaking of the river, by the city’s oldest bridge – the impregnable two-storey Ponte Vecchio – is where you’ll find the city’s jewellery quarter, where the odd vintage jewellery shop such as Rosso Firenze, is thrown in for good measure.
And any visit to Florence is incomplete without a visit to the world’s oldest pharmacy, Santa Maria Novella, located just a 10-minute walk from La Gemma Hotel!
First opened by Dominican friars from the adjacent basilica who began growing herbs to make balms and medicines, this is a nostalgic and perfumed shopping experience indeed. Some of these beautiful apothecary products boast recipes dating back to the early 13th century!
You’ll find specialities such as Aceto dei Sette Ladri (Seven Thieves Vinegar), which was used to protect its wearers from the plague, and Carta D’Armenia (Armenia Paper), an oriental spiced paper incense.
If you’d like to add to or begin your vinyl collection, then head to the fabulous Rock Bottom Records. En route, stop by the Piazza della Repubblica, where you’ll find an antique-style carousel that you can ride for a trip down memory lane.
And, should you wish for the ultimate vintage ride, why not enjoy a self-drive experience in a classic Fiat 500 adapting from the 1960s, where you can head into the surrounding Tuscan hills? A driver will bring you back, allowing you to freely sample the many wines of local vineyards and cellars. This experience can be arranged for you by the hotel’s concierge.
After you’ve had your fill of vintage shopping and classic car experiences, head to La Gemma Hotel’s historic cellars for a unique pampering experience in the private subterranean ‘Allure’ spa.
When you’re eventually back on home turf, we expect you’ll feel gleeful, if not a little smug when telling friends you purchased your latest vintage treasures in Florence.
For a sophisticated spot simply oozing timeless glamour then La Gemma Hotel awaits. Choose one of the spacious loft suites for utter seclusion or if you want to be in the throng of the renaissance city, then book a suite with a private terrace with a view of the majestic Duomo.
