The 17 best hotels in Italy

Bosh. Right in the middle of Florence is where you’ll find this compact but substantial property, a hop and a skip from many of the city’s a-tier attractions. Like a lot of the actually decent posh hotels in Florence, Helvetia & Bristol is an enjoyable combination of contemporary swishyness and time-worn, almost eccentric grandiosity. In fact the hotel’s split personality is more in-your-face than usual: it’s technically a combination of two different buildings, with one part being more old-world opulence, while the other (the ‘Bristol’ bit) is relatively contemporary (lots of sleek, pale wood and grey fabric). 

We stayed in the old-school section. Our room was splendid but friendly, with tall windows, a stylish antique dresser and a very royal-looking carved oak headboard behind the mega-wide bed. Food and drink come by way of the bombastically snazzy Cibreo restaurant and cocktail bar. 

Time Out tip: If you enjoy being pampered, then book yourself in for one of the hotel’s spa sessions. It’s the biggest one in the city. Molto zen.

Hard to imagine a more blissful context for anything: the rolling fields of Tuscany’s Val d'Orcia region. The fact that Monteverdi is an immaculately and tastefully restored medieval village, built onto a secluded hillside, complete with fine-dining options, a heated underground pool, a gym and a balcony bar… well, it’s almost unfair isn’t it? This is luxury, but it’s luxury inextricably tied to the traditions and aesthetics of the region, a sense reinforced by the fact almost every piece of furniture in the 31 rooms (including three suites) is handmade by locals. 

Food is handled by executive chef Riccardo Bacciottini and charismatic Chilean-American legend Giancarla Bodoni (who’s on hand to lead pasta-making workshops and the like), with tons of the produce used grown in Monteverdi’s own garden. The main restaurant Zita, has a fantastic grill and treads a successful line between earthy Tuscan flavours and delicate high-end cooking. A second fine-dining restaurant, Oreade, is set to open in spring 2025.

There’s enough stuff to do (spa treatments, wine tasting, cooking classes, yoga) that it’s easy to fill your days should you want to. But, obviously, the pleasure of staying at a place like this is simply to soak it up and exist in it. It’s easy to see how and why aesthete director Wes Anderson ended up writing a whole screenplay (allegedly The Grand Budapest Hotel) here. 

An actual bloody massive castle, at the top of a hill, in the middle of a vineyard, that you can stay in! Guests sleep in the small buildings huddled beneath the castle’s walls, spacious bungalow buildings with tons of nice features and stunning views of the surrounding Tuscan countryside. But the true draw is of course the shadow of that mediaeval-style, carefully restored castle. It’s Game of Thrones meets Drops of God. There’s tours of the vineyards and the cellars (a 20-minute drive away) on offer, as well as various tasting sessions, which are conducted in a beautiful hall, accompanied by local cheeses and charcuterie. The rooms aren’t rooms at all, really. They’re spacious apartments with proper bathrooms, entrance areas, corridors and large bedrooms. We ate our way through the enormous Florentine steak course (as well as a few starters) and can happily report the kitchen goes above and beyond the type of flashy but saddening cooking that usually goes on at luxury hotels. 

An idiosyncratic, thoroughly charming experience, Hotel Palazzo Guadagni manages to combine Florence’s beauty and grace with a rare, bohemian charm. Situated on the third floor of a building which sits on one of the city’s coolest squares, the hotel feels somewhere between a billionaire’s cosmopolitan bolthole and an upmarket youth hostel. Guadagni was built in the 1500s, in the bit of Florence associated with artists and craftspeople. Today, Piazza Santo Spirito retains a pleasingly grunge-y, creative vibe. The hotel itself is accessed via a single, slow and shonky elevator (or six flights of stairs), giving the whole thing a gratifyingly clandestine edge. Rooms are spacious and grand. Oh: the balcony bar. Guadagni’s drinking terrace is a spacious, grand-looking vantage, carved out of the building’s corner, overlooking the bustling square below. 

Time Out tip: All of the rooms differ quite a lot, so if you want it to have specific amenities, like a stand-up bath, the best thing to do is ask.

Rome is chock full of breathtaking, ancient stuff, and Palazzo Ripetta is no exception. Situated on one of Rome’s oldest streets, this grand seventeenth-century convent became a hotel in the 1960s and recently underwent two years of tireless renovation, reopening as one of the chicest hotels in the city. Of course, location is the big draw here – Palazzo Ripetta is only a short stumble away from a living history book of iconic Italian attractions – though the hotel itself is well worth a linger. There’s a spacious, sun-dappled courtyard for an indulgent buffet breakfast or afternoon aperitivo (try to nab the table next to the third-century sarcophagus, which doubles up as a water feature) or you could pitch up at the rooftop bar for views that would make Fellini blush. Indoors, the lobby hosts a dramatic Arnaldo Pomodoro sculpture, while acclaimed architect Luigi Moretti – who assisted when the building was first converted – has made his mark on the moody San Baylon cocktail bar. (You’ll also find a giant canvas by New York street artist Angel Ortiz here.) Rooms are elegant but homely: red glass chandeliers nod to Murano, the parquet is perfect, the massive beds extremely comfy; and there are freestanding baths in the high-ceilinged suites. Minimal it isn’t – but if you can’t go big in Rome, where can you?

Time Out tip: Lime bikes in Rome are a thing – and Ubers aren’t. You can pick up and park your bike right outside the hotel. You’ll have to keep your wits about you when cycling, but it’s the second-best way to get around the city – after walking, of course.

Catching sight of My Arbor for the first time is an experience that can’t be overstated. First of all, you’ve already arrived in the impossibly beautiful, straight-from-a-fairytale town of Bressanone. Now you’re in the trees, looking up at a wooden cuboid that seems precariously perched on the skinny trunks of the surrounding pines. My Arbor lives every bit upto its self-billed ‘tree hotel’ title. Inside, you’re hit with a tremendous view over the tree-blanketed South Tyrolean mountains from the hotel restaurant’s sweeping terrace. Above you, thick wooden branches hang like a chandelier. Even the reception desk is made up of two gigantic trunks. Our suite (we stayed in the ‘nest’) is appropriately wood-panelled, with a balcony and window nook overlooking the valley and hills. You could stay in your nook all day watching mountain peaks get swallowed by clouds, but you’re much better off donning your robe and taking the lift down to the spa, where you can drink in all those views from a hydrotherapy infinity pool. By far the pièce de résistance, Spa Arboris is a maze of pools, saunas, steam rooms and relaxation zones spread across the hotel’s lower levels. 

Time Out tip: Most rooms are booked half-board, but if you’re spending the day at the hotel, you don’t necessarily need to buy lunch – especially if you went hard on the buffet breakfast. There’s a variety of teas to help yourself to in the spa, hourly sauna infusions are followed by snacks and bowls of juicy local apples are dotted all over the place (South Tyrol is known for its apples). 

An hour’s drive from the swarming streets of Florence and Pisa, Villa Lena could have settled for being just another gorgeous hilltop agriturismo. Instead, it’s something quite unique: an art foundation based in a nineteenth-century villa, with a stylish hotel sprawling across the outbuildings. There’s no shortage of inspiration up here, with sweeping views in every direction over fields and woods, every hilltop crowned by a picturesque little village or farmhouse, and a backdrop of cloud-capped mountains. The laidback on-site restaurant, Osteria San Michele, would be worth the trip even if you weren’t staying the night, with a menu of souped-up Tuscan classics. Guest bedrooms sprawl across various buildings. We stayed in the family-friendly Renacchi Apartments, a serene ten minutes’ stroll from reception, which had a spartan-but-luxe rustic vibe and its own pool. And did I mention just how nice the staff are?

Time Out tip: Check the schedule of upcoming events for the dates you’re visiting. You can book in for all sorts of fun, from ceramic workshops to pasta-making classes and even spectacular art happenings.

Lupaia is the sort of countryside hideaway that you won’t want to leave. Farm buildings dating from the 17th century have been converted into 11 wonderfully cosy and comfortable rooms and suites brimming with details such as exposed stone walls and beams. Some have little gardens attached, with views of nearby hilltop towns, including Montepulciano. The gardens, terraces and pool area are all exquisitely done, as is the open kitchen where top-notch Tuscan cuisine is served.

Among the glittering five-star palaces that cling to the Amalfi Coast, four-star Hotel Marincanto stands out for its immense charm and relative affordability. Not only do many of the 32 rooms have balconies with heavenly views of Positano and the coast, but there’s also an infinity pool and a private beach. A couple of rooms have their own private patios. Choose from several terraces where you can kick back and relax in front of the Mediterranean – not to mention the Terrazza Celè restaurant with its fabulous views.

There are holiday resorts, and then there’s Borgo Egnazia. This mini village between Bari and Brindisi on the Adriatic coast looks like such an authentic slice of historic Puglia that you wouldn’t think it’s only been around since 2010. Accommodation ranges from serene cream-coloured rooms to duplexes and larger villas – all made from local tufa stone. If you don’t book a villa with a private pool, you’ve still got three outdoor pools in the resort, plus two private beaches, a spa, an adjoining golf course and enough activities to keep you busy for weeks.

There’s wonderful whiff of old-style Italian glamour at the Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea, which sits on its own private beach in Sicily’s chicest town. Many of the light, breezy rooms have balconies with views of the Bay of Mazzarò, and you can hop on the nearby cable car to reach central Taormina (or take the free shuttle). As well as the private beach there’s an infinity pool and a spa surrounded by luxuriant gardens, and the glamour quotient rises even further with the waterside Restaurant Oliviera. If you prefer to be in the heart of buzzy Taormina itself, the Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo is equally impressive.

With only nine rooms, La Palazzetta del Vescovo truly is a boutique hotel. Surrounded by open Umbrian countryside, this rural bolthole is decorated in warm Italian country style. You’ll find beamed ceilings, stone arches and terracotta floors, and some of the rooms have a little terrace. The views from the covered restaurant terrace and the infinity pool seem to go on for ever, and they enhance the feeling of being in the most peaceful place in Italy. To get into the Umbrian spirit, join one of the hotel’s regular cooking classes.

Summer and winter, the Rosa Alpina holds its own against the incomparable beauty of the Dolomites by offering intimate and understated luxury. The pink-tinged mountains add a dramatic backdrop to this 19th-century chalet-style hotel, where the 51 rooms and suites are decked out in an extremely tasteful alpine style – just enough pine to make it cosy. The spa has an indoor pool, and there’s also an adults-only spa area. Suitably for the food-obsessed area of Alta Badia, there’s a sublime restaurant with two Michelin stars.

At the Gran Meliá, it’s like taking a city break but with all the trappings of a rural retreat. Set amid lush gardens on the Giancolo Hill, the hotel is in a prime spot in Trastevere near the Vatican. Its 116 rooms and suites have a stylish contemporary look featuring Renaissance murals; some come with private terraces. Take in the views of the city from one of the two outdoor pools and the patio bar, and enjoy fine-dining at the Viva Voce restaurant.

A medieval castle and hamlet have been expertly converted into the tranquil Castello di Casole in the depths of central Tuscany, where 39 country-style rooms and suites occupy parts of the castle and the hamlet – you can also rent villas from among the estate’s restored farm buildings. Take in glorious views of vineyards, cypresses and olive groves from the infinity pool, and explore the enormous sprawling grounds on one of the hotel’s mountain bikes after trying the yoga sessions on offer.

If you’ve got deep pockets, it’s hard to fault the Gritti Palace. Everything is pretty much perfect in this 15th-century palazzo, from its location on the Grand Canal opposite the church of Santa Maria della Salute to its top-class restaurant – also on the Grand Canal. The 82 rooms and suites have classically Venetian decor – all swirling gilt, colourful stucco and luxurious fabrics – and eight overlook the Grand Canal. For a special treat, try one of the hotel’s cooking classes, which include a visit to the Rialto food market.

Get your fix of old-world lakeside elegance at the Hotel Villa & Palazzo Aminta, a stately grande dame of Lake Maggiore. The fact that one suite is called Liz Taylor gives a clue to its provenance. Its 67 rooms are suites have views either of the lake or the lavish gardens, with ornate interiors full of chandeliers and Murano glass. Relax in the outdoor pool, or make use of the hotel’s private beach, where you get superb views of the Borromean Islands.