My husband and I took our two children (aged 7 and 5) to stay at the Villa Cora for a few days before Christmas. We got a very good rate for the room, booking through Mr & Mrs Smith. The welcome that we received and the service throughout were outstanding and our children were made to feel incredibly welcome from the start. The hotel is beautiful and quite grand, with a number of highly decorated historic state rooms as well as a delightful pool and surrounding gardens. Our kids made use of the jacuzzi, sauna etc in the spa and thoroughly enjoyed themselves! The spa is small but perfectly formed with marble and wood throughout. Our bedroom was beautifully decorated and had a frescoed ceiling and nice antique furniture and paintings. We had a duplex, with the kids sleeping in a galleried area upstairs - a very sensible setup. There were two bathrooms so that there was no need to share! Also wonderful Anik Goutal toiletries in generous quantities. The breakfast buffet was plentiful and fresh and staff were happy to replenish food or to make food to order.
Overall a superb hotel choice for a city like Florence, where hotels are often small and not suitable for children. It would also be perfect in the summer when you could spend the day by the pool and go into the city in the evening when it is cooler. Also, there is a hotel shuttle which is on-hand to take you into the city or collect you if tired legs don't fancy the walk back. Our only problem with the hotel was that it was so nice that the kids didn't want to go into Florence!
- Grand Hotel Florence
- Grand Hotel Cora
