First look inside Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, as it reopens its doors | Tatler

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Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, reopens its doors high up in the hills of Fiesole, overlooking Florence Mattia Aquila

Where do you actually start? There is so much staggering [beauty](https://www.tatler.com/topic/beauty) in [Florence](https://www.tatler.com/topic/florence): Michelangelo’s _Pieta_ or his _David_ in the Galleria dell’Accademia; the fountains and statuary in Villa Bardini gardens; the ornate sketches of the set design of the [opera](https://www.tatler.com/topic/opera) _La Bohème_ in the Franco Zeffirelli foundation; the stuffed courgette flowers and Ribolita at Trattoria Camillo; the rose water from the original Santa Maria Novella. And of course, [Belmond](https://www.tatler.com/topic/belmond)’s Villa San Michele, which overlooks it all, high up in the hills of Fiesole.

For 18 months or so, it felt like the hotel world had lost a paradise, as the extensive restoration of Belmond’s Villa San Michele took hold. Architect Luigi Fragola chipped away like modern day Michelangelo, refining and honing this landmark, with its 27 reimagined suites and 12 rooms; while the landscape designer Luca Ghezzi tended to the gardens, and all those descending terraces and pristine lawns, enclosed box hedges and cypress trees, and woods thicketed with renaissance and Napoleonic lore. Anytime cosmetic surgery is involved in the renovation of a storied hotel of this kind, everyone hopes and prays that it will enhance – rather than radically change – its original beauty. The result here? More polished, a lot more luxuriant and just as romantic.


The Limonaia Suite, which sleeps four, is set within the former orangery of the Italian Gardens Adrian Gaut

You really feel like you’re in the realm of the gods (and goddesses) at Villa San Michele, particularly as the hotel is guarded by the statue of the goddess Minerva (whose nearby ruined temple is a must-visit). Originally home to Franciscan monks in the 15th century, the walls of this former monastery been imbued with a glorious sense of peace. In the centuries since, its hallowed halls have been trodden by such heavyweights as [Napoleon](https://www.tatler.com/topic/napoleon) Bonaparte, who was once claimed the [property](https://www.tatler.com/topic/property) as his private residence; Leonardo da Vinci, who tested his flying machine in the nearby woods; and (allegedly) Margarita Medici and the Duke of Parma, who are said to have conducted a secret love affair in the grounds.

There are many zones of enchantment at this Belmond jewel, which definitely exudes serious B.D.E (Belmond Dolce Vita Extravaganza). No one does it quite like this group. And it was love at first sight for me at the Belmond’s Villa San Michele reopening party, which marked the start of another beautiful Italian summer. There’s nothing like arriving into a heatwave in Europe, after coming in straight from a very cold, wintery [New York](https://www.tatler.com/topic/new-york), (which only added to my Henry James-fantasy lens on this place), speeding through [the city](https://www.tatler.com/topic/the-city) in a blacked out Merc, winding up the hairpin roads to Firesole, gazing out of the window, before being greeted with a fabulous welcome in front of the famous Michelangelo-inspired facade of Villa San Michele.


Gwyneth Paltrow, pictured with Belmond CEO Dan Ruff, was among the guests invited to celebrate the reopening Virgile Guinard

I could best describe it as Dorothy’s entry into Oz, except Belmond- [style](https://www.tatler.com/topic/style); a plunge into a technicolour dolce vita dreamscape. Sweeping through the reception and labyrinth of colonaned rooms, adorned with huge urns filled with roses and dahlias, I was marched through the glorious loggia and out into the gardens. Here are some of the signature suites, including a charming storybook chapel that sleeps two, and the stand-alone Limonaia Suite, which sleeps four, and comes with a fabulous pool and looks like an architectural wonder you might find in LA. It must have been a nice taste of home for Gwyneth Paltrow, who reportedly slept there on her trip to celebrate the hotel’s opening.


Landscape designer Luca Ghezzi tended to the gardens, and all those descending terraces and pristine lawns, enclosed box hedges and cypress trees, and woods thicketed with renaissance and Napoleonic lore Mattia Aquila