High in the hills above Florence, just next to Piazzale Michelangelo in a vast garden filled with cypress and olive trees, the Villa La Vedetta offers breathtaking panoramas of the city. The Neo-classical style villa has been transformed into a refined five-star hotel with 18 rooms appointed with fine antiques, walnut floors, marble bathrooms with whirlpool tubs, and all the latest technology. Choose the two-level Bellavista suite and you’ll be spoiled with the most exquisite views of Florence from the enormous windows. A member of Relais and Chateaux, the Villa La Vedetta is celebrated for its gourmet restaurant Onice, which received a Michelin star in 2004 just after its debut in November 2003. The menu changes seasonally, based on the freshest local ingredients available to the Executive Chef Massimiliano Blasone. With an impressive resume in hotel kitchens spanning the continents, Blasone is famous for his chocolate. Here’s a menu sampling to tickle the taste buds: Duo of Lobster with paprika jus and crispy bread salad to start, a flan of of “Caciocavallo Podolico” cheese to follow, and then a main dish like Home Made Agnolotto filled with zucchini flowers, dried broad beans, sole with fine herbs and celeriac sauce, carrots and espellette pepper vinaigrette, followed by a second course of fish like Steamed John Dory marinated with almond’s pesto, radishes, served with a tartare of sea scallops.

Nice perk: the hotel offers a shuttle service to the city center.

 Email This Post   |