25hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino

The first 25hours hotel in Italy will open on 8 September 2021. The 25hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino occupies a central location in the Santa Maria Novella district at the heart of Florence. This is among the most authentic and lesser-known neighbourhoods in the Italian city and a little off the beaten track. Just a stroll away from the train station, at the back of the Museo del Novecento, the 25hours Hotel San Paolino fills an entire block between the elegant Via de Fossi with its numerous antique shops and the popular Via Palazzuolo, connecting two neighbourhoods that have been largely insular until now. The 25hours Hotel San Paolino is situated in the former premises of Monte de 'Pegni - the lending company of the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze - and has its central core of 66 rooms in the original monastery next to the eponymous church of San Paolino. These hallowed halls are now imbued with fresh creative energy thanks to controlled demolitions, new building elements and restored areas. Enhancing the historic core is a new annexe boasting another 104 guest rooms with balconies, as well as the Casetta del Giardino, a small apartment with a private garden and pool. All these ingredients have created a modern, cosmopolitan hotel with 171 rooms unlike anything currently available in Florence.

Created by Milan-based designer Paola Navone and her team, the hotel was inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy and is brimming with light-hearted allusions to this legendary work: scenes from Hell and Paradise are playfully interspersed, offering an illuminating tour through Dante's world of virtues and vices. Situated beneath the vast glass dome, the Restaurant San Paolino is the centrepiece of the hotel in the historical palazzo. Round about are a green courtyard garden, a classic Negroni bar and a typical alimentari - a grocery store for the neighbourhood and lively piazza that serves a small selection of food and drinks to suit the time of day.

The San Paolino restaurant epitomises Italian cuisine, offering the best produce from all regions of the country, although Tuscany occupies a special place on the menu. Changing with the seasons, there are also a few dishes from designer Paola Navone's personal recipe collection. Guests perusing the wine list will find exclusively curated recommendations from choice wineries in Tuscany. Dining beneath the glass dome at the centre of the impressive palazzo is meant to be fun - and the imaginative design merely adds to this experience. San Paolino is a great place to meet at any time of day, and the hospitality space expands into the playful courtyard garden during the warmer months.

The Companion Bar at 25hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino appears both quintessentially Italian and strikingly international. Its signature products are bitter-sweet classics like Negroni, but include new interpretations that add a playfully seasonal touch to these flavours. The Companion Bar welcomes its guests from the aperitivo to the late-night drink and is establishing itself as a fixed star in the Florentine night life. The traditional 'hole in the wall', the buchetta del vino, allows guests to enjoy their glass of wine on the pavement in front of the establishment. Table bookings are not available, but personal advice from the bar crew certainly is.

Hotel website