Review of Lungarno Suites, by The TI Review Team

Just over a decade ago, the Ferragamos took a riverside palazzo hotel that had seen better days and gave it a world-class makeover - and instant cachet as one of Florence's coolest boutique hotels. Their Lungarno Hotel Group now spans all of Tuscany and Rome, but the Lungarno Suites remains an original flagship property-studios and small full-service flats awash in chic finishes and modern furnishings, with a palette of grey, ice-blue, white and deep-brown.

The facilities

All 44 studios have tiny but incredibly fashionable kitchens complete with Boffi appliances, espresso makers and Illy espresso, breakfast treats and Sicilian biscotti, and a few handy recipes. (The concierge will take grocery orders and have the fridge stocked prior to your arrival if you wish.) There's garage parking adjacent to the hotel and car service can be arranged for excursion in the city and beyond. And the business traveller's needs are 100% met, with high-speed and wireless internet, videoconference facilities, satellite TV, and printers and faxes in room on request.

The rooms

Michele Bonan, the Ferragamos' in-house designer, knows from cool: the monochrome schemes and blonde oak floors, flannel curtains with bold silk linings and retro-style lamps, somehow manage to be sleekly contemporary and cosy at the same time. Each studio is furnished with a queen or twin beds, a generous sitting area, and ample closet space (most rooms have a walk-in). Junior suites and suites are one-bedroom flats, most with terraces. The sheets are from Frette; the china is from Richard Ginori; the biscuits at turndown are from Robiglio. The overall effect is five-star treatment, at home.