This Belle Epoque hotel is the most central of the top five-star addresses in town. Built in the latter part of the 19th century, Hotel Helvetia & Bristol was the hotel par excelence for Florentine and English gentry. Host in the past to the Tuscan Macchaioli painters as well as De Chirico, playwright Pirandello, and atom-splitting Enrico Fermi. Given prestigious awards and recognition for its decor and for the elegant interior design of its rooms, this hotel is housed in a building from the second half of the 19th century. It is in the heart of the Centro Storico opposite the renaissance building Palazzo Strozzi, minutes away from the Duomo and one block from Florence's most elegant shopping street, via Tornabuoni.
The attentive staff oversees the rather cushy accommodations outfitted with marble bathrooms, large firm beds and heavy curtains. The suites have multiple phones and often multiple TVs. Rooms of deluxe category on up, also have CD stereos, VCRs (free movies in English at the reception), and cordless phones. Most rooms have at least one antique work of art on the fabric-covered walls, and all are well insulated from the sounds of the outside world. The large 17th-century canvases add an air of dignity to the plush sofas of the lounge, while the Winter Garden bar/breakfast room is tricked out with trailing ivy and a splashing fountain.
Facilities: Intimate restaurant (internationalized Italian); bike rental; concierge; tour desk; car-rental desk; Internet terminal; room service.