Florence, Italy

Casa G Firenze

Price per night from$230.15

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (EUR212.73), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Style

G-force pull

Setting

Surrounded by Santa Marias

Master of crafts, 18th-century palazzo turned homey bed and breakfast Casa G Firenze, has a legacy of both fine porcelain and a carved wooden boy who comes to life, as the former seat of the Ginori ceramics dynasty (whose studio is just down the road) and home to Carlo Lorenzini, writer of Pinocchio. Today it carries on its artisanal tradition, restoring frescoed ceilings and turning the old ballroom and dining hall into cavernous suites, adding furnishings from skilled craftsmen (plus vintage finds), a marble honesty bar and serene breakfasting rooms, and working in some whimsy too: turtle motifs, Duomo-shaped lamps. A laid-back city-centre spot with all the pleasing aesthetics, where you can craft your own fairytale. 

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A welcome drink each

Facilities

Photos Casa G Firenze facilities

Need to know

Rooms

15, including two suites.

Check–Out

11am, with limited flexibility, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm. Guests will be emailed or WhatsApped a four-digit front-door and room code – reception closes at 4pm, so it’s the only way to check-in after this time.

Prices

Double rooms from £200.51 (€234), including tax at 10 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of €4.90 per person per night on check-out.

More details

Rates include breakfast, a buffet of pastries, cheeses and cold cuts, yoghurt and granola, and – because it’s Italy – cakes and cookies. And you’ll get some sweet treats on arrival, too.

Also

The owner’s interests, namely turtles and Wes Anderson, are reflected in the decor: the former are evident in door handles, prints and the hotel logo; the latter in the retro aesthetic.

At the hotel

Secret courtyard, two breakfast rooms, lounge with honesty bar, library, concierge, charged laundry service, and free WiFi. In rooms: smart TV, selection of books, minibar, tea- and coffee-making kit, free bottled water and air-conditioning.

Our favourite rooms

How thoughtful, you’ll think to yourself on doing the obligatory room ‘rusharound’ after check-in. There’s a small welcome gift, considered pile of books, fabric covers hiding the TVs, eye-catching prints and flowers in vases from the legacy Ginori 1735 collection (the brand run by the family who owned this very palazzo). Florence’s artisans and vintage markets have been called on in dressing these spaces (we especially like the Duomo-shaped lamps), and all rooms exhibit ‘come in, make yourself at home’ care. However, we do like the Junior and Master suites – one the former dining hall, the other a ballroom – which have exquisitely frescoed ceilings, a living area on a mezzanine level and marble bathrooms with deep-fill tubs. And Superior room five has a lavishly painted cubby with a sofa. Take note, the Cosy room truly is, with a sofa that pulls out into a bed that comfortably fits one.

Packing tips

Ernst Gombrich’s The Story of Art or John Berger’s Ways of Seeing feel like fitting tomes for this most cultured city.

Also

Aside from the Ginori family, the Casa was also home to brothers Paolo and Carlo Lorenzini, the latter of whom wrote Pinocchio – no lie.

Children

Physically, kids can stay – Superiors and Suites can fit an extra bed, and almost all rooms can fit a cot – but there’s little to engage them here and no dedicated kit or services.

Sustainability efforts

The Casa’s plastic-free, uses timed LED lighting and eco-friendly products, and has a smart heating system; and many of the furnishings are crafted locally or were found at vintage markets.

Food and Drink

Photos Casa G Firenze food and drink

Top Table

The leafy interior courtyard is a secret shared between you and just the occupants of 14 other rooms.

Dress Code

Homegrown houses, dahling: Gucci, Pucci and Ferragamo footwear.

Hotel restaurant

Only breakfast is served at the hotel, but it’s a good one, with fine charcuterie and cheeses, eggs, yoghurt and granola, pastries, cakes and cookies – God bless the Italians’ sweet tooth. It’s served in two rooms – one the former kitchen, now with marble accents and a small library, another with tables set under a light feature designed to look like a giant eye, which opens out onto the courtyard. Both, naturally, are bedecked with Ginori porcelain pieces. In the afternoon free plates of biscuits and tarts are left out for guests.

Hotel bar

There’s an honesty bar made of onyx marble, stocked with wines, prosecco, local spirits and more (all your Aperol spritz fixings are there); and one lounge has a stuccoed niche displaying bottles. Otherwise, the lobby, lined with Oriental-print papier peint, has a Nespresso machine and espresso cups, and a selection of teas.

Last orders

Breakfast is served from 8am to 10am.

Room service

Only suites can indulge in breakfast in bed, but you’ll need to request it with good notice.

Location

Photos Casa G Firenze location
Address
Casa G Firenze
Via Rondinelli 7
Florence
50124
Italy

Casa G Firenze is in the bustling centre of Florence, between the Duomo and the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, and amid artisan boutiques.

Planes

Florence Airport is a 25-minute drive from the hotel, while Pisa, which has more connections, is a 90-minute drive away. The hotel can help to arrange transfers on request.

Trains

Florence Santa Maria Novella is a 10-minute drive away; it connects directly with other major cities around the country. Transfers are €20.

Automobiles

Ditch the wheels and go at your own pace wandering Florence’s ancient streets. In fact, it’s nigh-on impossible to drive down many of them, either because they're restricted or built for horse and cart. However if you wish to explore the Tuscan countryside it’s easy to acquire some wheels, and you can stash them at Garage Giglio close to the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

Itself the seat of the noted Ginori family of ceramicists, in a city built on powerful dynasties, Casa G is bang in the middle of the Renaissance’s stamping ground. But, good luck getting beyond the Via dei Rondinelli it sits on – especially if you have a penchant for artisanal wares. For one, the family’s flagship shop Ginori 1735 is there selling the tableware of dreams, vases and figurines, candles and fragrances; next door is Cuoieria Fiorentina, showcasing expertly tooled bags; Vintage 55 has pre-loved wearables with a focus on biker gear; Casheart serves strokeable cashmeres; and Sleeve Records has just-released and rare vinyls. And, in the wider neighbourhood there’s Tommy Hilfiger, Hermès, Prada, Guess, Isabel Marant… So, bring your plastic hardware. It’s worth making a pilgrimage to the Gucci Garden boutique – the store’s an experience in itself, with clothing, homewares and a vault of vintage treasures. It’s set by Piazza della Signoria, so you can swing by Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi, the Museo Nazionale del Bargello and the Basilica of Santa Croce. Go east along the Arno and you’ll pass Ponte Vecchio and reach the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, and Palazzo Strozzi, which has a mix of classical and modern artworks. The Palazzo della Repubblica has Dante’s birthplace (now a museum) and from here you’re in position to do the Duomo, Baptistry of St John, and the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, and the Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella – perhaps one of the world’s most glorious boutiques; an apothecary in the 16th century, this frescoed darling now sells covetable perfumes and diffusers. Camp back at Casa G for the night, then tackle the attractions to the north: the Basilica di San Lorenzo, art at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Leonardo Da Vinci Museum, David’s home, the Galleria dell’Accademia, the National Archaeological Museum of Florence, and paintings of the San Marco Museum. And, cross the river to the Piazzale Michelangelo to catch a sunset panorama across the city.

Local restaurants

The hotel doesn’t serve dinner, because it doesn’t need to – you’re in Florence (swing a handbag and you’ll hit an eatery well worth your time and tastebuds). To persevere with palatial surrounds, book a table at Cantinetta Antinori, housed on the ground floor of 15th-century Palazzo Antinori, a very glamorous space, matched by an elegant menu that changes weekly. However, some mainstays include chickpea flatbreads filled with shrimp and calamari, thyme-baked guinea fowl, ragout and warm pear torta. Happily, the Anitnori family also happens to produce wines. Buca Lapi, in the palazzo’s basement, is another winner, and feels like a traditional trattoria, with its painted, arched ceilings. The food follows suit, with old-school, simple yet effective flavours: Tuscan sausage with ricotta cheese, pecorino-stuffed onions and wild boar with polenta. Osteria Antica Casa Torre was a Benedictine nunnery back in the day, and still kind of looks like one, but we’re betting the food has improved vastly. Order the maltagliati (made using chestnut flour in the traditional way) with pumpkin cream, bacon and pecorino; brick-roasted cockerel; and Chianti-style beef and black pepper stew. And, Trattoria Cammillo has enough confidence in its ribollita soup; celery, egg and bottarga salad; and parmesan-truffle fettuccine to not bother glamourising its homey decor – the higgledy-piggledy picture frames may be triggering for OCD sufferers. 

Local cafés

Tuscany has three distinct truffle seasons: spring truffles can be found from January to April, black summer truffles from June to November, and rare white truffles from September to December; so lunch spot Procacci has a near year-long steady stream of the delicacies to fill its severely tempting paninis. These are filled with the likes of scrambled eggs and truffle; ham, mushroom and truffle cream; truffle and foie gras… You get the idea. It also has an oyster bar and serves more main courses with yet more fancy funghi. Café Cibreo is a throwback, with saffron walls, arched ceilings, very low lighting and a glass display case filled with pastries. Get your morning espresso in here or lunch on mackerel tartines, veal kidneys, wood-oven-baked ham and bitter-orange cheesecake.

Local bars

Manifattura has a Twenties feel to it and sultry low-lit interiors. The barkeeps work their dark wizardry with all sorts of implements and Italian-made spirits, and the results – most packed with tropical fruits – are refreshing and intoxicating. And, if wine’s your poison, Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina, opposite Palazzo Pitti, takes it very seriously. Its list has vintage rarities, and Enomatic machines let you enjoy the finer bottles by the glass. 

Reviews

Photos Casa G Firenze reviews

Anonymous review

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this lived-many-lives hotel close to the Duomo and uncrated their ripped alabaster David-a-like and gilded triptych (hey, the antique shops here have some quite incredible finds…), a full account of their blast-in-the-past break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Casa G Firenze in…

Good news – we’ve found the G-spot. And, fittingly, it’s located in one of the world’s most romantic cities. In dead-centre Florence, between the Duomo and the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, boutique bed and breakfast Casa G Firenze has recast an 18th-century palazzo that once housed the Ginori 1735 ceramics dynasty into a hideaway that reflects the city’s old and new. In its current mould, frescoed and beamed ceilings, cathedral-esque arched windows, heirloom furnishings, and porcelains from the family brand consort with contemporary prints and paintings, and mid-century modern pieces, all coloured in the rich hues of city-founding-family crests. It’s delightful and very welcoming – guests can check themselves in, help themselves at the lobby’s Nespresso machine, breakfast in a centuries-old kitchen or amid the hidden courtyard’s exotic plants, clock up chiantis and camparis from the lounge’s honesty bar, then slumber in suites that were once a grand dining hall or ballroom. However, you won’t stay decorously put like one of the mantelpiece’s covetable vases – Florence unfurls from your doorstep, so you’ll be up off your Botticellis and out greedily feasting on art, history and, all the bistecca, truffles and cantuccini you can fit. But, don’t count on an early(ish) night – the honesty bar’s 24 hours, and Casa G is the most swoonsome pottery-related happening since Ghost.  

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Price per night from $230.15