Portrait Firenze

Hotel review

Part of the Ferragamo family’s Lungarno Collection brand of four hotels that surrround the Ponte Vecchio, Portrait Firenze is a stunning set of suites only yards from and overlooking the Ponte Vecchio. Approached and separated by a public gangway the refinement is evident as you enter the leather-lined lift with its caned chairs. The hotel has a modern feel with framed prints of film stars, contemporary artefacts and vases of lilies. Deliberately discreet and private, it’s beautifully styled and unashamedly luxurious. The finishing in the rooms is exquisite with chrome fittings and lacquered cupboards. Most of the suites have a river, indeed a Ponte Vecchio, view (ask for room 450). Rise from the refined linen to watch through the wide windows the early-morning scudders exercise along the Arno. Downstairs the hotel’s restaurant Caffè dell’Oro, named after the goldsmiths who once worked on the Ponte Vecchio, is very much upgraded from a café, serving Asian fusion food, and has a clean, contemporary interior with olive-green or purple seats, and signature golden tableware. Outside, on the terrace, the long banquettes are snapped up eagerly by a strongly East Coast clientele. A perfect base for the most serene of strolls along the river Arno.

Adam Jacot de Boinod Review published: 11/04/2018