Villa La Massa Hotel

24, 50012 Candeli, Bagno a Ripoli FI, Italy

Set in a 16th-century Medici villa surrounded by 9ha of Tuscan olive groves and lemon trees, Villa La Massa oozes old-world elegance. Bedrooms are furnished with four-poster beds, regal patterns, Renaissance-style tapestries, and pale-green marble bathrooms. It’s enough to make you feel part of the Italian nobility. Expect lovely finer details like fresh flowers, dressing rooms, and painted ceilings.

Each evening the main house fills with the melody of a live piano, luring you downstairs for apéritifs in the bar before dinner on Il Verrochio’s terrace. Overlooking the picturesque Arno, you’ll dine on stylish dishes like tortello pasta filled with glazed pears and topped with black truffle flakes. Swallows nest under the eaves and you can watch them swoop between the three pastel-coloured buildings. The real magic of the place though is feeling like you’re in the middle of nowhere, but buzzing Florence with its galleries and architecture is 20 minutes away in the hotel’s free private shuttle. LF. Doubles from £346.