You can have your design hotels. This fifteenth-century villa, on the Fiesole hillside overlooking Florence, has undergone a thorough renovation for the purpose of converting it into a modern boutique hotel — but a look around the place will confirm that it was more a restoration than a redesign. It’s not all Renaissance splendor, though that’s a part of it — Il Salviatino’s influences are drawn from every era of its existence, including frescoes from the nineteenth century and furnishings from the early twentieth, as well as some well-chosen contemporary design pieces.

This is a town that’s sometimes a bit too backwards-looking, but Il Salviatino is proof that modern living and classic style aren’t mutually exclusive. Imagine a carefully edited minimalist take on a classic Tuscan palazzo and you’re most of the way there — one that’s highly theatrical, more romantic than baroque, and in terms of luxury, more plush than opulent.

A place like Il Salviatino is much more about atmosphere than about services and facilities, and a little goes quite a long way. Dinner on the terrace looking down at the rooftops of Florence is an experience that won’t soon be forgotten, and the Deverana spa imports a bit of Thai-style relaxation. We expect to hear a few reports of travelers who never found time for a look at the Florentine galleries.

How to get there: Il Salviatino is approximately 15 minutes from Santa Maria Novella Train Station, 30 minutes from Florence Amerigo Vespucci Airport and an hour and half away from isa Galileo Galilei Airport. Free shuttle bus between the hotel and city center