After an 18 month renovation, Belmond’s Villa San Michele in Fiesole returns on 28 April 2026 with redesigned rooms and suites, a first ever Guerlain spa, and reworked hillside gardens overlooking Florence.
The News
Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, will reopen on 28 April 2026 in the hills of Fiesole, following an 18 month renovation of the former Franciscan monastery that has long been one of Florence’s most recognisable retreat addresses.
The relaunch brings 39 redesigned accommodations, comprising 27 suites and 12 rooms, alongside a new wellness focus with Villa San Michele Spa by Guerlain, and an extended operating season from spring through winter. Interiors were reimagined by Luigi Fragola Architects in collaboration with Belmond’s design team, and the terraced gardens have been redeveloped across 9,700 square metres.
Villa San Michele’s return sits alongside several major luxury hotel openings for 2026, as heritage properties and new flagships reshape the European pipeline
Design & Atmosphere
The building’s identity remains rooted in its Renaissance bones: a monastery structure celebrated for its Michelangelo inspired façade, arched terrace, original chapel, cloister, loggias, frescoes, and the layered geometry of its hillside gardens. The renovation strategy is evolutionary rather than disruptive, restoring the existing structure while refining the way the interiors frame landscape, light, and the city’s unmistakable skyline.
Inside, Luigi Fragola Architects lean into a Florentine register of material intelligence and restraint: Tuscan textiles, artisanal ceramics, marble, terracotta, and wood, paired with antique pieces, curated artefacts, and a palette designed to read as residential rather than theatrical. Several suites are explicitly designed as narratives, with schemes that move between collector like detail, garden references, and a quiet, meditative tempo suited to the property’s monastic origins.
Among the new headline accommodations are three signature suites. Limonaia, set in the former orangery, is styled as a villa within the gardens and includes a private garden and heated plunge pool. The Grand Tour occupies the length of the first floor and references neoclassical notes through Tuscan marble, tapestries, and antique pieces. Botanica draws directly from the historic gardens with botanical textiles, herbarium themed elements, and scagliola tables handmade by Florentine artisans Bianco Bianchi.
The Experience
Wellbeing becomes a formal pillar with Villa San Michele Spa by Guerlain, the hotel’s first dedicated spa. The space includes three treatment rooms, including a double suite, and is accessed via a “secret garden” style entrance. Design details are positioned as part of the ritual: hand painted murals and frescoes by artist Elena Carozzi, and a material mix of natural stone, onyx, straw marquetry, and polished marble. Guerlain’s treatment menu is presented as bespoke to the setting, with rituals that nod to the monastic past of the property.
Outdoors, the gardens have been redeveloped by Luca Ghezzi Garden Design to echo traditional Fiesole hillside compositions, adding hidden nooks, viewpoints, and a reintroduction of Renaissance era planting character. The terraces feature potted citrus as a historical reference, alongside iris, roses, and an expanded herb and kitchen garden used by the hotel’s bar and restaurants. Beyond the formal grounds, the surrounding woodlands are linked to the Leonardo landscape narrative of these hills.
A new partnership with Italian lifestyle brand La DoubleJ introduces custom designed areas within the hotel and a programme of sessions and gatherings, including breathwork, yoga, and sound healing, curated and led by founder JJ Martin. The wider calendar leans into culture and social ritual, with concerts, creative workshops, art talks, and mixology evenings.
On the dining side, the gastronomic restaurant is led by executive chef Alessandro Cozzolino, with a refreshed concept built around Tuscan heritage and produce, supported by regional Italian wines and an international selection. The property’s food and drink offering is structured across three restaurants and two bars, designed to keep the view of Florence as a constant presence rather than a special occasion. The heated swimming pool sits at the hotel’s highest plateau, and guests have access to daily complimentary shuttles to Florence for easy city access without sacrificing the hillside quiet.
TheHotelTrotter Insider Tip
Book strategically for the shoulder months of late spring or early autumn: you get the reopened interiors at their freshest, clearer light for terrace dining, and more time to use the new Guerlain spa without the high season rhythm of Florence dominating the day.
TheHotelTrotter.com is curated by greek journalist and fanatic hotel lover Eleni Stasinopoulou. With the eye of a fashion and lifestyle editor, Eleni hopes to inspire all connoisseurs of traveling, focusing on stylish hotel moments around the globe.
