Hotel # 19 - Grand Hotel Villa Cora and last night in Florence

February 13, 2011
I returned to the hotel late last night after the opera- which was wonderful. My first experience with the opera was here in Italy but on a much grander scale in Ferrara and the only ticket left in the theater was front row center. So, this was different but almost as good. The opera was Carmen and it was performed by professional opera singers and it was held in St Mark's Anglican Church in the Oltrarno area of the city. The church is a very intimate space and there was probably only space for about 100 people (at the very most). I was given a front row seat and the performers were less than a foot from me. Fantastic! Last night was a very cold night and my brisk walk back to the hotel was good - along the river (about a 20 minute walk). Florence is great. Not once did I feel nervous about walking that far alone in areas which are not well lit. I felt very safe.
When I returned, the front desk manager addressed me by name and we had a quick chat about the weather and the opera and if I needed a wake up call - check out is 12 noon and I would not need a wake up call, but grazie for asking. I was going to take advantage of sleeping as late as I could.
I woke up at the same time as I seem to always rise here - 8:30 a.m. and joined the other guests in the breakfast room and read the International Herald Tribune.
After breakfast, I made a call to the Grand Hotel Villa Cora to arrange for their courtesy car to pick me up at 12 noon and take me to that hotel for a tour and lunch. Unfortunately, the weather today is rainy and very cold (the first day I will actually wear a jacket). Marco arrived promptly and took my baggage as I checked out and said my goodbyes and thank yous to Daniele, the Manager of the Grand Hotel Villa Medici.
Marco, a native Florentine has his own car service company and drives brand new spacious Mercedes vehicles and he has contracts with many of the top hotels in Florence and travel agents so I am able to arrange a transport with Marco for you at any time.
We drove out of the city through the Porta Romana (Roman door) at the city wall and up into the hillside surrounding the city on Viale Machiavelli. This picturesque road is also home to many grand villas (privately owned or turned into consulates). We arrived at the Grand Hotel Villa Cora within 10 minutes (VERY close to the city center) and I was greeted by a team of hotel staff -

The entrance of the Grand Hotel Villa Cora and Marco, the driver

the fountain in the arrival area

Once inside the GHVilla Cora, Marco (another Marco) welcomed me and we proceeded with our tour of the hotel and a lesson in its long and very interesting history. This hotel is breathtaking and I need to not call it a hotel. It is a villa and they have done their utmost to help it retain its villa feeling as opposed to a hotel. It is a 5star Luxury villa/hotel and has every service you would expect and MORE. As an architecture and interior decor lover, this place was a feast for my eyes. Here are some photos of some of the rooms and details which blew me away:

gorgeous details

the dancing room

the Akihito suite

carrara marble made to look woven

family suite

painted

a ceiling

Imagine the weight of this

in the bar

the bar - 2 seconds later

This hotel is truly one of the top hotels in Florence - spa, pool, cigar room, restaurants, courtesy car to take you into the city, 2 concierges - you name it, they have it or will get it. It's an extremely elegant villa and every detail has been thought of. It is perfect for families as well as couples (most of the people staying there this weekend were there celebrating San Valentino) if you would like to have the feeling of being Florentine aristocracy for a few days, this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
I was lucky enough to enjoy lunch in their restaurant Il Pasha. Isabella, the hostess took extremely good care of me and I adhered to all of her suggestions. As soon as you are seated, you are brought a glass of prosecco, your order taken for the type of water you would like - naturale for me (I don't care for the bubbles) and then fresh made breadsticks magically appear. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful china on the tables. It is a very unusual design and I asked Isabella about it. Richard Ginori was hired to design  the pattern and they did the research and found the pattern of the villa's original owners and tweaked it a bit. Gorgeous:

bread plate at GHVilla Cora

With Isabella's assistance, I ordered the chickpea soup - ("zuppetta di ceci") with housemade sausage on a crostini on the top and the greenest olive oil drizzled over the top. After that, I had the piglet chops crusted with hazlenuts sitting on an artichoke puree. YUM

some of the piglet chops

To complete the meal, I had the housemade sorbet. With many to choose from, I selected (and noted to Isabella) a very small scoop of chocolate and a very small scoop of the green apple. By now, I have gotten way too comfortable oohing and ahhing out loud (alone) at the table after each bite and not looking around to see who has heard me.  The green apple has an intense flavor, and I never imagined you could make that flavor so intense, especially in a sorbet. DELICIOUS!

I left, sadly, thanking everyone for my wonderful afternoon at the Grand Hotel Villa Cora and promised Marco that I would be back and not on official business next time. This is an elegant and sophisticated villa/hotel without being super stuffy.

The concierge had called me a taxi (the courtesy car was on a break from 1-4:30) and I was whisked back into the city to my last hotel in Florence (so sad to leave tomorrow), JK Place. JKPlace is located on Piazza Santa Maria Novella and is a small boutique hotel with a very elegant entrance. The hotel was recently and rightly so, featured in Architectural Digest. It is very "decoratory"- in muted earth tones with luxurious fabrics, lots of throw pillows on the bed and good size rooms with very high ceilings. Some things to note with this hotel: free wifi, the minibar is free, they have a cocktail bar with snacks throughout the day, breakfast is held at a large wooden table, they have a lending library for CDs, DVDs and books in the lobby/library. There is also a restaurant on site. More tomorrow on this hotel after I have a breakfast meeting and tour with the Manager, but here are some photos of JKPlace:

bath in room #8

bed in room #8

roof terrace at JK Place

more of roof terrace

some roofs in Florence

there it is!

I am not hungry - still full from lunch, but I need to leave the hotel tonight and "fare una passegaiata" as it is my last night in the city. The BAFTA's red carpet arrivals are on and I don't want to miss Javier Bardem beat Colin Firth, but I must venture out into the city
Tomorrow - say goodbye to Florence and head into the heart of Chianti!
Buona Notte Ragazzi!