52 Best Hotels in Tuscany, Italy

Simple but pleasantly decorated bedrooms with plain modern cabinets and wardrobes and wrought-iron beds have views of the town square or out over the tile rooftops toward the surrounding hills. The swimming pool, sunny terrace, and grassy lawn behind the hotel are a nice surprise, as is the on-site restaurant.

The brocade bedspreads of this inn in the heart of the centro storico are fresh and crisp; the proprietor is friendly; and the breakfast, served in a cheerful apricot room, is more than ample. Although it's just around the corner from the Duomo, busy Corso Garibaldi, and the great walls of Lucca, the inn feels private as it's tucked away on a quiet, sun-sprinkled piazzetta (small square)—a place to retreat to when you have seen all the church facades you can possibly stand. Breakfast is only sometimes included in the price of a room.

This charming hotel with a friendly staff is right off the main shopping drag, Via Fillungo. Terra-cotta floors and stenciled walls impart a cozy feeling, while the high brick and timbered ceilings create a sense of spaciousness. The sitting room, with its fireplace and bar, provides a lovely place to relax. Breakfast is served in a cheery room with sponged-painted walls.

If you're looking for a place within the town walls, this is a fine choice—one where contemporary furnishings in the guest rooms are softened by warm, umber-color walls and floral artwork. Rooms at the back of the hotel have magnificent views and some have panoramic terraces. The Gigli family has run the hotel since 1886.

This 17th-century villa lined with lavender bushes and cypress trees sits just outside Monteriggioni. The guest rooms in the villa and the adjacent workers' quarters—converted into 10 apartments—have wood-beam ceilings and terra-cotta floors. Festive striped fabrics in yellows, oranges, and reds cover iron canopies in some rooms. The facilities, such as the health club and the tennis courts, are those of a four-star establishment. A poolside restaurant is open in summer.

The pale yellow exterior only hints at the elegance inside this hotel created by joining two Liberty villas dating from 1899 and 1902. Refined furnishings include gem-color fabrics and dark wood. Many rooms have balconies that face the sea or the mountains, and all of them have comfortable beds with linen sheets and copious pillows. Though beach privileges come at an extra price, the pool is so pretty that going to the beach may seem irrelevant. Half- and full board are available, and a seven-night stay is mandatory.

Ron and Susi Gaud have transformed an 18th-century town house into a cozy little B&B nestled in the heart of Barga. Most rooms, simply yet elegantly furnished, have tremendous views of the dramatic mountainscape a stone's throw away. A welcome drink and a chat with Ron and Susi (whose love for their adopted town is infectious) is the perfect way to start a stay. A flower- and vegetable-filled garden provides a wonderful place to sunbathe or enjoy a glass of wine; there's an outdoor table covered by vines that offers a terrific spot for a light snack. Breakfast, served in the cantina, features Susi's homemade pastries. This is a great base to enjoy the delights of Barga as well as hiking in its environs: Ron and Susi, ardent hikers, are quite knowledgeable about paths in the area.

Enchantment reigns at this tiny 13th-century countryside hamlet, part of the fiefdom of the aristocratic Florentine Guicciardini family and reinvented by the modern Count Roberto Guicciardini. A castle, church, and cobbled streets set the stage. Guest rooms vary in style; high wood-beam ceilings, terra-cotta floors, and modern bathrooms are the rule throughout. Apartments sleep as many as eight people and have as many as two baths.

Stay in a fortified castle, which was built more than a millennium ago, was rebuilt during the Renaissance, and is now a charming inn and a prestigious wine estate where you can taste local vintages. Throughout the main building and two nearby farmhouses you'll find wonderful heavy wooden furniture.

This estate, one of the largest still in private hands in Tuscany, was purchased at the beginning of this century and meticulously converted into a second-to-none resort that incorporates a medieval borgo (village) and surrounding farmhouses and has luxurious suites, as well as opulent three- to five-bedroom villas, each with its own pool. There are two on-site restaurants, one formal, the other casual, where cooking lessons are also offered. The highly acclaimed, 18-hole golf course, designed by Tom Weiskopf, is open only to members of the golf club and hotel guests.

Caryatids stud the grounds of this well-kept neoclassical villa (it's been a hotel since 1870), where a small garden invites reading, and guest rooms are functional, airy, and reasonably quiet. The location—near the long-distance bus terminal and parking area and minutes from the main sights—is the big plus here, as is the pleasant staff. Single rooms are not the usual monastic-cell size. Head downstairs to the restaurant for inexpensive meals.

For a complete change of pace, you can stay in the company of five Franciscan friars at this 13th-century convent, where the simple, quiet guest rooms have en suite baths. Four rooms accommodate three people, and one room has four beds. You are given keys, so there's no curfew, and you can participate in some spiritual activities or skip them altogether. The city center is a 10-minute walk away.

The rooms are modest, and there's no elevator, but the central location, the ample buffet breakfast, and the modest rates make this a good choice for those on a budget. The Moretti family, which runs this simple yet tastefully decorated hotel, go out of their way to make your visit memorable. Hidden away, at the back of the hotel, is a quiet terraced garden with wonderful views of the rooftops of Volterra—a definite plus during the hot summer months. There you can enjoy a glass of wine and light snacks.

Amid rolling vineyards and olive trees, this fattoria (farmhouse) produces fine wine and olive oil. The main stone house retains its enormous stone fireplace and a 16th-century family chapel next door. Apartments (sleeping up to 6) and a separate house (sleeping up to 14) have traditional wood furniture—some antique—and full kitchens; some have fireplaces. Half board is available.

Pope Alexander VII of the famed Sienese Chigi family gave this palace to his niece as a wedding present in 1600, and, through the centuries, it has been a private family home as well as a grand hotel—one that exudes elegance from its stately pillared entrance to its crisp-linen sheets. Some guest rooms take in panoramic views, whereas others have 18th-century frescoes and massive chandeliers. The excellent staff is reason enough to consider a stay here.

Rooms at this 1911 hotel—a short walk on tree-lined streets from the center of town and even closer to the thermal baths—are spacious, with high ceilings. Many also have deep bathtubs with water jets. You can enjoy an aperitivo in the majestic lobby or on the rooftop terrace.

This hotel on a private bay provides access to a sandy white beach from the bar and restaurant. A central building and several surrounding cottages contain guest rooms with simple white-wood desks and beds with ironwork insets. Some rooms have balconies.

Originally a 19th-century villa belonging to Marchesa Guendalina Strozzi—her ancestors were powerful bankers in Renaissance Florence—this is now a contemporary inn. Some of the public rooms have a quaint historical charm to them, but the guest rooms have more contemporary decor, with basic wooden furniture and no frills. Ask for one of the eight with a whirlpool tub. In winter, you can use this as a base to ski to the slopes; in summer, the Bellavista is perfectly situated for trekking and mountain biking.

High above Sorano, this austere-looking 11th-century Orsini castle has spectacular views of the town and surrounding countryside. Wood-beam ceilings hang above white and pastel walls in most rooms, and windows have dark-wood shutters. A careful mix of antique and modern furniture—Rococo chairs and upholstered couches—makes for a pleasant and comfortable stay. The hotel closes for some time during the winter; the length and month of the closure vary annually.

The former stables of the Villa Bottini have been transformed into a modern hotel with stylish rooms done in a warm wood veneer with blue-and-white fittings. Free bicycles are a nice bonus in this bike-friendly city, and the sumptuous buffet breakfast could see you through dinner. Residenza dell'Alba, the hotel's annex across the street, was originally part of a 14th-century church; now it's a luxe accommodation with in-room hot tubs, high sweeping ceilings, Oriental rugs, and lush, comfortable furniture.

A sense of freshness comes from the terra-cotta floors, high wood-beamed ceilings, and soothing whitewashed walls in this hotel's guest rooms. The serene garden, facing the town wall, is filled with oleanders, geraniums, and olive trees.

Viareggio's first hotel opened in 1871—hosting those on the Grand Tour, as well as many Russians who stayed for extended periods—and still exudes old-world charm, even though it's been completely updated to suit 21st-century tastes. Public rooms filled with lovely brocaded furniture provide the perfect place to have an aperitivo. Guest rooms have high ceilings, large windows with damask drapes, and hard-wood floors; bathrooms are surprisingly large. La Terrazza, the top-floor restaurant, has views of the sea and a creative young chef whose innovative, tasty food makes a stay here even more worthwhile.

The atmosphere here is welcoming, hospitable, and enthusiastic, and the staff goes out of their way to ensure a fine stay; rooms in the back look out onto the lush grounds or the countryside in the distance. When it's warm, breakfast is served in the flower-filled garden with a view, providing a gorgeous start to the day.

The location has been described as "heaven on earth," and a stay at this elegant Ferragamo estate—situated near a medieval village and with accommodations that include a 10-bedroom villa (rented out as a single unit) that was once a luxurious hunting lodge—is sure to bring similar descriptions to mind. Here, the houses have been converted into splendid suites and villas that sleep two to eight. No two are alike, and the shops and craftspeople who work in the village are all part of the hotel: the atmosphere is magical.

Accommodation options at this sumptuous property include rooms and suites in an 18th-century villa, or for more seclusion, private suites and villas at the far end of the property. The hotel serves an almost exclusively international clientele. Cooking classes and guided wine tastings are available, a small shop sells estate-produced olive oil and wine, and the restaurant serves sumptuous fare.

Worldly cares are softly washed away by the comforts of the rooms (some damask linens, tapestry-like canopies, marble highboys), the superlative attentiveness of the staff, and the hotel's magnificent garden setting. A buffet lunch is served on a canopied terrace above the pool, and numerous smaller terraces are tucked away on the sloping cliffs, perfect for a peaceful afternoon nap. Chaises and white umbrellas sit ocean-side on the beach. Some rooms are in separate cottages. If absolute privacy is your main concern—and you're willing to pay for it—one suite has a private pool.

This is a fantastic place for the budget-conscious traveler, as rooms are immaculate and most have a stunning view of the surrounding hills. All also have a private bath, though most of them necessitate taking a short trip outside the room. The name is actually that of the wine bar run by Giovannino Bernardoni and his adult offspring, Monica and David.

A 14th-century monastery has been converted into this upscale country hotel, where rooms have the style and comfort of an aristocratic villa, with classic prints and bold colors such as daffodil yellow. Common rooms are luxurious, with fine woods and leather upholstery. In warm weather, breakfast is served on the patio next to the garden ablaze with flowers.

After serving as a Franciscan convent and then the residence of the noble Strozzi family, the Collegiata has been converted into a fine hotel, with no expense spared in the process. Arched, multipane windows look out on the surrounding park. All the guest rooms (some with private balconies) are furnished with a mix of wood and upholstered antiques in warm browns and reds and precious tapestries. Bathrooms have large whirlpool baths. A summer restaurant occupies the deconsecrated church.

At an altitude of more than 1,800 feet, this converted farmhouse is probably the loftiest luxury inn in Chianti. Its views are breathtaking, looking down on Volpaia and Radda, with Siena and the hills of southern Tuscany as a backdrop. The infinity pool, set on the hillside, takes full advantage of the magnificent panorama. Guest rooms are simple but tasteful, with high beamed ceilings, painted, as was once the tradition in these parts, in pale pastels. To get here, take the bumpy gravel road 2 km (1 mile) northwest from Volpaia.