At a comfortable but convenient remove from the most crowded parts of Florence, a few minutes’ walk to the west of the city center, stands a townhouse, right on the Lungarno Amerigo Vespucci, looking out across the Arno. This is the 4F Boutique Hotel Florence, a modestly sized townhouse hotel that presents as clear a picture as you’ll find of the colorful, vibrant side of contemporary Italian hospitality design.

The eclectic, bohemian, vintage-inspired style that’s currently all the rage in the United States is also, you’ll find, all the rage in Europe — and in Italy, where the word “vintage” covers several hundred more years of history, the resulting style is rich indeed. For an illustration, you could hardly do better than Soprarno Suites, a small, quiet, intimate little ten-suite hotel right in the heart of Florence, a few minutes’ walk from the (not at all quiet) Ponte Vecchio.

The proprietors of Florence’s SoprArno Suites, not content to own and operate just one practically perfect boutique hotel, have got a second: Ad Astra, a stylish bed and breakfast in the Oltrarno district, south of the river, overlooking the splendid Torrigiani Garden. In this less dense corner of Florence there’s space not just for massive gardens but for a “hôtel particulier” as well — a freestanding residence originally meant for aristocratic weekenders, comprising just nine rooms, each one unique and all of them decorated with the same playful, eclectic eye that’s responsible for SoprArno.

About Tablet Hotels: