Villa San Michele

Description:

• The peaceful ambience of this place recalls its origins in the 15th century as a Franciscan monastery, but I doubt the good friars had a heated outdoor pool or Jacuzzis in their cells. The facade was reputedly designed by Michelangelo, and everything is in shades of creamy yellow with soft gray pietra serena accents. The antique furnishings are the epitome of simple elegance, and some rooms come with canopied beds and linen sheets; others are fitted with wrought-iron headboards and antiques. The regular rooms are all in the main buildings, with modern junior suites dug into the hillside behind it, snuggled into the slopes between the terraces that host the swimming pool and formal gardens (several junior suites enjoy their own minigardens or terraces). They've converted the tiny hillside chapel into a cozy honeymoon suite with sweeping views, and the limonaia (where potted citrus trees once spent the frosty winters) into a grander suite. The monks never had it this good.

  Facilities: Restaurant; piano bar; heated outdoor pool; bike rental; concierge; tour desk; car-rental desk; shuttle bus to/from town center; small business center and secretarial services; 24-hr. room service; massage; babysitting; laundry service; same-day dry cleaning; extensive park w/nature trails and jogging track.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Ciao Bambino Family-Friendly Hotel

•  Reviewed 2009

Travel + Leisure 500

•  Best Hotel 2008

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2009
•  Recommended 2010