Five-star Near Palazzo Strozzi, Florence
Helvetia & Bristol
A late nineteenth-century hotel a block from Palazzo Strozzi, where Eleonora Duse lived on her stays in Florence, now joined to a second wing by Anouska Hempel.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- Rooms
- 89, in the Helvetia and Bristol wings
- Hotel since
- The late nineteenth century
- Restored
- 2019 to 2022
- From the airport
- About 20 minutes from Peretola
The hotel
Duse's address in Florence.
The hotel has taken guests since the late nineteenth century, a block from Palazzo Strozzi and a short walk from the Duomo. Its old register reads like a reading list: Gabriele D'Annunzio, Luigi Pirandello and Eugenio Montale stayed here, and so did the physicist Enrico Fermi. Eleonora Duse made it her home in the city. Writers met in the Winter Garden, under its glass roof.
Starhotels restored the building between 2019 and 2022 and opened a second wing next door, in the former headquarters of the Banco di Roma. Its 25 rooms and suites are by Anouska Hempel, whom the press credits with starting the boutique hotel in London in 1978; this was her first hotel work in Italy. Florentine craftsmen made the mirrors, lanterns, fabrics and wrought-iron canopy beds.
- The Winter Garden The glass-roofed room where writers once met now serves breakfast, with pastries from Iginio Massari.
- Cibrèo in the house Cibrèo, led here by Giulio Picchi, runs the restaurant and cocktail bar, and a caffè with a terrace facing Palazzo Strozzi.
- LA SPA The hotel's spa sits on ground once used by Roman baths, according to the reopening notes.
Rooms & suites
Two wings, two moods.
Bathrooms throughout are in grey and white Carrara marble. Rooms on the street side can be noisy, so ask for one facing inwards if you sleep lightly.
- Helvetia wing Helvetia rooms and suites Sixty-four rooms with antique furniture and restored artworks, from the Cozy Helvetia to the Panoramic Suite.
- Bristol wing Bristol rooms and suites Twenty-five rooms and suites designed by Anouska Hempel in the former Banco di Roma building, among them the Emerald Patio Suite.
- With a view Top-floor suites Forbes Travel Guide names the suites on the top floor as the ones with Brunelleschi's dome in the window.
Dining
Cibrèo, and breakfast under glass.
Venues as listed by the hotel and Forbes Travel Guide. Shown for information.
- Cibrèo Ristorante & Cocktail Bar Seasonal Florentine and Tuscan Led by Giulio Picchi
- Cibrèo Caffè Coffee, lunch, aperitivo and dinner A terrace facing Palazzo Strozzi
- Winter Garden Breakfast Pastries by Iginio Massari under a glass ceiling
Good to know
Before you go.
- Pets Small pets are welcome, for a fee.
- Street side Rooms facing the main street can be noisy. Ask for a room on the inner side when booking.
Getting there
Flying to Florence.
Florence Peretola is about 6 kilometres away, around 20 minutes by car, our estimate. Business jets land at Peretola too; larger aircraft use Pisa or Bologna, each an hour or more from Florence by road, our estimate.
- Nice 45 min
- Olbia 50 min
- Geneva 1 h 00
- Paris 1 h 30
- London 1 h 55
Questions
What guests ask first.
- Does Helvetia & Bristol hold a MICHELIN Key?
- No. It is not in the 2026 MICHELIN Key selection for Italy.
- Who has stayed at Helvetia & Bristol?
- Eleonora Duse lived here on her visits to Florence. Gabriele D'Annunzio, Luigi Pirandello, Eugenio Montale and Enrico Fermi were guests too.
- Is there a restaurant in the hotel?
- Yes. Cibrèo runs a restaurant and cocktail bar and a caffè with a terrace on Palazzo Strozzi, and breakfast is served in the Winter Garden.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Florence?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Florence, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Florence
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Four Seasons Hotel Firenze A Renaissance palazzo with frescoed ceilings in the Gherardesca Garden, with an outdoor pool and the starred Il Palagio.
- Villa Cora Built by Baron Oppenheim for his bride in the nineteenth century, near the Boboli Gardens, with a heated pool open all year.
- Villa La Massa A Medici-era villa on the Arno in some twenty-two acres of park, open from late March to early November, with a shuttle to the Ponte Vecchio.
- Hotel Lungarno Run by the Ferragamo family on the south bank, with Picasso and Cocteau in the lounge and the Ponte Vecchio framed from its restaurant.
- Brunelleschi Hotel A private museum of the building's history, a top-floor view of the cathedral, and the two-star Santa Elisabetta inside.
- The St. Regis Florence A palazzo first planned by Brunelleschi, with some rooms looking onto the Arno.
- Grand Hotel Minerva Redesigned by Carlo Scarpa in the 1950s, with a rooftop pool open in the warm months.
- Collegio alla Querce A sixteenth-century farm that became a Catholic boarding school, now 83 rooms about fifteen minutes by car from the Duomo.
- Portrait Firenze Thirty-seven rooms and suites on the river beside the Ponte Vecchio, rated Five-Star by Forbes Travel Guide in 2026.
- Hotel Savoy Olga Polizzi did the interiors, and the trattoria downstairs, Irene, is named after Lady Forte.
- Hotel La Gemma Thirty-nine rooms near the Duomo, with Luca's, holder of a MICHELIN star, on the first floor and a Biologique Recherche spa.
- Sina Villa Medici, Autograph Collection An early nineteenth-century palazzo where the monastery of Sant'Anna once stood, its garden and pool shared with Harry's Bar The Garden.
- Il Salviatino A fifteenth-century villa of 39 rooms looking down on the city, with its spa in the old greenhouse and a shuttle into town.
- COMO Castello Del Nero A twelfth-century castle in the Chianti hills, with a COMO Shambhala spa.
- The Place Firenze Suites on the square in front of the basilica, with one MICHELIN Key and a bar and restaurant serving through the day.
- Hotel Bernini Palace While Florence was capital of Italy, deputies and senators met in its frescoed Sala Parlamento, now the breakfast room.
- Villa La Vedetta A villa on the hill of Piazzale Michelangelo, with an outdoor pool and a restaurant of its own.
- Villa Le Maschere A villa resort in the Mugello hills whose wellness centre includes a Turkish bath.
Staying at Helvetia & Bristol?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Florence, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.