Five-star Two MICHELIN Keys Candeli, Florence
Villa La Massa
Five old buildings in a park on the Arno, a few miles upstream of Florence, with the river below the restaurant terrace and a shuttle to the Ponte Vecchio.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- Two Keys, 2026
- Rooms
- 51 rooms and suites in five buildings
- Season
- Late March to early November
- From the airport
- About 15 km from Peretola
The hotel
A villa, a mill and a lemon house.
The estate at Candeli goes back to the thirteenth century. The main house, the Noble Villa, dates from the sixteenth, in the age of the Medici; the mill beside the river is a century older, and the wine cellar below is fifteenth century too. A villino was added in the nineteenth century and a farmhouse, the Casa Colonica, in 1850. The bar, Bar Mediceo, keeps frescoes from the 1800s.
Today all of it is one hotel of 51 rooms, run by the Villa d'Este group of Lake Como. Some twenty-two acres of park run down to the Arno, with the Chianti hills on the far side. The old cellars hold the spa, and the restaurant is named after Verrocchio, the Florentine sculptor who taught Leonardo. The centre of Florence is about fifteen minutes away by car.
- Arno Spa In the fifteenth-century cellars: two treatment rooms, a sauna, a Turkish bath, a Roman bath and a gym.
- The pool A heated outdoor pool on a lawn, with a children's area and L'Oliveto for lunch alongside.
- A shuttle to town A free shuttle runs to the Ponte Vecchio and back, to be booked with the hotel.
Rooms & suites
Choose your building.
The 51 rooms are spread across five buildings, decorated in Medici-era style with antiques and marble bathrooms.
- The main house Noble Villa Twenty-one rooms and suites in the sixteenth-century villa, from Deluxe doubles to two Exclusive suites.
- By the river The Mill Nine rooms and suites in the fifteenth-century mill.
- With a kitchen Casa Colonica Four suites in the 1850 farmhouse, which comes with a kitchen, a courtyard and a small private garden.
- Largest Presidential Suite In the Villino, combining the Arno Suite with a Junior Suite.
Dining
Lunch by the pool, dinner over the river.
Venues as listed by the hotel. Shown for information.
- Il Verrocchio Italian and Tuscan Terrace over the Arno and the Chianti hills
- L'Oliveto Tuscan bistro By the pool
- Bar Mediceo Cocktails Made with Santa Maria Novella liqueurs, under nineteenth-century frescoes
- The Wine Cellar Wine Rare vintages, many from the Chianti Rufina next door
Good to know
Before you go.
- Season Open from late March to early November. Check dates for spring or autumn stays.
- Arrival Check-in from 2 pm, check-out by 11 am. Parking is free.
- Children Welcome. Cots and babysitting are available, and the pool has a children's area.
- Pets Accepted; ask the hotel about its terms.
Getting there
Flying to Florence.
Florence Peretola is about 15 kilometres away, roughly 25 to 30 minutes by car, our estimate. Business jets land at Peretola too; larger aircraft use Pisa or Bologna, each roughly an hour 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.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Villa La Massa have?
- Two, in the 2026 MICHELIN Key selection for Italy.
- Is Villa La Massa open all year?
- No. It opens from late March to early November.
- How do I get into Florence from Villa La Massa?
- The hotel runs a free shuttle to and from the Ponte Vecchio, booked in advance. By car the centre is about fifteen minutes away.
- 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.
- 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.
- Helvetia & Bristol Eleonora Duse stayed here on her visits to Florence, and its Winter Garden restaurant was a meeting place for writers.
- 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 Villa La Massa?
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.