Divine Comedy-inspired Firenze hotel with colorful design & cheeky vibe

25hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino / Firenze / Toscana / Italy

To design a hotel with a theme can be quite a challenge. It is easy that an idea that seems excellent on paper when executed in reality ends up looking silly and well…childish. Like staying at a hotel in an amusement park. But then there those projects that goes in the opposite direction. If someone would have told me that there would be a hotel built in Firenze with a theme built around Dante’s Divine Comedy I would have never put that on my hot list, nor would I plan to stay there. But let me present to you, the 25hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino.

25hours started their journey in Hamburg where they launched their first hotel. Cut to today. When writing this they are running 17 hotels with another 12 in pipeline so this is a brand set on expansion. When they started this project, which was their first venture into Italy, they were smart enough to bring on Milano-based designer Paola Navona that managed to take the Dante idea and make something that is both really good looking and has a lot of quirk and cheek.

In a previous life this was a monastery but also a bank until the 25hours chain stepped in and in 2021 opened the doors to this unique Firenze hotel. The rooms are heaven- & hell themed, or paradiso and inferno, to use the correct terms. The hell rooms are a sumptuous red affair with hints of black while the heaven rooms are light blue and white, basically a very literal interpretation. When you book, you decide if you want to spend your nights in heaven or hell. What direction we went? Hell, of course. In all honesty I based the decision on what would look best in photos.

Even though this 171-key hotel is located in the central parts of town, albeit on a quiet side street from the throngs of tourists, this is like a proper destination hotel where you’ll find a restaurant, bar, café, spa with a great sauna, a gym and an in-house cinema with the perfect name, Cinema Paradiso. So even if you like us, stay in a hell room you can still have a slice of paradise.

Welcome to 25hours Hotel Piazza San Paolino in Firenze!

Checked in and heading to our room through corridors…

…and stairwells with art inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy.

You can chose to book a heaven or hell room. We opted to spend our nights in hell.

A fun quirk, at al 25hours hotels they have 25 different reasons why no one should enter your room. So just chose the one that fits you.

My favorite space at the hotel is the bar area with the massive mirrored wall and blue lights.

In a separate house in the courtyard you’ll find this great sauna which is always a plus for us northerners.

In one corner of the hotel, there is a great cafe that serves up excellent coffee (this is Italy after all) and some delicious baked goods. Like this banana bread.

M out exploring Firenze early in the morning.

it is almost mandatory to walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo to enjoy the view of the city.

And equally mandatory is it to stop by “All’Antico Venaio” for a sandwich filled with to the brim with your choice of filling.

We decided to explore beyond the central parts of town and found a local haunt, “Ditta Artignale & Hario Café” which became an instant favorite.

RG inside info

This place is perfect if you…

…are coming to Firenze and you want to stay at an urban hotel with a big city vibe. If you love colors, quirkiness and hotels with a theme (this one pays an homage to local icon Dante), you are going to love this one.

My favorite thing about this place…

…is the un-Italian look and design. It might sound strange considering Firenze is hardcore Italy, but I really like that this hotel has gone a different route compared to the expected traditional look. Instead it is modern, arty and full of unexpected and good-looking design.

What not to miss when staying here…

…is to venture away from the central parts of town, where most other tourists hang and find a place where you can mingle with the locals. We went to and loved Ditta Artignale & Hario Café, which was a bar, café and light snacks kind of place all rolled into one, where we realized we were the only non-Italians which was a rare treat in this tourist magnet. And they serve a mean Negroni.

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