Grand Hotel Minerva

"A rooftop heated pool with 360-degree views of Florence’s Duomo and other city icons? Sign us up. But there’s more: Art Deco-appointed rooms in a stately but welcoming 13th-century palazzo that was designed by modern genius Carlo Scarpa in the 1950s and given a light but essential spruce up by Piera Tempesti Benelli, and a perfect address on the pedestrian-only Piazza Santa Maria Novella with its magnificent white-fronted church. Yes, it’s close to the city’s main train station—but even more importantly, in our opinion, it’s only a couple of minutes walk to lotion and potion superstar Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella for presents to take home and goodies for our own boudoir. —Ondine Cohane"