Historical notes for Villa La Massa
This Medici Villa, built in the 16th century by the Landini Family, was subsequently owned by the Rinuccinis and the Homberts and has been home to several aristocratic Italian, English and Russian families.
In 1948 the Villa was transformed into a luxury hotel and its five hundred years of history live on, telling us tales of Renaissance splendour and the lifestyle of Florentine aristocrats in every nook.
Many famous guests have enjoyed a stay at Villa La Massa, among them Gregory Peck, Winston Churchill, Barbara Hutton, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, David Niven and David Bowie, who with his wife Iman took over the Villa for their wedding. The Villa d’Este Group purchased the hotel in 1998 and the whole property has been completely restored to add a new lustre to the splendid old mansion.
Some of our Accolades
2010 The Web Marketing Association WebAward for the outstanding website
2009 Prix Villegiature Villa La Massa voted Best Service in a hotel in Europe
2008 Forbes Travelers.com One of the "World's Best Hotels 2008"
2007 Condé Nast Traveller Hot List "Restaurant with a view"
Sport & Leisure
Villa La Massa offers a fitness centre with state-of-the-art equipment and a wellness room for a wide range of massages. Clients can also enjoy treatments for face and body with chocolate or truffles and the famous wine therapy.
Sport facilities also include: outdoor heated swimming-pool (from May to September); mountain-bikes; jogging track; 16 clay and synthetic courts at the nearby “Match-Ball” tennis club, 500m. (free of charge for hotel guests); horseback riding centre at 1 Km.; The “Ugolino” golf club, at 9,5 Km (6 miles, privileges for hotel guests)
The Concierge can arrange personalized guided tours of Florence, Pisa, Lucca, and Siena; excursions in the Chianti region for visiting wineries, olive-oil farms, villas & castles; Volterra, San Gimignano, Colle Val D’Elsa, and Monteriggioni.
On property
Our Executive Chef, Andrea Quagliarella, has cultivated a corner of the gardens where seasonal vegetables and herbs are grown and then used for his menus.
A limited number of precious olive oil bottles is produced every year from the olive groves that surround the property.
Cooking lessons and wine tasting are available on request.
Villa La Massa is a home away from home for families wishing to spend their holidays in Florence and Tuscany It offers to its younger guests all cares and attention: welcome gift upon arrival, playground area and kids’ menu.
Dining & Drinks
The “Verrocchio” restaurant is located in the Old Mill and it is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is the only restaurant in Florence with a terrace overlooking the Arno.
The Chef offers an Italian menu full of traditional Tuscan dishes and Mediterranean specialities, while the vast wine list includes over 300 labels, among those best representing the Italian wine culture, with a special focus on Tuscan wines.
The “Bar Mediceo” is located in the Noble Villa and serves drinks, cocktails, light meals, salads and snacks until midnight. In the summer, the service is also available around the pool.
The “Cellar” located in the Old Mill is the ideal place for wine and oil tasting or for private lunch and dinner.
Guest Services
Courtesy daily shuttle service to/from Ponte Vecchio (historic centre of Florence) from 9 am to 7 pm
• Private outdoor car parking
• Kid’s playground
• Babysitting on request
• Laundry, dry-cleaning and pressing service available 6 days a week, from Monday to Saturday
• Room service from 7.00 am to 11 pm.
• Wireless Fidelity (Wi-fi) technology in public area and in all rooms
• Helipad
• Car-hire and limousine service
• Hotel & restaurant reservations
• Tickets for theatres and museums
Check-in: 2.00pm
• Check-out: noon
• Season: end of March, beginning of November
Accommodation
The 37 rooms (double rooms, junior suites and suites) are located in the 3 villas: the Noble Villa, the Old Mill and the Little Villa and overlook the countryside or the River Arno. The rooms are all different from one another and are decorated in the Renaissance style with antique furniture, buffed terracotta tiles, typical of the Medici period and some with canopy beds. All have spacious marble bathrooms, air-conditioning, satellite LCD TV, direct dial telephone, wi-fi, safe and mini-bar.
In March 2009 a new splendid Presidential Suite has been open to the public. This suite is located in the Little Villa directly on the Arno river and features 2 bedrooms, a living room with fireplace and a 270 sqm (2.900 sqft) private garden with Jacuzzi, offering 180° views of the Tuscan hills surrounding the estate.
Meeting and banqueting facilities
The elegance and intimacy of Villa La Massa makes it the ideal location for small and prestigious meetings up to 60 people.
All meeting rooms have natural light and state-of-the-art communication and audiovisual technological equipment.
The Villa is the perfect location for weddings and banquets up to 100 people, held either by the pool area or in the “Limonaia” room in an atmosphere of great charm.
Catholic Mass can be celebrated in the small chapel with a sacristy, dating back to the XIX century, that can hold a maximum of twenty-five people.
Villa La Massa offers the possibility of exclusive take over of the hotel.
