A New Florentine Hotel Where The Fashion-Girl Itinerary Is Built Right In

The natural enemy of the party girl is the return-to-office mandate, but if yours hasn’t been handed down yet, why not work from the W Florence? In fact, with the new hotel’s music, fashion, and beauty programming, a stay might as well qualify as business-critical — it does at NYLON, anyway.

Most of my very strenuous labor, then, took place in the partially covered courtyard, where, as a guest of the 4-month-old property, I would post up with a green juice (for health), Acqua Panna (for hydration), and a caffè d’orzo (for trying caffè d’orzo). In between clicking and clacking, I’d check out the cosmopolitan crowd making use of the curvy, chromed lounge, 40% of whom might’ve been locals by the efficiently friendly bar manager’s estimation.

But when the Louis Poulsen and cut-crystal Kartell Take lamps came on and my Slack notifications turned off, I decamped for the Zefiro Rooftop for an aperitivo soundtracked by a lineup of Florentine DJs vibing respectfully in consideration of the neighbors, aka the Duomo and the Mercato Centrale. Dinner afterwards at Tratto was an event in itself — try the cavolo Cinese and the pizza risotto — as it will be at Akira Back when the Japanese concept opens. However, the headliner, so to speak, of any evening was retiring to my generously sized room overlooking the Piazza dell’Unità Italiana. My favorite design feature: that the wardrobe was fully lined in the same clay color as the tile floor of the penthouse, which made the old Miu Miu, Saint Laurent, Gimaguas, and unsigned vintage I mashed into my suitcase feel properly visual-merchandised.

Other working fashion and beauty girls will enjoy W Florence’s partnership with SuperDuper, who’ve made hats for Dior — and now, Maria Grazia Chiuri at Fendi, whose appointment we may or may not have heard about a few days early at the atelier. I may or may not have also acquired a smart tobacco-colored fez there. At Daniele Cavalli’s tasteful Profumoir (yes, that Cavalli), another experience involved rounds of blind sniffing and soul-searching that resulted in a bespoke perfume; my bamboo flower, fig leaf, and sugar formula received a “brava” from the maestra. And while there’s no spa on the hotel premises, the spacious, clubby steam room and sauna are cleaner and better maintained than some in Williamsburg.

I’ve already resolved to return to Florence one winter when the crowds thin out, but even if my PTO doesn’t clear, I’ll know exactly where to base my operations.