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Three unique hotels in Florence - SoprArno, OltrarnoSplendid and AdAstra

From the pieces of furniture to the art on the wall and in collaboration with local artisans, the owners of these three unique hotels in Florence have handpicked each and every piece inside. They have browsed all the flea markets and antique shops in Florence as well as near London, such as Kempton and Ardingly, applying their sense of style, design and art to create an eclectic, unexpected mix.

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Tell us about yourself

We are a team that decided to pool our strengths and resources to open what has now become a collection of three boutique hotels in Florence. Betty Soldi is a designer and calligrapher descending from a Florentine family that has been crafting fireworks since 1859. After many years of living in London, she now has a design consultancy studio in the heart of Florence, designing emotionally compelling branding, bespoke projects, communication, objects, stationery and packaging collaborations with renowned clients. She has developed the branding across the hotels, all the personal touches and written on most of the walls in the rooms! She also takes care of all the PR for each, discovering that journalists love to recount a personal and personalised story. Matteo Perduca is a lawyer but a Renaissance man at heart, and the creative director of all the hotels – his is the vision and handiwork of every room’s different look and feel, finding and choosing every piece of furniture, putting every nail up, often seen whizzing around Florence on his Vespa taking a chair to be upholstered in a bright new velvet colour he has found! Then there is the architect, Francesco Maestrelli, who worked out all the plans for the rooms and Marco Perduca, Matteo’s brother, who invested his knowledge and cultural views with his sibling to make the places come to life.

Matteo Perduca and Betty Soldi

“All our hotels have been created with the same personal passion and commitment – everything is authentic and original”

Can you tell us about the history of your 3 properties and their unique personalities?

We are not hoteliers, we are travellers and we were looking to build spaces and places that reflected our tastes, curiosities, cultural interests and discoveries. Our first boutique bed and breakfast SoprArno Suites appeared in September 2014. It became immediately successful because of its original style and quirkiness which was different from everything else that was in Florence – the choice was dusty traditional or expensive and luxurious places to stay! We put bathtubs in the rooms, we sourced antique and vintage pieces of furniture, we used real work of art on the walls (also our own). After a year we were able to open the second one, AdAstra, a truly unique place, with a wraparound terrace facing the biggest private garden in Europe within a walled city. We love keeping the original features of places as much as possible, every room in our hotels has a different character and feel. AdAstra is a gem, in that the Marquis who owns it, descendant from the Torrigiani family for hundreds of years, still lives on the ground floor. In March 2019, OltrarnoSplendid joined the group. Eclectic, colourful, surprising, unexpected. All our hotels have been created with the same personal passion and commitment. Everything is authentic and original. Nothing has been bought “from a catalogue” except for the minibar!

SprArno-Credit-Ilaria_Costanzo-highres-6277

SoprArno | Photo: Ilaria Costanzo

SoprArno | Photo: Ilaria Costanzo

Soprarno Suites Florence

SoprArno

What are the core values of your establishments? 

Authenticity, simplicity, cosiness. Personal touches everywhere. We aspire for you to remember your stay with us and take that inspiration home with you.

What makes your properties special?

We have selected and “handpicked” each and every piece you can see in the hotels. From the piece of furniture to the art on the wall, collaborating with local artisans to make unique lamps and lights and marble pieces, etc. We have browsed all the flea markets and antique shops in Florence and in the main big markets around London, such as Kempton and Ardingly. It was such fun, and a big challenge, but we still think this is the only way to offer hospitality in a personal way. We are not architects or trained interior designers, but apply our sense of style and design and art to create our eclectic unexpected mix.

Oltrarno Splendid Florence

OltrarnoSplendid | Photo: Maria Riazanova

OltrarnoSplendid | Photo: Ilaria Costanzo

“In a city like Florence with its history and heritage most of all we value craftsmanship”

How do you keep up with changing customer expectations?

We are true to ourselves and our clients perceive that honesty and authenticity. All three hotels are with Mr&MrsSmith as we align with their ethos of “forgive the wonky coat hook on the wall because it is original and handmade and every other element about your stay is unique, charming, quirky and truly personal”!

How important is good design for hotels and for hospitality today?

Design is very important but in a city like Florence with our history and heritage most of all we give value to craftsmanship. In our Oltrarno quarter, we are surrounded by amazing artisans who still love to work with their hands pursuing a long-lasting tradition. In our neighbourhood, it is still possible to find woodcarvers, framers, carpenters, upholsterers, grocers, ironmongers…

AdAstra

What are some of your favourite places in Florence that people need to know about?

Our favourite restaurant is Regina Bistecca, designed and co-owned by our hotel creative director Matteo Perduca with another business partner. It is housed in a former antique bookshop, still full of history with quirky traits and amazing food. You can taste a great bistecca alla fiorentina, along with all the Florentine traditional food.

We also love to go to Biblioteca Marucellina in Via Cavour, to find some quiet and inspiration, breathing in the books and the centuries-old stories they have to tell.  A more modern bookstore we love is TodoModo in Via dei Fossi. The café on top of the Museo degli Innocenti, in piazza Santissima Annunziata is also an amazing hidden place to have a coffee and enjoy Florence from a different point of view, high up on the rooftops.

The Museo del ‘900 in PIazza Santa Maria Novella usually hosts very interesting exhibitions about not well-known artists that are really worth discovering.

Regina Bistecca

Regina Bistecca

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