Florence doesn’t need embellishment. What it needs is a vantage point that honours its complexity. Enter Collegio alla Querce, an Auberge Collection hotel that has arrived on the scene and is already making a strong case for why checking in there is as memorable as checking out the Uffizi Gallery.

The Renaissance city has no shortage of hotels, many located in the historic centre. Instead of landing you in the sea of tourists, Collegio alla Querce is perched in the hills above the Le Cure neighbourhood. Approaching it, the road curves upwards, and the city transforms from a crowded masterpiece into a panorama, with terra cotta rooftops unfolding under the Tuscan sky. Arrival feels cinematic, with a driveway lined with cipressi (cypress trees), rosemary bushes, and bursts of colour from the bougainvillea that spills over stone walls.

For Auberge Collection, Florence seems a natural choice for the brand’s first Italian address. Rather than chasing capitals, the hospitality group sought a destination with a living cultural rhythm and found it in Florence, where every street seems to tell a story. What distinguishes an Auberge Collection hotel is its deeply rooted sense of place (underscoring this philosophy is the preservation of the name, honouring the building’s former life as a boarding school), and each property is conceived as a one-of-kind expression—Collegio alla Querce is a distinctly Florentine Auberge.

Entering the hotel feels less like stepping into a lobby and more like being welcomed into a grand private living room with original marble floors from when the palazzo was constructed in the 16th century. Great care has been poured into the property, ensuring the interiors are as memorable as the views from each of the 83 keys. The design, led by local firm ArchFlorence, strikes a careful balance between heritage and modernity. Original architectural details—long arched corridors, lofty ceilings—remain intact, grounding the hotel’s academic past and with none of the trappings of grande dame hotels. Suites are spacious and inviting, with a residential ease that makes you want to linger.

Rather than treating the former collegio as a historical relic, ArchFlorence approached it as living structure, allowing the building’s academic past to be felt rather than explained: case in point, Bar Bertelli where a series of portraits of students—their expressions serious, curious, and unmistakably youthful—anchor the space in memory. La Gamella, the culinary heart of the hotel, is overseen by executive chef Nicola Zamperetti, whose menu uses locally sourced seasonal ingredients and evolves throughout the year.

Collegio alla Querce is not just a place to lay your head but a way into the city’s deeper rhythm.

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