Departures Australia Spring 2014

BLACKBOOK A Prestige

BLACKBOOK A Prestige Suite at Portrait Firenze WHERE TO STAY IN FLORENCE NOW New hotel players are on the scene while the established ones stay fresh and relevant. Where other Italian tourist cities have let the recession drag them down-market, Florence remains a cultured hub that’s serious about getting the best out of life. And it’s not just Michelangelo’s David, Brunelleschi’s cathedral dome and the Botticellis on display at the Uffizi Gallery that make it so. The city’s best hotels provide a prime example of its against-the-tide dynamism: amid a sprinkle of new openings, the largely successful improvements made by Florence’s first wave of bespoke properties – places like JK Place Firenze, Hotel Savoy and Relais Santa Croce – remind us that it’s entirely possible to stay current, even in a city so transfixed by the past. — LM PORTRAIT FIRENZE The city’s novelty is the 36-suite Portrait Firenze, which opened this past May. Aficionados of Leonardo Ferragamo’s Lungarno Collection hotels may remember the riverside property, with its compelling views of the Ponte Vecchio, as the former location of Lungarno Suites (a pleasant though rather bland long-stay hotel that never really took off). Portrait Firenze is quite a different animal. Modelled on Portrait Roma in the capital, the hotel group’s biggest checking in success to date, the Florence property matches local interiors maestro Michele Bönan’s stylish decor with what it claims is unrivalled service. Bönan (a regular Lungarno contributor who designed the original hotel) deploys classic furnishings with a 1940s and 1950s feel in a series of light-filled rooms (some have floor-toceiling windows, a rarity in Florence) whose grey walls are decorated with vintage photos of Florentine scenes and characters. But, as Lungarno Collection President Ferragamo says, “the real challenge is not designing furniture. It’s designing atmosphere.” Service centres on a “lifestyle team” trained to cope with any and every request, who know the city inside out. They’re required to eat at local restaurants and take the city’s various private tours in order to offer spot-on recommendations. Rooms start at AU9; portraitfirenze.com JK PLACE FIRENZE Founder Ori Kafri admits that “Portrait Firenze is the first competitor I’ve really needed to worry about since we opened in 2003.” But he shouldn’t lose too much sleep, as the deliciously club-like contemporary classic – also designed by Bönanstill – has all of its charm. Of the 20 rooms, the three spacious Master Rooms come closest to distilling JK Place’s home-away-from-home ambience, with cream sofas and picture-window views of the evening passeggiata in Piazza Santa Maria Novella. Book room no. 1 (from AU67), on the first floor, for its higher ceilings. Rooms start at AU4; jkplace.com THE WESTIN EXCELSIOR A March 2014 refurbishment freshened and modernised the Westin Excelsior Florence, which was looking a little shabby. Still, the property’s real calling card is the rooftop Sesto on Arno restaurant (sestoonarno.com), housed in a steel-and-glass structure unlike any other in the city and with stunning river views. Florentine captains of industry flock to the gourmet Sunday brunch. Rooms start at AU0; westinflorence.com HOTEL SAVOY A recent stay at Rocco Forte’s Florence property, the Hotel Savoy, confirmed just how well it’s wearing its venerable 14 years. Nips and tucks have included a makeover of the first-floor Repubblica Suite (from AU,991), a one-bedroom apartment that feels like it might belong to a Florentine friend. But don’t sneeze Sesto on Arno, the Westin Excelsior’s rooftop restaurant Hotel Savoy on the Piazza della Repubblica at classics like room 419, with its view of the city’s Renaissance Duomo and bell tower (from AU1), or the first floor’s room 106 (from AU1), a corner Superior Deluxe that overlooks the crowded Piazza della Repubblica. Rooms start at AU8; roccofortehotels.com BE-ONE ART AND LUXURY HOME When all one needs is a cheer ful bolthole close to the sights, the cute Be-ONE, which occupies part of the third and fourth floors of a Risorgimentoera palazzo just off Piazza della Re pub blica, can’t be beat. The approach (via an office-lined corridor) is unpromising, but inside, contemporary art and touches of bold colour jazz up the rooms. (The Sofia Loren Deluxe Double is, in a word, lovely (from AU1) For what is basically a very up-market B&B, the service is excellent, and among the art experiences that can be arranged are frescopainting courses with Tuscan maestro Massimo Callossi. Rooms start at AU6; b1florence.com RELAIS SANTA CROCE Relais Santa Croce is popular with old Florence CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: © ROCCO FORTE HOTELS, ALESSANDRO MOGGI, © LUNGARNO COLLECTION 32 DEPARTURES-INTERNATIONAL.COM CONTACT PLATINUM CARD SERVICE FOR BOOKINGS

THE GREATEST SHOW IS EARTH Barcelona Venice From Istanbul to Barcelona, St Petersburg to Copenhagen — let us show you the best destinations in Europe, on itineraries that are packed full of its biggest treasures. FRANCE Toulon Barcelona SPAIN 12 Florence/Pisa (Livorno) Mediterranean Sea Overnight in Venice ITALY Rome (Civitavecchia) Grand Mediterranean Venice Naples GREECE Athens (Piraeus) Istanbul TURKEY Mykonos Island Princess Venice (overnight), Istanbul, Mykonos, Athens (Piraeus), 12 Day Euro Grand Mediterranean (VEN-BAR) 015_R3_CA Island Princess® Nights Naples (for Capri & Pompeii),Rome (Civitavecchia), Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Toulon (for Provence), Barcelona 2015 Departure Dates May 22† Fri Jun 15 Mon Jul 9 Thu Aug 2 Sun Aug 26 Wed Sep 19 Sat Oct 13^ Tue Interior fares from Oceanview fares from Balcony fares from Mini-suite fares from Suite fares from Launch Fares~ ,699 ▲ ,169 ▲ ,699 ▲ ,469 ▲ ,969 ▲ Your Fares* ,299 ▲ ,699 ▲ ,099 ▲ ,699 ▲ ,969 ▲ † Port order may vary. ^ Itinerary varies: Venice (Overnight), Istanbul, Mykonos, Athens (Piraeus), Naples (for Capri & Pompeii), Ajaccia, Toulon (for Provence), Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia) ▲ Fares are per person twin share based on 26/8/15 departure only. 2-Day experience St. Petersburg 11 NORWAY Aarhus DENMARK Oslo GERMANY Stockholm (Nynäshamn) SWEDEN Copenhagen Warnemünde Berlin Scandinavia & Russia Helsinki Tallinn ESTONIA FINLAND St. Petersburg RUSSIA Overnight in St. Petersburg Regal Princess Copenhagen, Oslo, Aarhus, Berlin (Warnemünde), 11 Day Euro Scandinavia & Russia (Aarhus)_15_R1_CA Tallinn, 2-Day St. Petersburg Experience (includes two Regal Princess® Nights days & overnight), Helsinki, Stockholm (Nynäshamn), Copenhagen 2015 Departure Dates May 2 Sat May 13 Wed May 24 Sun Jun 4 Thu Jun 15 Mon Jun 2 Fri Jul 7 Tue Jul 18 Sat Jul 29 Wed Aug 9 Sun Aug 20 Thu Aug 31 Mon Interior fares from Balcony fares from Deluxe balcony fares from Mini-suite fares from ▲ Fares are per person twin share based on 2/5/15 departure only. ,999 ▲ Launch Fares~ Your Fares* ,219 ▲ ,419 ▲ ▲ ,099 ,919 ▲ ,599 ▲ ,069 ▲ ,739 ▲ BOOK WITH PLATINUM TRAVEL SERVICES AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR CRUISE PRIVILEGES+ | AUSTRALIA 1800 673 760 | NEW ZEALAND 0800 377 421 BOOK NOW! Receive up to 0 onboard credit per stateroom # Visit your Travel Agent | 1300 385 631 | www.princess.com *Fares are cruise only per person, in AUD, in complete twin accommodation, based on lead interior, oceanview , balcony and mini-suite staterooms available at time of printing, inclusive of all discounts, taxes and government fees (which are subject to change). Offer ends 31 October, 2014 unless sold out prior. Princess Cruises has set aside a reasonable number of staterooms which are available at these discounted fares. Once these staterooms are sold, fares may revert to a higher fare, but may also be further discounted. Offers subject to availability. Valid for new bookings and not combinable with any other offer. ▲ Fare based on specific departure dates only. Higher fares may apply to other departure dates listed. Some oceanview staterooms have obstructed view s. Whilst information is correct at time of publication, offer may be withdraw n or varied at any time without notice. ~Comparison launch fares are based on fares launched into the market from March 2014. # Onboard credit is based on the type of stateroom: For Interior/Oceanview will receive 0 per stateroom, Balcony/Mini Suite will receive 0 per stateroom and Suite will receive 0 per stateroom. ·Applicable to voyages of 5 nights and longer. Effective for new bookings until 31-Dec-14 for all future cruises on sale. Combines with launch pricing, Select Sailings & amenities. Combines with past passenger fares except special recipient only past passenger fare promotions. ·Does not combine with Flash, interline, or travel agent rate. +Cruise partners and benefits are subject to change without notice. To obtain benefits, bookings must be made through Platinum Travel Service and paid with the Platinum Card. American Express terms and conditions also apply. To be read in conjunction with the Booking and Passage Conditions available at princess.com/legal/passage_contract/index.jsp w hich passengers w ill be bound by. A 1.5% surcharge w ill apply to all payments made by credit cards for direct bookings made via our call centre and website. Travel agents may charge additional fees - check with your travel agent. Carnival plc trading as Princess Cruises. ABN 23 107 998 443. Travel services provided by American Express International, Inc. ABN 15 000 618 208. Incorporated with limited liability in Delaware, USA. Licensed Travel Agent, 12 Shelley Street, Sydney NSW. Credit provided by American Express Australia Limited (ABN 92 108 952 085). ®Registered Trademark of American Express Company. American Express International (NZ), Incorporated with limited liability in Delaware, USA. Principal Place of Business in New Zealand, 600 Great South Road, Ellersie, Auckland 1051.