The Excelsior Florence

Now trading as The Excelsior, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Florence, this five-star hotel on Piazza Ognissanti faces the Arno with 171 rooms and suites. Its rooftop Cosimo restaurant and bar offer 360-degree city views. The former Westin Excelsior name and the SE.STO on Arno rooftop have both been retired in the rebrand.

"The rebranded former Westin Excelsior on the Arno, with spacious river rooms and the new Cosimo rooftop, though it has no pool."

Aggregate 9.1/10 on our editorial scale (Room & Design, Service, Location). Independently scored; see our methodology. This is our opinion, not an aggregate of user reviews.

Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission from bookings at no cost to you. We never accept payment for placement. Facts verified against official sources and the 2026 Michelin Guide in July 2026.

What makes The Excelsior Florence special?

Important status note first: the hotel long known as The Westin Excelsior, Florence has been rebranded and now trades as The Excelsior, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Florence, part of Marriott's Luxury Collection. The property is open and operating at Piazza Ognissanti 3, directly across the square from its sister hotel, The St. Regis Florence. It remains a grand five-star hotel set in a historic building on the Arno, with a lobby, library, and public rooms that trade on seven centuries of Florentine history, including a link to Carolina Bonaparte. The most visible change beyond the name is the dining and rooftop offer: the previous SE.STO on Arno rooftop venue has been replaced by Cosimo, a new rooftop restaurant and bar themed around the Medici era, positioned as one of the city's newest rooftop destinations. This is the larger and more contemporary of the two Piazza Ognissanti hotels, with 171 rooms and suites against the St. Regis's 100. It suits travellers who want a riverfront address, a rooftop with panoramic views, and a well-run international luxury operation, and who do not require an on-site spa or pool.

Which room should you book?

The Excelsior has 171 rooms and suites, many with private balconies or terraces, making it noticeably larger than most central Florence luxury hotels. Accommodation spans entry-level rooms through premium deluxe rooms and suites, with the best of them opening onto Arno and Ponte Vecchio views or looking over the piazza and rooftops of the historic centre. Interiors follow the Luxury Collection design language, blending the building's heritage architecture with contemporary comfort, and higher categories feature the private outdoor space that is a genuine rarity in the city core. All rooms have air conditioning, an electronic safe, complimentary Wi-Fi, and a hairdryer. As in most protected historic Florentine buildings, in-room boilers, coffee makers, and irons are not permitted for safety reasons, with room service and laundry available instead. A third guest can be added to selected premium deluxe rooms and suites for a daily supplement, connecting rooms are available on request through the booking office, and twin-bed configurations can be arranged in advance. Cribs are complimentary for young children. Because room categories and views vary widely across a large property, it is worth specifying an Arno view or a terrace at the time of booking.

Where should you eat and drink?

The headline venue is Cosimo, the hotel's rooftop restaurant and bar, which serves Tuscan-rooted cooking with a contemporary edge alongside 360-degree views over Florence and the surrounding hills. Cosimo operates as two connected experiences: the Cosimo Rooftop Restaurant for lunch and dinner, and the Cosimo Rooftop Bar for aperitivo, cocktails, and seasonal mixology inspired by the Medici women. Down at street level, the Donatello Bar handles aperitivo and after-dark drinks in a classic Florentine setting, and breakfast is served in the elegant Sala Caminetto. A clear correction for older listings: the rooftop is no longer called SE.STO on Arno. That venue name was retired when the hotel converted to the Luxury Collection, and Cosimo is the current rooftop restaurant and bar. On Michelin: neither Cosimo nor any other outlet here holds a Michelin star in the 2026 guide. The rooftop's appeal is the view and the setting rather than a starred kitchen. Buffet breakfast for guests not on an inclusive rate is priced at 52 euros per person. The hotel also runs seasonal epicurean programming, including artisan-led tastings in the Library.

What is the spa and pool like?

Wellness is deliberately light at The Excelsior. There is a 24/7 Fitness Studio equipped with Technogym cardio, weights, and skill tools, complimentary to all guests and accessible by room key. There is no swimming pool. Crucially, the hotel does not have its own spa: guests wanting treatments are directed to the myBlend Spa Suites at the sister property, The St. Regis Florence, immediately across Piazza Ognissanti, where charges apply and opening hours run Monday to Saturday plus Sunday afternoons. This is a meaningful limitation for a five-star hotel, so anyone planning a spa-focused stay should factor in that treatments are booked off-site at the neighbouring hotel and that slots are shared between the two properties. For guests whose priority is sightseeing, dining, and the rooftop rather than a wellness circuit, the fitness studio plus nearby spa access will suffice; for a dedicated spa-and-pool retreat, this is not the right base.

Where is The Excelsior Florence, and how do you get there?

The Excelsior sits at Piazza Ognissanti 3, 50123 Florence, on the north bank of the Arno in the UNESCO-listed historic centre, sharing the square with The St. Regis Florence. The Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi, and the Duomo are all within a comfortable walk, and Santa Maria Novella station is close by for onward trains. The riverfront position means the best rooms look across the Arno toward the Oltrarno hills, while the rooftop Cosimo takes in a full panorama of the city. As with its neighbour, the setting is central and animated rather than tranquil: the piazza and the river road carry traffic, so guests sensitive to noise should ask for a quieter interior-facing room. The hotel is inside the ZTL limited-traffic zone, so private cars are restricted and most guests arrive by taxi or transfer; off-site valet parking is available for around 75 euros per day, and there is electric-vehicle charging. Florence Airport (Peretola) is about seven kilometres away, roughly twenty minutes by car, with Pisa and Bologna serving longer-haul connections. For a walkable, view-rich base in the centre, the address is excellent.

What do guests consistently say?

Guests praise the Arno-side location, the scale and comfort of the rooms, and the standout rooftop, which delivers some of the best panoramic views of any hotel in the city; travellers with terrace rooms particularly value the rare private outdoor space. Service generally draws positive comment for professionalism, and the building's grand public rooms make a strong first impression. The recent rebrand and the new Cosimo rooftop have refreshed the food-and-drink offer, which had been a talking point in earlier reviews. On the critical side, the lack of an on-site spa and pool is a common disappointment for guests expecting full five-star wellness, and being sent across the square for treatments is not to everyone's taste. As with any large historic hotel, room categories and views vary a great deal, so a lower-category room can feel a step below the best suites. Traffic noise on the piazza and river frontage is mentioned by light sleepers. Overall, location, rooftop, and space are the recurring positives, while wellness facilities and room-to-room consistency are the softer spots.

Honest cons: who should skip it?

The main drawbacks are wellness and consistency. There is no pool and no in-house spa, and treatments are only available across the piazza at the sister St. Regis, which is a genuine inconvenience for a spa-led trip. As a large property in a historic building, the room product is uneven: views and categories range widely, so a poorly chosen room can underwhelm relative to the rate. The Piazza Ognissanti and Arno frontage carries traffic, meaning the quietest rooms face inward and forgo the river view. The rebrand to the Luxury Collection is recent, so some third-party listings, maps, and reviews still use the old Westin Excelsior name and reference the retired SE.STO on Arno rooftop, which can cause booking confusion. Parking is off-site valet at extra cost and the ZTL restricts car access. Dining, while improved by the new Cosimo rooftop, holds no Michelin star, so committed foodies will still venture out. Finally, buffet breakfast and other extras are priced at the top of the market and are not always included in the room rate.