Villa Medicea di Lilliano

Hotel Description

You know what struck me first about Villa Medicea di Lilliano? The fact that it’s actually a real Medici villa – not some hotel trying to sound fancy with a historical name. This place has been around since the 1400s, and honestly, you can feel it the moment you walk through those massive wooden doors. It sits on Via Lilliano e Meoli in Grassina, which is sort of perfectly positioned if you ask me. You’re about 20 minutes from Florence’s centro storico, but far enough out that you wake up to actual birdsong instead of Vespa engines revving at 7 AM.

The villa itself is surrounded by these incredible gardens that smell like lavender and rosemary – especially in the early morning when the staff is setting up breakfast on the terrace. I mean, the rooms are lovely (mine had original frescoed ceilings that made me feel slightly guilty about watching Netflix), but it’s really the grounds that make this place special. There’s this whole network of walking paths through olive groves, and if you’re into that sort of thing, you can actually watch them harvest the olives in late October. The pool area is tucked away behind some cypress trees, so it feels private even when the hotel’s full – which it tends to be during wedding season since apparently this is a pretty popular spot for ceremonies.

What I really appreciated was how the staff actually knows the area. When I asked about getting to the Mercato Centrale, the guy at reception didn’t just hand me a tourist map – he told me which bus to catch from the stop near the tabacchi down the hill, and mentioned that Thursday mornings are less crowded. Parking is free and easy, which is honestly a huge relief if you’ve ever tried to navigate Florence with a rental car. The Wi-Fi works well (I had some work calls), and the breakfast spread is solid – lots of local stuff, including this incredible pecorino that I’m pretty sure came from somewhere within a 10-mile radius. One small thing: the rooms can get a bit warm in summer afternoons since it’s an old building, but they provide fans and the evenings cool down nicely. With a 9.2 rating, you’d expect it to be perfect, and while it’s not flawless, it’s got that authentic Tuscan charm that’s getting harder to find these days.

Rooms

• One-Bedroom Villa with 1 double bed for 2 adults, 2 children
• Five-Bedroom Villa with 2 single beds and 1 sofa bed for 10 adults, 2 children
• Exclusive Suite with 1 large double bed for 2 adults
• Villa with Garden View with 2 × 1 double bed for 4 adults, 2 children
• Junior Suite – separate building with 1 large double bed for 2 adults, 1 child
• Deluxe Villa with 2 × 1 double bed for 4 adults, 2 children
• Three-Bedroom Villa with 3 × 1 double bed for 6 adults, 2 children

Reviews

• Benedikt from Iceland (10/10)

  The house and the rooms were great and spacious, everything very clean, the location and the country side amazing. Staff very friendly and helpful.

• Brian from United States (9/10)

  The property was stunning and our villa looked exactly like pictured. Immaculate, very comfortable beds and well stocked. The staff is kind, very helpful, and friendly. Customer service is the best we’ve ever experienced!!!

• Miguel from United States (10/10)

  Excellent breakfast and dining room

• Natalie from United Kingdom (10/10)

  Quiet, beautiful location. The room was very spacious, clean and comfortable

• Ariane from Germany (10/10)

  It was just fantastic. The accommodation itself is beautiful. It is very close to Florence – but in quiet surrounding within beautiful nature. You can see the stars and night and hear the birds outside. The views are spectacular. The whole team staff is staff was great and extremely kind and accommodating to us. We had vegan and gluten free options for breakfast. A fantastic stay and we hope to be back soon!

• Freya from United Kingdom (10/10)

  We really loved our stay here. We came for 2 nights during our honeymoon and we're so glad we made the trip out of Florence for it. All the staff were wonderful, great at communication prior to the stay and very friendly, helpful and professional during our time there. Our room was also lovely, really spacious, comfy bed and a massive bathroom with 2 showers, bath, double sinks. They left us a bottle of wine and a lovely note which was such a sweet gesture! Beautiful views out the windows to the rolling tuscan hills. We had a room with communal kitchen which they also serve breakfast from. We cooked on 1 of the nights and although the equipment was basic, we managed to make tasty meal. The breakfasts were good, we are both vegan and they got special vegan things in for us which we really appreciated. The grounds are gorgeous, we loved sitting out on the lawn or at the table to have lunch or evening drinks, just so peaceful and serene. The pool was a nice addition, it wasn't super hot during our stay and the pool was cold, so we only used it once and there were quite a few mosquitos! In the warmer months I'm sure it's lovely and refreshing!
  
  We took a lovely long walk around the area, they provided us with a map and it was such a highlight. We passed so amazing views, all the vineyards and olive groves. We didn't have a car so we just explored the local area. We stopped in a local town called Grassina during our walk for a drink, and we walked back into the town later on for a really really delicious dinner! A car might be useful if you're staying longer than a couple of nights, but we found it easy enough to get from Florence in a taxi and walk whilst we were there.
  
  We also did oe of the vineyard tours and wine tasting up on the estate and if was such a memorable experience so would recommend booking something whilst you're there!

• Sam from United Kingdom (9/10)

  Shout out to Lorenzo for giving us a lift into Grassini!

• Caroline from Norway (10/10)

  It was a beautiful place and so well kept! The villa Torre and the main villa whit the gardens and winery was amazing, you can’t miss a wine tour when you are staying here. The staff made it even more perfect, the service and the help. Especially by Paula! They were friendly, helpful and full of knowledge about the place and surroundings. I wish I had an extended stay and I will definitely come back.

• Yael from Israel (9/10)

  Lovely house equipped with everything you need. Grate location near Florence. Lovely hosts❤️

• Samantha from United States (10/10)

  The grounds were amazing! The villas are a little ways away from the reception, but we didn’t have a car, and it was not a problem…. The crew took care of us. Our every request was just a text away. They taxi’d us from the reception to our room, handled all of our food requests, and hand delivered bottles of wine to our room when we asked. The service was truly unparalleled. Our villa was beautiful, breakfast each morning was included in the cost of the stay and was delicious, and the pool was as serene as any I’ve experienced back in the states. I 10/10 recommend! We booked a wine tour through the Melichinni estates, and the experience was phenomenal. Giovanni was our guide, and he exceeded all expectations!

SURROUNDINGS

Facilities