J K Place

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Florence’s trend-setting boutique hotel has style, space, service and a very sought after address on the Piazza Santa Maria Novella

Those carefully unexplained letters, like the deliberately unsigned hotel door, invite enquiry. What is this secretive but stylish “J K” place? Nothing to do with the lead singer of Jamiroquai, in case you are wondering - though it is equally funky (some would say more so). In fact, the initials are those of the owner’s father, and the place – once you swing open the wide wooden doors – turns out to be a small, smart hotel for Florentine initiates.

It’s a pleasing combination, that of fashion with friendliness. For all its sleekly-styled rooms and its state-of-the-art technology, the atmosphere is intimate, the staff unfailingly kind. The neutral creams and matt metallics of the bedroom décor contrast with the warm hues of the sitting room and the cosy, vaulted lounge. Even the building itself is part historic palazzo and part modern townhouse, the two halves coming together around a broad lightwell which drops to an airy, glass-covered dining room. It’s a synergy which manager Ori Kafri has worked hard to create, and, although it’s early days, there is every sign that it'll succeed.