Once again cannot attach photos to the review. See below for pics.

Check In

We arrived around 10am for a check in. No fuss about being much earlier than the standard check in time. We were swiftly shown to our suite. On the way, the staff showed us the bar, restaurant, and the pool.

Room

The room is typical Italian country side luxury. Personally I am not a fan of the design but it is not bad. One love seat, a couch, coffee table, separate round dining table, king bed, bathtub, separate shower, and two sinks. The temperature control in the room seem to be stuck between the two settings of melt and incinerate (high 40F - high 60F temperature when we visited), so we sometimes slept with the windows open to cool us down. The staff was kind enough to bring us a Dyson fan to cool us down. On the topic of hot things - the heated towel rack has no control and seems to be constantly on. That and its easily accessible location, I accidentally burned my arm on it while in the bathroom once. If you have kids you should be careful.

But come on, if you are staying here you are not staying for the room. You are staying for the location that overlooks the Florentine skyline, and the stories behind the monastery-turned-hotel. 

Service

The service was impeccable. The rooms only had heat on in November, but when we stayed, it was very hot, so the heat made it worse. The staff quickly brought a Dyson fan and iced water for us once they learned about this. The concierge was kind and efficient in making us car reservations (pick up and drop off at the hotel), train tickets, etc. Housekeeping was swift - most mornings they came within 3 minutes of us turning off do not disturb. 

Dining

Dining is one of the highlight of the property - not only the food itself, but also the setting where you can dine while looking at Florence from afar. The daily a la carte breakfast items were limited (we tried most things after three nights at the property), but the pastry was fresh and expansive, and the fruits were fresh. Fresh berries can be sometimes hard to find.

Dinner at the property is held at the same location as breakfast, but feels much more intimate with a live piano player.

The only downside is that there is only one restaurant at the property. But the property is not that removed from Florence, so guests could always dine in the city and the return afterwards.

Location

Location is mostly good. If you are like me, you might want to stay away from the hustle and bustle  (and tourists) at the end of a long day. Belmond VSM is great in that it is located in Fiesole and feels like a sanctuary. The property offers hourly shuttle/van to take guests to Piazza Repubblica in Florence for your sightseing. The only down side to this is that in low season, the last shuttle that returns from the city to the hotel is at 8pm, which is awfully early considering many restaurants do not open until 7:30pm. In high season though, this is not an issue.

Overall

Overall a wonderful property - the view is unbeatable, service is top notch, food is good and has both Florentine and general western options, and the view from both the small gym and the big heated pool is great. Would definitely recommend.