I am in the wonderful position of trying to choose between the above for a 2 night anniversary trip this may.

Obviously the hotels are not directly comparable, as one is in the middle of a big city (george v), one in a medium sized city but with an adjoining park (fs firenze), one is mostly about eating (le manoir), one is much more expensive (feltrinelli), and two are quite weather dependent (amalfi coast).

However, despite this being a very personal choice, I would welcome any thoughts, and in particular does anyone have recent experiences of Feltrinelli as that is the only one where I feel a little nervous about the hideous cost?

best wishes

BM

I'd focus on which destination you'd rather to go for your anniversary...

• Paris
• Florence
• English country
• Positano
• Amalfi
• Lake Garda

Any of these would be wonderful anniversary trips. What does your spouse think?

I've been to all of these apart from the Amalfi Coast options and Villa Feltrinelli is, in my view, by far the most special. Expensive but worth every penny. When in May? I would say the later the better as you want to be able to take advantage of the pool and beautiful grounds.

Mid May so weather won't be guaranteed unfortunately.

Any recent Feltrinelli updates? Not sure I've seen one for a while?

While I consider myself an Il San Pietro junkie (ha! ), have been there every August past 7 years, I'd advise against it, because 2 nights for that area is not enough. Where are you flying in from? Positano is an hour by car from Naples, and three hours from Rome.

A city destination (Paris) makes the most sense to me.

I agree, I would base the choice on destination.

However, if I were to base the decision on the hotels I would narrow the choice down to FS George V vs Feltrinelli. At George V I would want a Premier room (ideally with terrace) or a higher category.

Totally agree. Avoid Le Manoir - over hyped and disappointing IMHO. Given the time of year, I would opt for George V. Feltrinelli is better in summer.

or decide last minute based on weather? (could also factor in potential upgrades last minute)
edit - although i guess room categories could sell out at a number of these properties

1306 - feltrinelli
1025 superior 1475 premier - george v on may 17
775 deluxe - fs florence on may 10 (about sold out on may 17)
734 - le manoir
620 > 1600 - il san pietro
449 - santa caterina on may 17
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verona_Villafranca_Airport

If only 2 nights you must take into consideration ease of getting to the destination. You can fly non stop into Paris from most cities so that could be best choice for 2 days. I love feltrinelli but think it deserves 3 nights and not that close to a major airport. Also agree is better later in the year so you can enjoy the lake.
FS Florence is also wonderful if you can fly directly to Florence for the two days. It is a gorgeous hotel and in a lovely park with a great pool and spa so you feel like you are in a resort, but just a walk to the heart of the city. If you cannot fly directly into Florence I would go to Paris to minimize travel time.

Good point we don't know where the OP is flying in or arriving from. Feltrinelli is fairly close to VRN which has BA service from LGW and LH (EN) service from FRA and MUC. It really depends where they are flying from or driving/training from. I think Feltrinelli is such a nice choice especially to relax.

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful indeed.

We would be flying from London and so Verona and Florence are easily accessible.

I mentioned this in my original post, but although Feltrinelli is warmly talked about by most people here, there are no recent reports on this forum. Have any of the regulars here been within the last 6 months? I would be interested to know if it still maintains the high standards that everyone has talked about previously.

Also, and this is slightly OT, but I don't 100% agree with the comments about choosing a destination rather than a hotel. Of course, all these hotels are in destinations that I would be happy to visit. However, notwithstanding that, I do think that there are some hotels that are a destination in themselves or are so "of a place" that they become a "must-visit". This is mostly, but not exclusively, true of resort hotels. For example, I have been to Paris many times and whilst I love it, I don't absolutely need to go back over and above somewhere that I haven't been before - however, to be able to stay at the George V would be a magical experience and in itself make the trip worthwhile.

I usually choose places first and hotels second and if the two combine, well, that's a miracle. Places like Paris are destinations and, let's face it, no matter what hotel you are staying in you are not going to be in your room very much. And I'd much rather stay in a more characterful Paris hotel than the FS and spend more money on a nice dinner. The same applies to Rome, Florence, London, wherever.

Which brings me to the Villa F. I have never stayed there. I quite like the look of the place but it's not in an area where I would enjoy. However, I can see quite easily that it's like a resort, on its own, with the lake, you don't need to leave it, you are treating it as a a destination. So that's where I would go.

Amalfi? That was lost decades ago.

FS George V exudes character, and Eric Briffard is the executive chef. I see little reason to look elsewhere.

Do one time visit Garda if only for a weekend- once you get away from the crowds of Desenzano and Sirmione it is absolutely magical. The area where Villa Feltrinelli is as well as Riva del Garda are two of the very nicest places in Italy during the spring/summer seasons.

I totally agree. I would never have gone to Garda were it not for Villa Feltrinelli, but parts of the area were really stunning. I would not write it off before you have been there.