Florence is perhaps best known as a cultural destination, a place where you feed your mind by exposure to Europe’s greatest concentration of artistic treasures. But this is a city that’s also not averse to creature comforts, either — after all, all those treasures only ended up here because of Florence’s immense wealth. A hotel like Hotel Number Nine, then, is perfectly placed to cater to the needs of both the body and the mind. It’s housed in a seventeenth-century palazzo in the city center, two minutes’ walk from the Duomo and close by to everything else in this compact town. Classic stonework provides the historical gravity while modern furniture and bold colors display the ease with which Italians mix old and new. And the rooms, similarly, are classic and contemporary at the same time — it’s palazzo living for the modern era. And when it’s time to relax the mind and devote a little attention to the body, there’s the Spa Number Nine, with facilities including a jacuzzi, a sauna, and a Turkish bath. Moreover, there's also a capacious and well-equipped fitness center and a phalanx of instructors and personal trainers. Think of it a bit like a fitness- and wellness-oriented luxury resort experience with an urban boutique hotel location, a hotel that’s equally rewarding as a pied-à-terre or a place to shut yourself away from it all.