Restrictions posed a problem for the spa’s con-


struction, says Filippo Calandriello, the Fingen project manager. Te authorities needed a lot of convincing to excavate part of the garden for an underground changing room, sauna and shower area, but thwarted other plans. “Ideally we would have created a covered pool for guests in the winter and we wanted a much bigger spa with direct access to the main building through a tunnel, but this was impossible to create because we had to preserve trees and vegetation.”


REALISING A VISION


Te completed Four Seasons Hotel Florence spa is located in a two- storey building with a pillared façade, as well as a ground-floor


SPA BUSINESS 3 2010 ©Cybertrek 2010


If the historic gardens and grounds weren’t protected, the developers would have built a covered pool for guests to use during the winter


lobby and lounge designed in cream and black by Pierre-Yves Rochon. Te look is sleek and contemporary, but accents such as statues and pillars add a classical Italian feel. On the second floor, light permeates the nine treatment rooms and one couple’s suite, which all have floor-to- ceiling windows lined with white shutters.


Spa manager Lucia Papalini, who was recruited a few months


before the hotel’s opening, had the task of developing the spa from scratch. She was previously spa manager at Fonteverde Natural Spa Resort near Siena, but shaping this spa was her first experience of having complete control over a project. “At my previous spa, the owner and I worked closely, but he was the one that made the deci- sions. When I came here, they told me: ‘Lucia, this is your toy, enjoy.’


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