| AdminHistory | The hotel opened in 1866, at the time Florence was the capital of Italy. It was originally called Grand Hotel de la Paix. In the 1870s the Paix was one of many excellent hotels situated along the elegant Lung'Arno. It enjoyed an excellent reputation and hosted a number of star guests including Queen Victoria, Princess Frederick of Prussia and opera diva Adelina Patti. In 1897 Gerardo Kraft bought the establishment, refurnished it, renamed it Grand Hotel and turned it into one of the top houses in Italy. The major attraction was the sumptuous Winter Garden, which became a high society hub. It was far and away the finest hotel in Florence - a magnet for the international jet-set - from Yoshihito, Crown Prince of Japan, to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to the Shah of Persia. [Source: https://famoushotels.org/hotels/grand-hotel-florence]. |