Casa Howard Press & Guidebook Reviews in English

» an incomplete list of publications & short movies featuring Casa Howard Guesthouses

Guidebook: 1000 x European Hotels
Year: 2008
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "Three ingredients are required to successfully create wonderful lodgings: an apartment on the second floor of a historical palazzo in Rome, a wonderful location in the vicinity of the Spanish Steps and the unique ideas of the famous Italian interior designer Tommaso Ziffer, who used his exuberant imagination and love of details to create an unusual yet private ambiance. Each of the five rooms of the guesthouse is governed by a different color scheme and features noble wooden floors, high ceilings and period furniture – as a result, guests feels like they are staying with a friend who has exceptionally good taste."

Magazine: Ahlani
Year: 2005
Guest House:Casa Howard Capo le Case Guesthouse
Review: "Endorsement for this less-is-more school of travel comes from the most surprising places. Elite guidebook Nota Bene, for example, positively raves about Casa Howard's pair of flamboyant five-bedroom guesthouses in Rome, even though some rooms are not ensuite."

Guidebook: Alastair Sawdays
Year: 2008
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "A five-minute walk from the bus and train station is this handsome palazzo, the talk of the town. No reception staff, no communal space, just a big fur throw on a welcoming divan and smiling housekeepers who serve breakfast in your room. On each floor, too, an honest fridge stocked with soft drinks, wine and champagne. But best of all are the bedrooms, designed with style, originality and humour. If you can splash out on a larger, more lavish room, do, though all are delightful. One, with a sunken bath and Japanese prints on the walls, is a deep sensual red; another is 18th-century elegant, with a black velvet sofa and gold taffeta curtains. The apartment, its queen-size bed residing at the top of a spiral stair, is ultra-moderne. There’s a room specially for those who arrive with their pooches (dogs’ beds, baskets, large terrace), and another, the “Play Room”, for families (Disney videos, a climbing wall!). Bathrooms are memorable; nights are air-conditioned and peaceful, providing you keep windows shut. A breath of fresh air, and decent value for the heart of old Florence."

Website: AnotherTravelGuide.com
Year: 2008
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "Casa Howard Guest House is situated in the very centre of Rome, a stone's throw from Spanish Steps and luxury designer shops (Gucci, Prada etc.) 10 beautifuly designed, cosy rooms in two locations. When you are booking a room, the owners always make a point of explaining that this is not a hotel, it's an elegant residence set up in a beautiful historical building. Everything is just the way it should be: antique furniture, parquet floor and wonderful windows. Zebra room (at via Sistina 149) has a little balcony, too. Three rooms (at via Capo le Case 18) don't have en suite bathrooms. But it is quite simple, actually: whenever the need calls, grab the specially provided kimono and slippers and rush some eight metres or so down the passage to the lavatory reserved specially for your room. The staff are very obliging; all speaks English, sometimes, however there is an older Italian lady, doesn't understand a word but that won't prevent you from arranging everything you need. Perfect value for your money. However, you have to book a room well in advance: excellent word of mouth about Casa Howard spreads fast, so don't put off making a reservation too long. "

Magazine: Avantoure
Year: 2008
Guest house: Casa Howard Capo le Case Guesthouse
Review: "Where to stay in Europe - Rome. Casa Howard is Rome’s secret pied a terre, hidden exactly where you want to be – down a side street near the Spanish Steps, not far from Prada and Gucci. There are five bedrooms, each uniquely decorated with a combination of comfort and flair. The Chinese Room is swathed in glamorous silks and the White Room a fresh mix of toile de jouy and antique furnishings. Okay, so you have to walk down a corridor to get to the bathroom, but kimonos and slippers are provided to ease the way. There are fresh flowers, a hairdresser and massage service are available, and even a Turkish bath to ease weary limbs after sightseeing. It all makes for an intimate affair, refreshingly different from the pompous swank of most Roman hotels. Breakfast is a feast of buttery pastries, fresh juices, and homemade jam from the owners’ Tuscan farm. "

Magazine: Bazaar - Escape Weekends – Luxe for less
Year: 2007
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouses
Review: "This small pensione has two Rome locations, five rooms in each, all within paces of the best boutiques and the Spanish Steps. Staying at Casa Howard is like staying at a friend’s flat – if your friend happens to be a well-travelled interior designer and charming hostess. Jennifer Howard Forneris opened the first of the two properties in 2000, determined to recreate the stylish atmosphere of a Roman home. The rooms are small but perfect, individually decorated with the kind of beautiful fabrics you might expect from the daughter of Luciano Forneris, one of Italy’s most famous textile designers. Not all are en suite, but each has a private bathroom down the hall; you are provided with a kimono and slippers. The housekeeper is always on standby with a hot iron for your shirt or advice about a good place for afternoon tea. The miniature Turkish Hammam is a treat. Oh, and breakfast is brought to your room, complete with pastries and honey from Jennifer’s house in Tuscany."

Magazine: B Cool Firenze
Year: 2008
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "The Art of Hospitality and of smart traveling – Casa Howard Guest Houses are not hotels rather true, beautiful private houses whether an apartment, palazzo or farmhouse which gives personal service, and where some typically “hotel” ideas, methods and services have been borrowed. With uniquely designed, cosy rooms in both towns, it’s like staying in a very relaxed, stylish friend’s home – as guests you get the keys of the house, you enjoy the original furniture and objects, and you feel the atmosphere of the house. Casa Howard is located close to Santa Maria Novella – an ideal spot for accessing the city’s profusion of architectural treasures. Having only 12 rooms and 2 suites in Florence. The Florentine Casa – classified as a “Residenza d’Epoca” – (a “registered property”) is world famous for its quirky look thanks to renovations made by famous inerior designers Tommaso Ziffer and Fabrizio Cuniberto led by Jenifer Howard Forneris."

Guidebook: Chic Retreats
Year: 2007-2008
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome & Florence Guesthouses
Review: "Simply Chic - Casa Howard, Rome. Casa Howard is a hidden gem right in the centre of Rome close to the Spanish steps. Exclusive and fashionable with 5 stylish bedrooms it is neither a hotel or a guesthouse, more like an elegant private residence full of family antiques and paintings. Located in the shopping area (Gucci and Prada only a few minutes away), in a beautiful historic building, Casa Howard provides the charm of a private house with the standard of personal service you would expect from a 5 star hotel. Every room features parquet floors, beamed ceilings, satellite TV, tea making facilities, air-conditioning, Ginori china and complimentary WIFI access in each guest room. Casa Howard, Florence. In November 2004 the newest Casa Howard opened in Florence with 11 rooms and 2 suites. The newest guest house (not a hotel) continues the formula of location, privacy, personal service, high comfort, excellent value. Casa Howard Florence is on 3 floors of a magnificent Palazzo, close to the train station and in an elegant area of the city. The famous ‘Officina dei profumi di Santa Maria Novella’ is next door and provides the guest house exclusively with its world famous toiletries. Many of the rooms have working fireplaces and it is possible to combine some of the rooms to create a large private suite. A Turkish bath, a library bedroom and a winter garden all contribute to ensure a comfortable stay for the most demanding guests. There is a room for families with climbing wall and a Walt Disney video library. Small dogs are welcome."

Website: Concierge.com
Year: 2006
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "If you want to experience what it would be like to stay at the home of an elegant Roman with fantastic taste, you should get a room at Casa Howard. They have two locations, both near the Spanish Steps, and each room has a theme - everything from Chinese to flowers - with the wallpaper and furniture to match. At the Via Capo le Case, choose the pink room for its en suite bathroom and larger size, and at Via Sistina, the mod Zebra suite (all of Sistina's rooms have WiFi and en suite bathrooms). Most rooms are tiny but we love the breakfasts of fresh cornetti and honey from Tuscany, and the hamman bathrooms. Book early though, the secret's out."

Website: Concierge.com
Year: 2006
Guest House: Casa Howard Florence
Review: "Like the idea of a bit of luxury combined with the atmosphere of an elegant private residence? Casa Howard could provide the answer. This discreet home-from-home offers high standards of comfort and service and great rates. The look is stylish and vaguely eccentric; furniture is an eclectic mixture of antiques and custom-made pieces combined with fine fabrics and strong colors. No two bedrooms are alike: The spacious and dramatic Drawing Room has black walls and white cornicing: The Hidden Room is a sexy little den with deep red walls hung with erotic Japanese prints and a sunken bath; the Fireplace Room is just that, apart from an oversized black velvet sofa and honey-colored silk curtains. There is no communal space to speak of (unless you count the Turkish Bath), so breakfast is served on a tray in the rooms."

Guidebook: Conde Nast Johansens
Year: 2007
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guest House
Review: "The homely Casa Howard is an intimate and elegant mansion within walking distance of the Uffizi, the Duomo and Via Tornabuoni. The themed guest rooms, uncluding two suites, and 1 small apartment, creatively mix antique furnishings with modern style and are adorned with special touches such as fresh flowers and family portraits. Breakfast includes homemade jams and honey, whilst dinner reservations can be arranged by the helpful housekeepers. The house has a large Turkish hammam."

Magazine: Conde Nast Traveller
Year: 2005
Guest House: Casa Howard Florence
Review: "Regulars love Casa Howard's two Roman branches for their charming decor and proximity to the Spanish Steps. Its just-opened Florentine sister continues the trend, with themed rooms (Playroom is for families, Camel for smokers) and a convenient location near the train station... "

Magazine: Conde Nast Traveller
Year: 2005
Guest House: Casa Howard Florence
Review: "The Hotel Hot List 2005 - 60 best new hotels
Following the success of two Casa Howards in Rome, owners Count Massimiliano Leonardi di Casalino and his English wife have set their sights on Florence as part of a long-term plan to open similar guest houses in other European 'art cities'. Designed to be a discreet pied-à-terre offering the sort of choice location, high standards of service and accessible prices that will appeal to business and leisure travellers alike, Casa Howard Florence is in an elegant town house a few minutes' walk from both the train station and the city's Renaissance glories. The look is classy, cosy and vaguely eccentric; the emphasis in the 12 highly individual bedrooms is on quality and fine fabrics (several of which have private terraces). The dramatic drawing room has a black ceiling and walls, white mouldings, leopard-print headboards and dusty mauve, shot-silk window treatments. The intimate Hidden Room has a sunken bath, a shower in a glass box, erotic Japanese prints on deep red walls and a chintzy little sitting room. There is a room for kids with a climbing frame against one wall and another for dog owners, complete with dog beds and a large terrace. Bathrooms, stocked with delicious Santa Maria Novella toiletries, are quirky and fun, and the hammam will restore museum-weary bones. You can order breakfast (hot croissants and honey from the owners' farm) in your room at any time (within reason), and fridges on each floor are stocked with Champagne, wine and soft drinks. "

Guidebook: Cool Hotels - Travel with Dogs Europe
Year: 2009
Guest House: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "He who adorns his hotel logo with a dachshund must be either infatuated in hunting or in dogs. Massimiliano Leonardi di Casalino, owner of the Casa Howard Guest House, is unambiguously the latter. In addition he is also an exceptionally attentive host, who feels that every visitor of his 13-room domicile is his friend. As small as this hotel may be, the service is superb: concierge and housekeeper look after the desires of all guests, a Turkish hamam for relaxation – and in the "Terrace Room" with a private terrace and fireplace, dog owners particularly feel at home."

Guidebook: Crew Guide by SAS
Year: 2006
Guest House: Casa Howard Guesthouses
Review: "Scandinavian Airlines’ insider tips to global happiness. - Casa Howard, with intimate guesthouses in Rome and Florence, doesn’t have to spend money on advertising to attract guests. Beautiful rooms, personal service and attractive room rates are reasons why it is so difficult to get a room. The first Casa Howard opened in 2000 on Via Capo le Case in Rome, just by the Spanish Steps. The second guesthouse appeared a couple of years later on Via Sistina, designed by Tommaso Ziffer, the man behind the interiors of Hotel de Russie, the most famous luxurious hotel in Rome. Try to get a room at Via Sistina. It’s the nicer of the two establishments. The rooms (only five) are themed. The elegant American room, with its flat-screen television and simple furnishings, is the nicer of the five. Turkish Hammam, or steam room, available to guests at a small surcharge."

Website: Daily Candy
Year: 2006
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome
Review: "[...]The best-kept hotel secret is Casa Howard (Via Sistina, 149 and Via Capo Le Case, 18; +39-06-69-924-555) for price, location, and design (book the zebra room).[...]"

Magazine: Dove
Year: 2005
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome
Review: Review on the Guide Book "Ospitalità di charme" by Guide Accoglienza and feature of a picture of Casa Howard Guesthouse

Newspaper: Evening Standard
Year: 2003
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "Near the Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna, this small exquisitely decorated hotel has just five rooms, with shining parquet floors. The exotic Chinese room has red silk curtains and a gold and red brocade bedspread. Kimonos and slippers are provided, because although bathrooms are private not all are en-suite. There is a Turkish bath down the hall. Hairdresser and massage service are available. In January Casa Howard II [ via Sistina ] opened with five more rooms just around the corner."

Guidebook: European City Breaks
Year: 2006
Guesthouse: Casa Howard Rome & Florence Accommodation
Accommodation Review: "Florence – Sleeping - The elegant recipe of the well-known Rome hotel has been repeated in Florence – a handful of individually designed (and loosely themed) rooms creating an intimate and hotel feel. The owners have a personal and idiosyncratic style, with plenty of quality fabrics and artefacts from around the world. Rome – Sleeping - The name is the Italian title of EM Forster’s novel, Howard’s End, from the which you might imagine a staid attempt at Englishness – you’d be wrong. This excellent-value designer B&B is now in 2 houses where the design is bright and colourful and the attention to detail commendable, from the slippers and the fresh breakfast to the carefully sourced soap."

Newspaper: The Florentine
Year: 2005
Guest House: Casa Howard Florence
Review: "Casa Howard - If you have enough of impersonal hotel rooms with indifferent service and like the idea of a bit of luxury combined with the atmosphere of an elegant and private residence, 12-room Casa Howard could provide the answer.

Occupying a handsome palazzo on Via della Scala (a rather scruffy street that is, however, conveniently situated for both the train station and the city centre), this discreet home-from-home is the brainchild of Massimiliano Leonardi and his English interior-designer wife. The idea is to offer a discreet pied-a-terre with high standards of comfort and service plus the sort of accessible prices that will appeal to leisure travellers.

Once inside, the look is stylish and vaguely eccentric with an emphasis on quality; furniture is an eclectic mixture of custom-made pieces and pickings from the family vaults while fine fabrics and strong colours play a major role. No two bedrooms are alike (apart from the tiny "Twins" which are near mirror images of each other), but they are all done out with style, originality and touches of humor. The large Drawing Room is the most dramatic; white cornicing stands out against black walls while the bed heads are covered in leopard print. The Fireplace Room has two of them, one is in the bathroom where you can watch the plasma screen TV while soaking in the clawfoot tub. The Hidden Room is a sensual little den whose deep red walls are hung with erotic Japanese prints and which shares its floor space with a shower in a glass box and a sunken bath. it has its own chintzy little living room too. Pooch owners will be lease with the dog baskets and large terrace in the Game Room, smokers can indulge in the Camel Room and the kids can let off stream on the climbing frame in the Play Room.

There are electric kettles with supplies of tea and coffee in all rooms plus LCD TVs and everything else you would expect from a top level hotel. Bathrooms (which all have cosy heated floors) are quirky and fun (although some are quite small) and well stocked with delicious Santa Maria Novella bath goodies. There is no communal space to speak of (unless you count the Turkish bath) so breakfast is served on a tray in the rooms. The lack of a bar is compensated for by "honesty" fridges filled with champagne, wines and soft drinks on each floor.

Casa Howard Florence only opened a few months ago, but the Leonardi's have been successfully running two Roman versions for some years now and there are plans to expand into other European art cities such as Barcelona and Prague. Good luck to them... it would seem they are onto a winner and there's nowhere else quite like it in Florence."

Guide Book: Frommer's
Year: 2004
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "It's rare to make a new discovery in the tourist-trodden Piazza di Spagna area, which is why Casa Howard comes as a pleasant surprise. The little B&B occupies about two-thirds of the second floor of a historic structure. The welcoming owners maintain beautifully furnished guest rooms, each with its own private bathroom with a tub/shower combination (although some bathrooms lie outside the bedrooms in the hallway). The Pink Room is the most spacious, and has an en suite bathroom. Cristy at reception can "arrange anything" in Rome for you and will also invite you to use the house's private Turkish sauna."

Guide Book: Frommer's
Year: 2007
Guesthouse: Casa Howard Florence Guest House
Review: "With a sibling hotel of the same name already doing well in Rome, Casa Howard has arrived in Florence. It’s housed in a restored palazzo next to the famous Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy, from which the hotel secures the most divine pomegranate and mint soaps, a scent that has become our favourite. The midsize rooms are a bit quirky with their stylized themes: if you’re the intellectual type, there’s the Library Room, which is filled with wall-to-wall reading. And for those of a more sensual nature, there’s the Hidden Room with its eotic prints and a sunken bathtub for romantic moments. This casa, however, is not strictly an adult retreat – it also has a playroom with family-friendly videos and a “climbing wall”. A special feature of the hotel is its large Turkish bath."

Newspaper: Independant
Year: 2009
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "24 Hours in Florence - Check in: Casa Howard (5), Via della Scala 18 (00 39 06 69 924555; casahoward.com ), is another good choice. Doubles start from €110, including breakfast."

Magazine: International Herald Tribune Guide
Year: 2004
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "In the heart of the city, only 100 yards from the piazza di Spagna. This is an English style guesthouse inside a historic building. Casa Howard, named after its British owner, Jennifer Howard, has five rooms with wooden floors and coffered ceilings. Breakfast is fresh from a Tuscan farm owned by Ms Howard. Excellent service. It's a home more than a hotel, and guests are usually introduced by other guests."

Magazine: In Style
Year: 2002
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "If tired of too much grandeur, check into the intimate Casa Howard, where you feel like you 're staying a very stylish friend. The five rooms are individually decorated and you'll be pampered by housekeeper Cristy (once a customer had her purse stolen and she lent her money for the rest of her stay)."

Exhibition: ITALIA, Discovering Italy - an exhibition in China featuring Casa Howard Florence
Year: Beijing, 11th ofDecember 2008
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "Sea and islands, mountain, lakes and Volcanoes, nature and sport attractions, natural parks and UNESCO sites, History and Arts. Food and leisure, slow-food tradition, shopping, fashion districts and glamour cities. Life is a book, who does not travel can read only few pages. Travelling to Italy means to read all the chapter, from history to nature, from art to fashion.

The miracle of Italy is that all its treasures come packaged in a gorgeous, unique country of Majestic mountains, placid lakes and rivers, idilli islands and its rare Mediterranean shores, vineyards and olive grove luxuriant hills and fertile plains. All troughout the most famous ‘boot’, from north to south till the remote pretty volcanic Island surrounding Italian coastlines and beyond. Century of experience in hospitality and receptiveness skills lay down the italian tour operator and tourist services suppliers.

Travelers themselves can tailor their own customized tour choosing between uncountable leisure proposals or rely on travel agenzie to play a part in the “most beautiful movie in their life”.

The perfect location to upgrade your stay in this fashionable city and enjoy the real Florence shopping are the Guesthouses. Casa Howard Residenza d’epoca, situated in the very heart of Florence, at walking distance from the ‘hot spots’, is perfect to host friends, eriche with precious decorations and contemporary interiors made by the most famous and trendy interior designer"

Guide Book: Italia Gastronomica
Year: 2006
Guest House: Casa Howard Florence
Review: "This Florence guesthouse is a combination of charm, location anbd decoration, offering various amenities and beautiful furnishings. It has kept all the original floors and ceilings to fully achieve the private houe concept: to provide guests with a beautiful house or apartment with a personal touch, whilst not forsaking the convenience of hotel service. Situated within walking distance of the railway station, the Uffizi, the Duomo and Via Tornabuoni, it is a wonderful base from which to enjoy one of the most delightful cities in the world, expect an intimate and elegant mansion, warm rooms - as well as personal service... "

Guide Book: Italia Gastronomica
Year: 2006
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "This Rome guesthouse is a hidden gem right in the center of Rome, close to the Spanish Steps. Walk up the marble steps and enter a heaven of peace and quiet after the hustle and bustle of the Spanish Steps area. A cosy, charming Rome accommodation, resembling the private house of a stylish friend, with high-wooden beam ceilings and laque or parquet floors, and 8 exclusive and fashionable rooms decorated with taste and comfortably furnished... "

Book: Italian Style
Year: 2009
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "Not only the Cathedral and Ponte Vecchio entice visitors to the center of Florence, but now also the Casa Howard Florence. Just like its sister house in Rome, the Casa offers its Guests stylish accomodations with a high personal touch. Every detail here – from the soap dish to the fine fabrics from Paris and London – has been selected and arranged with great care. With its inviting and simultaneously eccentric design, this house is a pleasant and exciting departure from other bed and breakfast."

Magazine: KLM In-Flight Magazine
Year: 2006
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "Where to Stay: the ten rooms at the exquisite Casa Howard (five at Via Capo le Case 18, another five at via Sistina 149)."

Magazine: Living Abroad
Year: 2006
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome & Florence
Review: "[...] The guesthouses are called Casa Howard. All the rooms are individually designed on different themes: from the exotic Zebra room to the classic Flower room, there is something for every taste. And each house has a limited number of bedrooms (10 in all in Rome and 11 in Florence) to make guests feel at home. [...] "

Guidebook: Lonely Planet Rome
Year: 2001
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "Places to stay – TOP END. Several of Rome’s best hotels are located near Piazza di Spagna. One of the newer ones, and a complete delight, is Casa Howard (Via Capo le Case, 18). More guesthouse than hotel, the five rooms are individually decorated with gorgeous fabrics and paintings. Four of them are named after the colour upon which the décor is based – Azzurra, Rosa, Bianca, Verde – and one is known as the Chinese Room. Two rooms have en suite bathrooms, the others have their own private bathroom in a separate room next door."

Guidebook: Lonely Planet - Best of Rome
Year: 2003
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "Places to stay – TOP END. Casa Howard – Someone with exquisite taste and a keen eye for style created this stunning Spanish Steps guesthouse, which has five distinctly decorated rooms with gorgeous fabrics. Only two have en suite bathrooms although the others do have detached bathrooms (there’s even a Turkish bath) and slippers are provided for those short corridor walks. The same people have another guesthouse nearby, with similar standards and prices. "

Guidebook: Lonely Planet Florence
Year: 2006
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "Casa Howard, Boutique Hotel. With six rooms, this is a delicious retreat near the train station. Building on a successful business started in Rome, the owners have created a set of unique and different rooms. Starting with the paintwork, ranging from lime green to russet red, each room boasts an unpredictable mix of styles and furnishings. You might have an old-style bath, a fireplace and antique furniture."

Website: Lonely Planet
Year: 2007
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "Casa Howard (Howard's House) is a gem. Fine fabrics abound and the paintings perfectly suit the individual colour schemes in the 10 striking rooms (five at Via Capo le Case and five at Via Sistina 149). The location is great in both cases, there's a Turkish bath and breakfast is delicious. [...] "

Magazine: Look
Year: 2009
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "Where to stay: behind unmarked doors, you’ll find Casa Howard’s two secluded 19th century palazzi. Both stylish guesthouses have a steam room to relax in after a day’s sightseeing. "

Website: Luxe City Guide - Rome
Year: 2007
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "With 10 uniquely designed, cosy rooms in two locations, it’s like staying in a very relaxed, stylish friend’s home. Take the saucy zebra room with little balcony if you can. And yes, pets are allowed, so Fido can live la dolce vita too. Woof! "

Guidebook: Luxe City Guide - Florence
Year: 2009
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "This lovely little pied-à-terre B&B features 12 uniquely designed rooms featuring a creative mix of sumptuous, comfy, modern and antique. Try for the Owner’s duplex."

Magazine: Marie Claire (South Africa)
Year: 2009
Guesthouse: Casa Howard Florence
Accommodation Review: "Florence may be the ultimate romantic destination, but it's also the perfect location for a girls-only break, says Georgia Black. So what happens when you send three yummy mummies to live la dolce vita?
Our trip starts out as something entirely different. Lulu calls me from London to say that she and Lucy are going to Italy with their kids;I must come with mine. I don't even need to think about it. 'No way', I say. Not even the thought of sipping prosecco in a springtime piazza with my two belve school friends can convince me to fly to Europe accompanied by my toddlers. A few months later I get the call I've half been expecting. 'I'm shattered. Let's live the kids at home.' I launch into action (I'm the obsessive organizer;they are the committed relaxers. It's a division of labour that works well for us). I SMS my two Italian friends –Olivia, who edits a French/Italian travel magazine, and Enrico, a sexy, stylish architect who knows his stuff when it come sto having a good time. '4 days, 3 girls, Rome or Florence?' His replay comes straight back: Roma! More fun.'

Hers is more thought-out: 'It's difficult to advice [sic], but in both cases I would recommend you stay in a B&B named Casa Howard!' In the end we opt for Florence because we like the idea of walking everywhere and because there is availability at what looks like the most perfect guesthouse on earth.

Also, the three of us decide, we're not interested in bars and parties. Nope. We're esauste and we haven't been together in years, so we're there to catch up on each others' lives and much-needed sleep. Capisci?
We arrive in Florence on a Thursday, and we are very kindly – and entirely unexpectedly – taken to the local trattoria, La Martinicca, for lunch by the owner of Casa Howard, the slightly dishevelled, wonderfully debonair Massimiliano Leonardi (or Max, as we settle on after our first bottle of wine.) He's leaving that afternoon for Sarteano - his farmhouse in the country -, but he'll be back for a big party on Saturday night. Why don't we join him as his guests? Sure, we say, between forkfuls of the most perfect bistecca alla Fiorentina.Tuscan love meat, and the bistecca – basically a huge T-bone so tender, when it's coke right, that it can be cut with a spoon – is a source of National pride.

Before he sets off, Max asks the housekeeper to hand me the keys of the house (Casa Howard is an 'anti-hotel' he explains) and show us around. There's no doorman or concierge and they don't do any marketing except enhancing their website, so Guests are always either friends of the owners or, like us, have had the place recommended to them by previous guests. It feels like the apartment of your fantasy Florentine friend – smart, discreet, a little flamboyant, and totally relaxed. Max credits his wife, Jenifer Howard Forneris, for the impeccable style of the rooms but I notice that he too knows the story of every antique and light fitting.

After Max has left, the three of us decide that he has that humble, rumpled, slightly melancholic air that makes women want to look after him. A friend has told me that we absolutely must head up to Fiesole (in the hills above Florence) for a sundowner at Villa San Michele, a 15th- century Franciscan monastery that's now a very grand hotel. 'It's expensive but so worth it,' she said, seducing me with descriptions of the terrace overlooking the city and their famous peach bellinis made from the sweetest, freshest fruit. Ignoring the ominous stormclouds gathering, I squeeze myself into my new favourite dress and we grab a cab. By the time we're there, it's bucketing down. (The best thing about travelling with girlfriends, I decide at this moment, is that they never say 'I told you so'.) We are led to the completely empty verandah by our gracious waiter who, with a sweep of his arm, says 'You may sit anywhere'. Things deteriorate further when he tells us that the chef sampled the peaches that morning and has pronounced them unripe. We order martinis and I'm only half cheered up by the fact that these arrive with a tray of delicious antipasti that the waiter keeps filling up – miniature crostini with decadent toppings and small silver bowls of olives and capers. We stretch out our drinks as long as is politely possible and admire Nicodemo Ferrucci's famous 'Last Supper' fresco in the bar (which used to be the monk's refectory). Then we leave, giggling at the hush-hush fur-and-diamonds-filled dining room.

Aaah, the sweet memory of our next encounter! As we enter Trattoria Sostanza, a narrow restaurant on a side street near our “anti-hotel” where, I am assured, 'only the real Florentines eat', we spot a table of four men (all dressed in black, of course) i flash a cursory look and notice immediately that one of them is gorgeous – lean with floppy hair, a big nose and good teeth. By the time we sit down, the air's bristling, and suddenly we're 19 again, whispering animatedly behind the menus. I should have paid more attention when the waiter recommended their famous pollo al burro (chicken breasts cooked in butter) because when Lulu's sizzling pan arrives it is heavenly. Lulu has always been the boldest in these situations and before we register she's grabbed her camera and is at the next-door table. Moments later, the gorgeous one is walking over towards me. He smiles, pulls up a chair and casually puts his arm around me. 'I told Niccolò that he looks just like your husband and we must take a photo', Lulu says, hiding her wicked smile behind the camera. Now I am not easily fazed, but I feel like I'm going to faint – a result of the combination of embarrassment and the fact that Niccolò is so completely beautiful up close. He looks right into my eyes, gives a slight, sexy, smirk while he talks (I would be lying if I said I remember what he said) and leaves his arm draped around my shoulder long after the camera has stopped flashing. Before long, Maurizio, Stefano and Massimo who work at the Bulgari head office, are also sitting with us, talking as if it's the most normal thing to hook up and make friends.

Back at Casa Howard late that night, we're all love-struck by Niccolò, who, we agree, has that rare, sexy and very dangerous ability to make each of us feel he was singling us out. The next morning calls for some grease with our cappuccinos and we head to Caffè Giacosa, an elegant 19th century bar-cafè where my new favourite cocktail, the Negroni (gin, red vermouth and Campari ) was invented. Now owned by Florentine fashion designer Roberto Cavalli and frequented by the women in leather pants who are disciples of his store next door, it's the kind of place I'd love to slag off were it not for the most delicious hangover cure I've ever tasted: a valsdostana of ham, cheese and tomato in buttery layers of phyllo pastry. Heart attack on a plate, but worth it. We plan to head to the Uffizi Gallery after breakfast, but somehow the long queue and sudden appearance of Zara conspire against us.(I buy a short python-print skirt that I know I will never wear). Shopping for fashion in Florence falls into two categories: High Sreet, and very high end on the Via Tornabuoni (many of these designers have huge factory stores at The Mall outside Florence too – need a Gucci saddle anyone?). Florentines are lamenting the gradual disappearance of a once-thriving artisan community, though there are still some gems on the Oltrarno (the south side of the Arno river). Cobbler Francesco (of Francesco da Firenze fame) and his joung Japanese protégée make me some red leather sandals that lace all the way up my calves – a bargain, I reckon, at R500. I could have gone to a shop only in Florence (conveniently located right next door to Casa Howard) and my trip would have been worth it on the shopping front : Santa Maria Novella Pharmacia. Dominican Monks started concoting herbal remedies here in the 13th century and although the brand now has stores worldwide, the Florentine headquarters are magical – from the architecture and dimly lit, frescoed rooms to the magnificent product display and the strong, sweet smell of flowers and essential oils. I go back three times, always leaving with a sense of virtous calm as Iclutch a beautiful handmade pomegranate soap or bottle of rose-water. It would take a lifetime to appreciate all the art that Florence has to offer, so we're selective. We've asked Maria , our wonderfully offbeat guide, to take us up the hill to San Miniato al Monte, which remains mysteriously unfrequented even though it's the most beautiful church in Florence with the best panoramic views of the city. There are still eight Benedectine monks living there who sing Gregorian chants in the crypt at 5pm every day. (They also make olive oil, Maria tells us – the 'work' component of their motto, 'Work and prey'.

From there we head to the Brancacci Chapel to see Masaccio's harrowing depiction of of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden. Maria tells us that the relationship between Masaccio and his teacher Masolino was similar to that of Mozart and Salieri. Masolino, jealous of his pupil's talent, probably caused Masaccio's untimely death at the age of 26 poisoning him. (I can't work out if Maria's view is shared by the rest of the art world – an on-line search suggests perhaps not, but it's fascinating anyway). Max collect us that evening, wearing red trousers.

His friend Filippo Mazzei will be joining us for dinner before the party, he tells us. 'Two of us I can handle, three is too much' he says seriously, as if we're naughty children. Filippo, it turns out, is from one of Italy's most famous wine-making families. CEO of the business, he's divorced and seems to know everyone. He orders a bottle of their award-winning Chianti and we talk about Italians and fidelity.

Max sums up what seems to be the generally accepted view – that 'marriage is a long-term project' and if you have a few days off it shouldn't be a problem. 'So what happened to you then?' I ask Filippo boldly. 'My wife fell in love with another man' he says, which shuts me up. After midnight we head out of town to the party – in a club attached, bizarrely, to a Virgin Active gym. As we walk in we're descended on by the host, a tubby, over-friendly guy who seems intent on pairing us up with his three sons (they are the only other people under the age of 50, and two of them look terrified of us). I grab three Cuba Libres and only half-registere that Italians don't drink with our kind of determination – the bar is almost empty. But boy oh boy, the dance floors's not. There are TV screens everywhere and about 200 very tanned men and women dancing frantically to Mika. I feel as if I've descended into karaoke, plastic-surgery hell, though the girls apparently aren't sharing my desperation. Lucy has temporarily fallen in love with Adam Broody lookalike called Francesco who works behind the bar, and Lulu is working both spectrums of the age gap, fitting from the host's third son – a cute 20-year-old who knows how to shake his skinny hips – to a man we nickname 'Papa Nicolas' because he has a big white beard. She wispers to us that she's paying him attention because he's so old – until he tries to smooch her, after which she doesn't feel quite so sorry for him anymore. Sometime just before dawn the three of us are sprawled on the huge velvet couch back at Casa Howard, swapping stories of the night with tears of laughter running down our faces. So what's left to do but order a Napoletana pizza (tomato, mozzarella, and anchovies), perfectly thin and burned (Max's suggestion) from the restaurant right outside the guesthouse? Lulu sighs as she sums up why it's been such a perfect trip: 'We were adored wherever we went' ."

Website: National Geographic
Year: 2009
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "The Best of Rome: Hotels. So small, it feels like home."—Ann Natanson, Rome-based journalist and critic. Small, colorful inn with playful details—pink-and yellow-striped wallpaper, zebra-print bed linens. Individually decorated guest rooms very cosmopolitan in feel. Fun touch: a private hammam steamroom. 5 guest rooms."

Magazine: NB Rome Issue
Year: 2002
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "A mere 100 meters from the Spanish Steps this quirky guesthouse provides welcome despite the stiff, stuffy attitudes that prevail in so many of Rome's better-known hotels. Owned by a Briton, Jennifer Howard, and her Italian husband count Masimiliano Leonardi di Casalino, it's very small (just five rooms, though a further five were due to open in another building on via Sistina at the end of 2002) and intimate. The interiors are attractive: parquet floors, beamed ceilings, antiques and custom-made furniture (the better to fit the space available). Some are a little chintzy, but the crimson Shanghai Tang silk that swathes the Chinese Room is authentically glamourous and exotic, and the toile de Jouy in the White Room (each is called after its decorative scheme) is pretty and fresh. the down side is that only two rooms (Green and Pink) have en-suite bathrooms. The others have private bathrooms, but you'll need to use the kimono and slippers provided to reach them. Both properties incidentally, also feature communal hamman Turkish baths. And every guestroom in the new property has a computer with ADSL line. [...] "

Magazine: New York
Year: 2008
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "ROME : HOTEL TO BOOK Casa Howard (from $ 205) has two locations near the Spanish Steps and a pay-in-U.S-dollars offer that gets you 40% off a five-night-stay (not available December 15-January 5)"

Magazine: New York Times Travel Supplement - Interview of Grant Tatcher
Year: 2007
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "Among the jet set, Luxe City Guides have achieved a near cult status for their exacting, opinonated and deliciously bitchy takes on cities including Hanoi, Roma, and, next month, New York. The Hong Kong-based founder and editor Grant Tatcher took the T Travel Questionnaire.
What was your first passport stamp?
Spain, age 14.
Is there a tourist stamp that you actually love?
Catuchak market in Bangkok. You can get everything from secondhand underpants to squirrels.
Favourite hotel?
Private house-hotels like the Portrait Suites and Casa Howard in Rome.
Restaurant?
Naughty Nuri’s in Ubud, Bali. A simple roadside shack with monumentally good martinis and ribs.
Carry-on or check?
Check. I loathe packing, so I tend to take everything and decide later.
City or country?
I was born in the UK West Country, so I need regular doses of countryside to keep a smile on the dial.[...]"

Magazine: New Woman
Year: 2005
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "Bookyourself into the super-stylish Casa Howard hotel in Rome, then pretend you're Posh and hit the shops. It's right near the famous Spanish Steps- in other words slap-bang in the middle of the exclusive shopping area - and flanked by Prada, Gucci and Missoni. It feels like a private house so it won't be weird to pop in and out on your own, and when you are exhausted your feet and your credit card, you can sink into the reviving Turkish bath before dinner. Then swap your Jimmy Choos for trainers and check out the beautiful city by night, especially its beautiful people (read: men!)."

Magazine: Olive
Year: 2004
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouse
Review: "Two exquisite, five-roomed deisnger b&bs, both very close to the Spanish Steps. At Via Capo le Case the rooms are all decorated with heavy raw silks and rare wallpapers. Two of the bathrooms are ensuite, the other three are located just accross the hall, but, thanks to intimate, homely atmosphere of the hotel, their location doesn't feel like a nuisance. At the brand new Via Sistina address all are ensuite and the Zebra room also has a balcony. Best of all, both Casa Howards have their own hammam. "

Magazine: Redhot (Virgin Inflight Magazine)
Year: 2005
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "From a hotel more likle a private house in the heart of the city, where every room has a different decoration and luxury coincides with style, try Casa Howard. "

Guide Book: Rome For Romance
Year: 2006
Guest House: Casa Howard Florence
Review: "B&B is far too pedestrain a term to describe this 12-room extravaganza in an old palazzo just yards from Piazza Santa Maria Novella. As the latest creation of owners Count Leonardi and Jenifer Howard forneris it joins their original Rome success story. That means burying blandness and uniformity in favour of orifginal and imaginatively themed rooms. Twin this with all the warmth of a private home plus can't-do-enough service and you're in clover. Ancient features are axiomatic in Florence and there's no cheating here; parquet and stone floors, heavy wood doors, marble chimney pieces and numerous fine artworks. However its the stunning decor and host of luxurious little extras that turn a stay into a treat. We were hard pushed to decide between the extravagant drawing room in soigné black; the lavish Oriental room with its emperor-sized bed and erotic prints or the impressively tome-lined Library. There is even a Turkish bath - exclusively yours when staying in the Garden room. Housekeepers, aka "House genies" are also trained to add to Casa Howard's spells."

Website: Secret Places
Year: 2005
Guest House: Casa Howard Florence
Review: "A delightful city house right in the centre of Florence

The Casa Howard in Florence shares many of the characteristic its of its namesake in Rome. The same title, the same urbane owners, the same elegant decoration and fabulous location. In fact, they both have a common concept, which is to provide guests with a beautiful house or apartment to stay in, keeping a personal touch to proceedings whilst not forsaking the convenience of hotel like service. Hence, it's just "like staying at a friends house" as a guest once said. A very good friend we may add and this is not any ordinary old house either, as the Casa Howard is located right next to the Santa Maria Novella Piazza - a wonderful base from which to enjoy one of the most delightful cities in the world. That personal touch we mentioned beforehand is in fact everywhere. From Chinese dumpling holders used as soap boxes to a porcelain monkey hanging from the ceiling light and the use of top notch fabrics from Paris, London and other renowned fashion centres. As for the rooms, many have a common theme to them and appropriate names attached. The Camel room is, well, for smokers. The Playroom - for families. There is also a Turkish Hamman Bath for guests to enjoy. Guests who visit the Casa Howard tend to come back (they are even given priority in booking, as to the Casa Howard way of doing things, they are seen as old friends) and given its combination of charm, location, decoration and service<, we can see why. "

Magazine: Shelter Interiors Chicago
Year: 2007
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "Falling in love with a place means going beyond tourist clichés and absorbing the texture and flavour of its daily life. It is to dream of living there, making local friends, spending time in private homes. Visitors to Florence are especially prone to this sort of lovesick behaviour. After just one visit, many of her guests find it impossible to abandon this jewel and return to normal life just as if nothing had never happened.
A sojourn at Casa Howard Guesthouse – where travellers live as residents and get a taste of true Italian life – if only for a few days – is likely what did them in. Bed & Breakfast is too reductive a term to describe this boutique, 12-room secret address in an old Florentine palazzo, just a few yards from Piazza Santa Maria Novella and its magnificent church.
Opened in 2005, the residence is the latest creation of Count Massimiliano Leonardi and his English wife Jennifer Howard Forneris, who in 2000 launched the designer guesthouse wave in Rome.
Casa Howard Florence is not unlike its two Roman sisters. They share the same name, elegant decoration and authentic Italian charm.
“Staying with us is like living at a friend’s home,” Leonardi says, while explaining how he came to the idea of starting the Casa Howard concept.
“My grandmother gave birth to 21 children. So I have relatives scattered around the world: Rome, Naples, Florence, Milano, Barcelona, London, Hong Kong”, he adds. “Most of the original family houses are empty and derelict. Why not bring them back to life and give hospitality to people who value beauty above all else in life?”
Leonardi’s reference to his guests as “friends” is not by accident. Visitors who stay in Casa Howard tend to come back, so they are considered part of an enlarged family. They are given the keys to the house during their stay and are granted priority in booking a second or third vacation.
Several unexpected treasures are tucked away in Via della Scala, where Casa Howard is located. In the back streets along with art galleries, tiny arts and crafts shops, and cosy cafés is the famous Officina dei Profumi di Santa Maria Novella, one of the oldest pharmacies in the world with stunning original furnishing.
“We profited from the presence of the pharmacy just a few steps from our door. We are the only guesthouse in the world to which the Officina provides herbal liquid soaps,” boasts the owner, who also teases his guests with fresh-baked croissants and homemade jams from his Tuscan farms for breakfast, which is served in guests’ rooms (the house has no lobby or common spaces).
Respectful of stringent preservation rules, Casa Howard was restored in accordance with Florence’s historic heritage. Originally built in a humble neighborhood, the building now stands out for its discrete elegance.
“The exterior lacked nothing. It was a 15th century house with sober façade details, such as slatted window shutters and a stately panel door,” recalls Fabrizio Cuniberto, the architect who was commissioned to make over the whole property along with Patrizia Ruffa. “But the interiors wherein a deplorable state: dark, cluttered and with claustrophobic rooms that flowed awkwardly from one to another.”
The designers recuperated ancient features such as the parquet and stone floors, heavy wood doors and marble chimney pieces. Beamed ceilings were also restored to either original glory.
The daughter of a famous manufacturer who used to design textiles for the best Italian couturiers in the 1960s, Jennifer was the beautiful mind behind the interior decoration. She decided that fabric and colour would transform the interiors. She was right. The textiles add a casual comfort to the rooms and enliven simple objects such as an ordinary chair or an upright, uptight sofa, while colour is used to add energy. Into this scheme, original period furniture and family heirlooms are mixed, along with carefully selected new items.
“To me, decoration means coupling things I really like and making them work together. As a result a feeling of well-being and relaxation pervades the house,” a proud Jennifer says. Living well can be found in small pleasures. A stay at Casa Howard can be counted among them.

Journal: Sunday Times - Rome: Where to stay, eat, what to do
Year: 2003
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "Near the Spanish Steps the exquisite Casa Howard (via Capo le Case) has just five rooms."

Website: SocksforSir.com
Year: 2008
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "After a day of indulging in Florentine delights, Casa Howard is the place to rest your head. Casa Howard is an eccentric and eclectic boutique hotel, comprising 13 individually designed rooms including a room made soley for dog lovers with its own dog baskets. A stumble from Santa Maria Novella and ten minutes from Ponte Vecchio, Casa Howard is ideal for a long weekend."

Website: Suzanne Files
Year: 2009
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "Eclectic, eccentric and excellent. An intimate, modern guesthouse owned by Massimiliano Leonardi and his wife, Jenifer Howard (who also own two similarly styled Casa Howard guesthouses in Rome), this boutique has a coveted location in Florence with 14 themed rooms filled with antiques, art and contemporary pieces, as well as TV, DVD, and WiFi.

Bookworms will enjoy the Library room full of books and fashionable belongings from the owner's parents, while pets will lap up the doggy bed available in the Terrace Room, a space intended for guests traveling with their furry companions. Families should check into the room with Disney DVD library and climbing wall—perfect for keeping little monkeys occupied while you explore the Turkish Hammam in the spa. I've been told breakfast in bed is worth not getting up for—warm, freshly baked cake, homemade jam & honey from the Casa Howard farm, and hot cornetti or croissants. Florence—fabulous!

"

Journal: Sunday Times
Year: 2003
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "Near the Spanish Steps the exquisite Casa Howard (via Capo le Case) has just five rooms."

Magazine: Tatler
Year: 2004
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "Five bedrooms, fresh flowers, Turkish Baths. This is Rome secret pied-à-terre, located where you want to be on a quiet side street off the Spanish Steps. Spend the money you'll save on a swell hotel in the via Condotti, which is virtually eyeballing your comfortable, cheery room, with its antique furniture and traditional oil paintings. Go for the Green or Pink rooms, unless you don't mind a bathroom down the hall (shades of corridor - creeping in old-fashioned house parties). The Chinese room is decked out in red silks from Shanghai Tang - more Castle Howard than Casa Howard. Breakfast is hot croissants and home-made jam from the owners Tuscan farm. For a traditional supper, walk down the street to Dal Bolognese in the Piazza del Popolo."

Newspaper Online: Telegraph
Year: 2004
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "This guesthouse has been created from two apartments in nearby streets. The bedrooms are special, with imaginative designs and luxury fabrics. The cheapest are not en suite but have a private bathroom down the corridor; en-suite rooms cost from £147 b&b. Many of the bedrooms are small, however; both annexes are on busy streets; and there are no public rooms (breakfast is served in the bedrooms). Still, accommodation of this quality in a more traditional Roman hotel could be twice as expensive."

Newspaper: The Peak - Singapore
Year: 2005
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "Do you like dogs"? asks Count Massimiliano Leonardi, as I startled slightly at a barking commotion that has suddenly errupted in the background. I nod smilingly, understanding my room key's silver tag that is in the perfect shape of a dog bone. A financier who spent most of his time jet-setting between Geneva and London, Count Leonardi is today a happily retired man. Together with his English wife Jenifer, they devote time between managing their growing Casa Howard Empire and family life, which includes a troupe of lively dachshunds. "I feel uncomfortable in hotels, they are for corporate lodgers," states Leonardi candidly. "Casa Howard is about leisure and plesure. It is not a hotel but each a beautiful, intimate establishment giving personal service, where some typically hotel ideas, methods and services have been borrowed." [... read more p169, read more p170 ... ]

Website: The Travel Editor.com
Year: 2008
Guest house: Casa Howard Via Sistina Guesthouse
Review: "Behind the unmarked door of a secluded 19th-century palazzo, Massimiliano Leonardi and Jennifer Howard’s second-floor guest house is a home-from-home. There’s no concierge, just ‘house-genie’ Edgar, who shows you the ‘honesty fridge’, packed with cold drinks. In the five individually decorated bedrooms, the feel is high-style but never flash, with beautifully chosen furniture and objets d’art. There’s also an amazing Turkish hammam."

Guidebook: TimeOut Florence
Year: 2006
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "Where to Stay – Santa Maria Novella - Expensive. Casa Howard. The owner of this stylish pied-à-terre sets out to offer comfortable, upmarket accommodation at reasonable rates in the discrete atmosphere of a handsome mansion. The 12 rooms are classy and vaguely eccentric, decorated with strong colours and a mix of antique and custom-made furniture. Check online to choose the one you like best: the big, dramatic Drawing Room, perhaps, or maybe the Black and White Room, in which a blown-up reproduction of Monet’s Olympia covers one wall. Bathrooms are similarly quirky but well equipped, and come with Santa Maria Novella’s smellies. There’s even a Turkish bath on site, should you have overdone in on the sightseeing. Bookings are made through the original Rome branch. When is a Hotel not a Hotel? You may find yourself confused about the names given to the various categories of accommodation in Florence and Tuscany. Rules about this are established on a regional level, so they vary to some degree throughout Italy. In Florence, to be officially classed as a hotel (and therefore subject to a star classification), you must have seven or more rooms. To qualify as an affittacamere (literally “rooms to rent”), you can have no more than six rooms. Some are basically private houses with a couple of rooms for rent (unlike in the UK, most owners don’t live on site), while others are, to all intents and purposes, small hotels. Some more upmarket affittacamere are now allowed to class themselves as bed and breakfasts.
Residenza d’epoca is the term used for a listed building with no more than 12 rooms, while to call yourself a residence you must have a minimum of self-catering units. To add to the confusion, a number of establishments adopt certain names because they sound nice, but they may officially be classified as something else. There are ‘B&Bs’ in Florence, for example, that don’t actually serve breakfast.
In practice, though, these rules and regulations don’t really affect the average traveller – all you need to know is that you don’t have to stick to regular hotels if you want something with a bit more character."

Guidebook: TimeOut Rome
Year: 2006
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "The bad news is that, in Rome, space and comfort don't come cheap, but the good news is that many hotels in the high- and mid-range brackets have been given a much-needed makeover. [..] the ten rooms at the exquisite Casa Howard (five at via Capo le Case 18, another five at via Sistina 149)."

Guidebook: TimeOut Rome
Year: 2007
Guest house: Casa Howard Rome Guesthouses
Review: "Casa Howard started life as a beautiful residenza near Piazza di Spagna; in January 2003, Casa Howard II opened with five more rooms just round the corner. All rooms have been individually designed with a strong emphasis on quality. The new (and slightly more expensive) rooms in Via Sistina have en suite bathrooms; in Via Capo le Case, your (private) bathroom may be along the hall. There’s a Turkish bath and massages can be arranged."

Newspaper: Times
Year: 2005
Guest House: Casa Howard Florence
Review: "Casa Howard Florence - Casa Howard, which opened last month, comes with a good pedigree: it's the sister hotel of the highly popular (and quirky) property of the same name in Rome. Rooms are individually themed, their names telling you about the decor -- one is called Oriental, another is Black and White, another "Library" -- and each has original features such as marble fireplaces, heavy old wooden doors, parquet flooring and antiques. The style is a mixture of old and contemporary, with splashes of colour amid period pieces. There's also a large Turkish bath."

Newspaper: Sunday Times Travel
Year: 2005
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "What is hot? The elite guidebook Note Bene, for example, positively raves about Casa Howard's pair of flamboyant five-bedroom guesthouses in Rome even though some rooms are not even ensuite."

Newspaper Online: T&L Insider Guide
Year: 2004
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "Rome - Design diehards will love the flashy new rooms at Casa Howard (18 Via Capo le Case...)"

Magazine: Traveller UK - High Culture, Low Prices
Year: 2007
Guest house: Casa Howard Florence Guesthouse
Review: "In the cradle of the Renaissance, finding a place to lay your head can be an expensive business. Nicky Swallow tracks down five guesthouses that offer elegant accommodation and great value. The owner of Casa Howard, Massimiliano Leonardi, feels ‘uncomfortable’ in hotels. In fact you get the impression that he positively hates them, so don’t mention the H-word in association with his 12-room guesthouse. When Leonardi’s Florentine pied-à-terre first appeared in our annual Hot List, in 2005, the Champagne had barely chilled in the honesty bar. It has since settled in and become one of the best places in Florence to find a touch of luxury combined with the discrete atmosphere of a private home. The handsome palazzo is located between the train station and the centre of town. Its décor is stylish and vaguely eccentric, with an eclectic mix of furniture including custom-made pieces and selections from the family vaults. Fine fabrics and strong colors play a major role. The bedrooms, several with private terraces, are all very different, and the bathrooms, stocked with Santa Maria Novella products, are quirky and fun (in the Fireplace Room, you can watch TV soaking in a claw-footed bath). Unless you count the Turkish bath, there’s no public space to speak of, so breakfast (warm croissants and organic jam from Leonardi’s farm) is served in your room. ‘Honesty Fridges’ on each floor are stocked with Champagne, wine and soft drinks. ROOM TO BOOK. Very much a question of personal taste, mood and budget. If cost is an issue, go for one of the diminuitive Twin Rooms. If not, have a look at the website photos and take your pick. "

Magazine: Traveller UK
Year: 2005
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "When the first of these two stylish guest houses - collectively known as Casa Howard - opened on via Capo le Case in 2000, it launched the designer B&B wave in Rome. The formula is simple: take a large centro storico apartment and create five distinctive bedrooms inside, without sacrificing the family feel of the place. The second - also with five rooms - opened in 2003 on via Sistina. Owners Jenifer Howard Formeris and husband Massimiliano Leonardi di Casalino are sticklers for detail: fabrics are sourced from Hong Kong and Paris; breakfast (served in guests' rooms) consists of freshly-baked cornetti (sweet croissants) and home-made jam from the owners' Tuscan estate; soaps come from the historic Santa Maria Novella pharmacy in Florence. In via Capo le Case, the design scheme is ethno-chintzy, and only the Pink and Green rooms have en-suite bathrooms (kimonos and slippers are provided for padding down the corridor). In pricier via Sistina, architect Tommaso Ziffer was brought in to apply his retro-modern touch to the living room and bedrooms (rooms at Ziffer's only other Rome project, the Hotel de Russie, cost about four times as much). Both branches have small hammams, and via Sistina has broadband Internet connections in every room. Room to book: the boldly decorated Zebra room in via Sistina - but dress accordingly. "

Magazine: Traveller UK
Year: 2003
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "Hotels in Rome usually fall into one of two camps: forty-style grand palaces or dingy guesthouses with faded wallpaper and noisy pets. Casa Howard is neither. Located in a side street off the Spanish Steps, dangerously close to Gucci and Prada, the hotel resembles a private pied-à-terre. The five rooms all have individual color schemes, with fabrics from Paris (except the red silk in the Chinese room which was sourced from Shanghai Tang in Hong Kong) and antiques and paintings from the families of the owners Jennifer Howard-Forneris and her husband, Count Massimiliano Leonardi di Casalino. Breakfast is served in the rooms - expect hot cornetti (croissants) with jam from the owners' Tuscan farm. The hotel private Turkish Hammam will restore those exhausted from walking round the Eternal City."

Magazine: Traveller UK
Year: 2003
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "In 2000 Jennifer Forneris-Howard and Count Massimiliano Leopardi di Casalino turned a Roman flat into an intimate guesthouse, Casa Howard. Its success prompted the couple to open and a second property, sharing the same name. The interior designer is Tommaso Ziffer, who also worked on Rome's Hotel de Russie, and the five rooms are eccentric in style, from the Zebra Room (black-and-white prints on red walls) to the frenzied Flower Room. The hotel also has a Turkish bath."

Magazine: Traveler US
Year: 2001
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "Five minutes from the city's heart, on a side street that leads to the Piazza di Spagna, the Casa Howard takes up to two-third of the second floor of a historic building. Family owned, it has all the trappings of the apartment of a wealthy Roman. The five guest rooms, named for their color schemes, have hand-picked antiques and comfy linens. The Pink Room is larger and has a bathroom en-suite (each room has a bath, although some are located down the hall). The hotel has a private Turkish Hammam and, even better, a resident genie: Cristy who arranges everything from car-hire to dinner reservations."

Magazine: Traveler US
Year: 2003
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "Hotel stays are getting steamier by the minute as hammams, or Turkish baths, go global. In Rome, guests at tiny Casa Howard have long enjoyed a steam; now the owners opened another hammam hotel, this one on the via Sistina."

Magazine: Travel & Leisure
Year: 2002
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "Design diehards will love the five individually decorated rooms in the new annex at Casa Howard (via Sistina), the creation of Hotel de Russie architect Tommaso Ziffer. One is done up in black-and-white Op Art; another has clashing floral fabrics on everything including the padded walls. The five rooms in the original building (via Capo le Case) are more sedate (wood beams; parquet floors and checked fabrics). Despite the occasional drawback - some bathrooms lie accross a corridor, and the owner prefers a recommendation from a previous guest - the place is very popular so book well ahead."

Magazine: Viaggie e Sapori
Year: 2003
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation

Magazine: Viva
Year: 2006
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "If you love the idea of contemporary grandeur, fab central locations and a private "house" not a hotel, stay at...Casa Howard. Who do you know? If you want to stay at Casa Howard, better mention my name - a word of mouth recommendation is the only way to get a room (and it's a guest house not a hotel dahhling). Owners Jenifer Forneris-Howard and Massimiliano Leonardi di Casalino may seem to have delusions of grandeur, but they get away with it - after all he's an italian count, and she is the daughter of the famous textile designer Luciano Forneris. Social status aside, the 10 rooms, all individually themed are set in two gloriously old buildings, complete with the most wonderful, flamboyant interior designing imaginable. With its parquet flooring and family antiques mixed with modern touches and quirky extras, like a Turkish Hammam (enjoy it, it’s bigger than your box bathroom), perhaps it’s safest to say the style is a clash of old and new Italy, but my do we love it! When you’re quite finished being impressed by the sheer surface appeal, you’ll happily note that its location is of real significance too. Both houses are close to the Spanish Steps, of whose historical past we should really wax lyrical but all you really need to know is that you’re just minutes away from Prada, Missoni, Dolce & Gabbana et al. Let Jennifer and Massimiliano guide you to the city’s most superior stop-offs…"

Magazine: Vogue
Year: 2007
Guest House: Casa Howard Rome Accommodation
Review: "In Rome, designer Tommas Ziffer is responsible for the beautiful interiors of Casa Howard (casahoward.com), a guesthouse located on the second floor of an old palazzo on the via Sistina. Each of the five rooms has been individually designed, the overall effect being one of intimacy – of staying in a friend’s apartment, rather than a hotel. Ziffer’s Zebra Room combines black-and-white print fabrics with red gloss walls and floors – a look that nods to Seventies style while being bang up-to-date."