Overall, the two are within a point of each other.
Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi for the location, Four Seasons Hotel Firenze for the rooms.
Fat Legend, 18 out of 20. Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi
Fat Favorite, 17.5 out of 20. Four Seasons Hotel FirenzeTokyo, Japan · Four Seasons
Steps from Tokyo Station and multiple subway lines, opposite the Imperial Palace gardens.
A 190-room Four Seasons on the top floors of an Otemachi tower, facing the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station.
Read the full verdictFlorence, Italy · Four Seasons
A 15th-century palazzo with frescoed ceilings and an eleven-acre garden, plus newer rooms in Palazzo del Nero that still feel Renaissance rather than renovated.
A Renaissance palazzo hotel in Florence set within eleven acres of private gardens near the historic centre.
Read the full verdictOut of 20
Overall +0.5
Overall: Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi 18 out of 20, Four Seasons Hotel Firenze 17.5 out of 20.Service +1 Why
Service: Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi 19 out of 20, Four Seasons Hotel Firenze 18 out of 20.Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi: Guests describe front desk staff by name arranging surprise cakes, doctors, and window messages, with check-in often handled in the room itself.
Four Seasons Hotel Firenze: Staff get thanked by name constantly, from concierge to doormen to the pool team, though one checked-in guest got an unusually hard upgrade pitch.
Rooms & Design +1 Why
Rooms & Design: Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi 17.5 out of 20, Four Seasons Hotel Firenze 18.5 out of 20.Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi: Rooms run large for Tokyo with floor-to-ceiling windows over the Imperial Palace, though a few call the decor more minimalist and cooler than other Four Seasons.
Four Seasons Hotel Firenze: A 15th-century palazzo with frescoed ceilings and an eleven-acre garden, plus newer rooms in Palazzo del Nero that still feel Renaissance rather than renovated.
Location +3 Why
Location: Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi 18 out of 20, Four Seasons Hotel Firenze 15 out of 20.Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi: Steps from Tokyo Station and multiple subway lines, opposite the Imperial Palace gardens, though a couple of guests found it removed from Ginza’s buzz.
Four Seasons Hotel Firenze: A genuine walk, not a stroll, to the Duomo and the Uffizi, which some guests count as the whole appeal and others count against it.
Dining +1 Why
Dining: Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi 18 out of 20, Four Seasons Hotel Firenze 17 out of 20.Four Seasons Hotel Firenze: Il Palagio holds a Michelin star and breakfast gets consistent praise, though poolside food and the base buffet read as afterthoughts.
Wellness +1 Why
Wellness: Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi 18 out of 20, Four Seasons Hotel Firenze 17 out of 20.Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi: The pool and onsen looking over the skyline are a recurring highlight, though one guest found the spa’s steel tub and rules too clinical for comfort.
Four Seasons Hotel Firenze: One of Florence’s largest hotel spas plus a big outdoor pool, with a modern gym guests single out for its equipment.
Strengths of Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi
Strengths of Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
Trade-offs of Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi
Trade-offs of Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
Only at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi
Only at Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
Guests get escorted straight to the 39th-floor lobby and checked in without ever standing at a desk, and the service keeps surprising people who've stayed at a dozen Four Seasons before. The stories pile up: a front desk agent arranging an English-speaking doctor and off-menu chicken broth for a guest with food poisoning, a concierge team coordinating an entire week of reservations over WhatsApp before the flight even landed. Breakfast gets called the best in Tokyo often enough that it's worth building a morning around, and Virtu, the bar off the lobby, has a following of its own.
Where it gets more mixed: the rooms lean minimalist rather than warm, which a few guests flag as un-Four-Seasons, and the lobby sitting six floors up means two separate elevators to reach a room, which reads as fussy after a long flight. One guest found the spa's steel-lined pool and rules-heavy vibe more clinical than relaxing. And the address, ten minutes from Tokyo Station rather than in the middle of Ginza or Shibuya, splits opinion: some love the quiet, some call it inconvenient for transit despite the subway lines underneath the building. Janu Tokyo, the newer arrival at Azabudai Hills, comes up constantly as the alternative — better suites, weaker views, no age minimum at this pool versus most others.
Book it if you want a Tokyo base that treats you like a regular by day two and don't need to be in the middle of Shibuya's noise. The views of the Imperial Palace and, on clear days, Mount Fuji, are hard to argue with at any price.
The garden is the thing: eleven acres of it, walled off from the rest of Florence, with pheasants and a Renaissance chapel tucked inside, turning a stay in a loud, crowded city into something closer to a week at a country estate. The palazzo itself earns the comparison too: frescoed ceilings, carved stone, courtyards that guests keep calling a living museum, and that's before the newer rooms in Palazzo del Nero, which manage to feel fresh without losing the character. The staff are the other half of the case - concierge teams tracking down last-minute Uffizi tickets in peak season, a waiter at the pool restaurant who gets remembered by name years later, a front desk that replaced a too-firm mattress without a fuss.
Price it in honestly: this is a twenty-minute walk from the historic center, not the five-minute stroll some other Florence addresses offer, and a few travelers who prioritize being in the thick of it count that against the hotel. One guest's honeymoon check-in involved a surprisingly pushy suite upsell that read as tone-deaf rather than discreet, and the air conditioning has drawn more than one complaint in peak summer heat, loud enough in at least one room to disrupt sleep. None of that is rare at this price point, but it's worth knowing before you book a room without confirming the AC is working properly.
Book it for families: the garden, the pool, and a staff that treats children like actual guests make this one of the easiest full-luxury stays in Italy with kids in tow. Solo travelers or couples chasing a five-minute walk to the Duomo might be happier elsewhere in the city, but for anyone who wants a retreat that still puts Florence within reach, this is the one to pick.
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Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi: Steps from Tokyo Station and multiple subway lines, opposite the Imperial Palace gardens. Four Seasons Hotel Firenze: A 15th-century palazzo with frescoed ceilings and an eleven-acre garden, plus newer rooms in Palazzo del Nero that still feel Renaissance rather than renovated.
Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi is ahead on where it puts you. Four Seasons Hotel Firenze is ahead on the rooms. Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi adds Design, Culinary and Japanese Design; Four Seasons Hotel Firenze adds Heritage, Architecture, Family and Italian Design. Both are tagged Urban and Wellness.
Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi leads on this. Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi: Steps from Tokyo Station and multiple subway lines, opposite the Imperial Palace gardens, though a couple of guests found it removed from Ginza’s buzz. Four Seasons Hotel Firenze: A genuine walk, not a stroll, to the Duomo and the Uffizi, which some guests count as the whole appeal and others count against it.
Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi leads on this. Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi: Guests describe front desk staff by name arranging surprise cakes, doctors, and window messages, with check-in often handled in the room itself. Four Seasons Hotel Firenze: Staff get thanked by name constantly, from concierge to doormen to the pool team, though one checked-in guest got an unusually hard upgrade pitch.
Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi is in Tokyo, Japan; Four Seasons Hotel Firenze is in Florence, Italy.
Neither: Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi and Four Seasons Hotel Firenze both hold Three Michelin Keys in the Michelin Guide’s 2026 hotel selection. The Keys come from the guide’s own anonymous inspections and are separate from the Fat Score.
