Did you know that some of the best wine resorts in the world are hidden in the Tuscan countryside? While you can eat and drink to your heart’s delight at some of the best hotels in the Rhone or Loire valley of France, Italy offers a slightly warmer climate and the Italian joy of living that you won’t find anywhere else.
Italian wine resorts offer acres of vineyards, olives groves, and forests, spectacular views, and all housed in historic Italian Estates. Many also offer wonderful swimming pools to cool off in after a hard day of discovering wines. In this review, we select the top 10 best wine resorts in Italy.
1. Conti di San Bonifacio Wine Resort
Hidden in the beautiful Tuscan countryside is Conti di San Bonifacio Wine Resort (pictured above). Located in an estate filled with vineyards, olive groves, and forests, this superb resort offers spectacular views from its hilltop location.
The estate lies across 125 hectares of the enchanting Tuscan countryside. The buildings are in keeping with the traditional Tuscan style – all designed and built by local craftsmen, and the décor is luxurious but Italian-designed luxury, so extra chic.
A warm, stylish interior mixes chestnut beams, terracotta floors, and white cow skin rugs. It’s hard not to keep coming back to those breathtaking views. Your dining is outdoors on beautiful terraces, your swimming pool and the outside bar area all give you a fantastic view of the vast landscape that surrounds you.
There are just 7 rooms in this exclusive resort. Each offers something special, be it a four-poster bed, marble bathroom, private terrace with sun loungers, or a hilltop position. The Conti di San Bonifacio Suite with Terrace would perhaps be my preference, mainly because the four-poster bed adds a romantic air and also because, at 60 m², it’s huge!
All rooms and suites offer 45cm deep Sealy pillow top “cloud experience” mattresses, Egyptian cotton linens, luxury bathrobes, air-conditioning, LCD satellite TV, complimentary Wi-Fi, personal safe, and minibar.
It somehow seems to me all the more vital that your food and wine be rather special when you are in the middle of nowhere and Conti di San Bonifacio more than delivers in this regard; the restaurant Maremmana serves delicious, locally sourced Tuscan food and it is perfectly accompanied by their award-winning wines. There is a wine bar in the library as well as the Vineyard bar outside.
The beautiful swimming pool is surrounded by natural wooden planking and lots of comfortable sun loungers, but the main attraction to accompany your dip will always be the sensational views. A beauty suite is available for your wellness needs, and the hillside makes the most amazing location for yoga classes.
There is a fabulous range of wine-related activities available on the estate itself, including tasting, creating your own blend, and a complete wine experience where you find out exactly what it’s like to be a winemaker. Beyond the wine, you can enjoy archery, quad biking, Vespa rental, local winery tours, sailing, offshore fishing, guided nature treks, horseback riding, golf, Italian lessons, gelato workshop, hot air ballooning – the list goes on.
For a real hideaway escape during your Tuscany adventure, Conti di San Bonifacio Wine Resort really offers the complete package; luxury, irresistible views, plus, of course, amazing food and wine.
You can reach Conti di San Bonifacio Wine Resort by flying into either Pisa or Florence and then transferring by car.
2. Relais Il Falconiere & Spa
Surrounded by olive trees and vineyards in the heart of the Tuscan countryside, the Relais Il Falconiere & Spa stands on a hill around Cortona, about 3 km from the city center.
This splendid seventeenth-century mansion has been beautifully restored and has been owned by the Baracchi family since 1860. The 23 rooms are elegantly furnished in a regional style and overlook the lush countryside of Cortona. Some are located in the Villa, some are adjacent to the Chapel, and others in the Cottage and offer their guests the most modern comforts. Wine lovers should pick the unique winery master suite.
Surrounded by the beauty of nature, the Thesan Etruscan Spa offers massages, beauty treatments, baths, and well-being paths.
The 1 Michelin Star restaurant offers traditional Tuscan cuisine, deeply tied to the land and its traditions, with dishes prepared with only fresh products. During warm periods, the splendid panoramic terrace offers the perfect setting for romantic dinners by candlelight. All dishes are accompanied by fine wines, including those produced by the winery of the Baracchi family.
Guests can relax with a drink by the pool, on the terrace, or in the garden, enjoying the tranquillity of the countryside. A stroll through the vineyards followed by a wine tasting is a great way to spend an afternoon, and you can tour local vineyards for a week without having to visit the same vineyard twice!
3. Borgo dei Conti Resort
Along the road between Perugia and Città della Pieve lies Borgo dei Conti, an exclusive resort as glorious as the surrounding terroir. A bucolic village with origins as a 12th-century fortress, the 55-room Borgo nestles within a 50-acre park shaded by hundreds of olive trees.
This region is brimming with natural resources, fruit and vegetables, freshwater fish, mushrooms, truffles, wines, and even mineral water. The Restaurant “La Limonaia” obtained from the ancient ballroom and the original dèhors from the 19th Century. It offers national and regional dishes prepared with extreme attention to the passage of the seasons and the freshness of local products.
Two pools let you soak in the views over Umbria’s rolling hills. An outdoor Jacuzzi covered by removable panels lets you bathe year-round in the fragrant gardens. Play billiards or tennis, stroll around the grounds, and watch the years disappear with a cutting-edge facial treatment. Expect Umbrian dining at its finest.
In terms of activities, the hotel can arrange truffle hunts and wine tastings, as well as cookery courses. There’s so much to see in Umbria, including some of Italy’s finest wineries and the nearby historic city of Perugia. Borgo dei Conti is the perfect “home base” from which to explore everything Umbria has to offer.
4. Four Seasons Florence
Four Seasons Florence is definitely one of the best wine and wellness resorts in Italy, and although it isn’t set amongst vineyards, it offers a great selection of wines. It is ideally located a short drive from all the vineyards of Tuscany and a walk (be it longish) from the center of Florence.
The hotel spreads out between the main building – 15th-century Palazzo della Gherardesca – and La Villa, a sixteenth-century former convent on the other side of the eleven-acre park, the largest private garden in Florence, which houses a gorgeous pool.
The 116 rooms are individually decorated with oodles of silk, velvet, marble, and lots of antique furniture. The opulent main restaurant, Il Palagio, is real and Tuscan. The poolside trattoria/pizzeria Al Fresco, open when weather permits, offers simpler trattoria dishes, pizza, and grilled meat or fish. The glass-roofed Atrium bar, ably presided over by bar manager Massimiliano Prili and barista Luca Angeli, is a Florentine smart-set venue for tea, aperitifs, cocktails, and, of course, fine local Tuscan wines!
5. Relais Borgo Santo Pietro
Out of the way and out of this world, Relais Borgo Santo Pietro is the Tuscan retreat of your dreams. Follow a cypress-lined drive to this romantic 20-room boutique hotel and estate, where luxury meets seclusion with a sumptuously private garden and pool suites.
Amble amongst the 13 acres of fragrant gardens, lounge by the infinity pool with spectacular views over the Valle Serena, or enjoy a spa treatment made using freshly picked ingredients. Their Chefs’ farm-to-plate approach uses the estate’s own organic harvest and has earned Meo Modo restaurant a Michelin star; learn kitchen secrets at the on-site cooking school.
Borgo Santo Pietro’s wine cellar, situated below their thirteenth-century villa, plays host to nearly 1250 prestigious and boutique labels.
6. Castello Di Casole
Castello Di Casole offers more than 100 acres of vineyards, frequent wine tours and events, and an estate-grown red wine blend, Castello di Casole, made for Italian wine lovers. The wine experience is particularly evident whenever you dine at Ristorante Tosca, where a large wall displays hundreds of vintages from leading wineries in Tuscany and around the world.
At the heart of this vast, vibrant, and vital estate is a storied castle that dates back to the year 998. Your arrival will be through a cypress-lined lane that leads to the elegant courtyard. Here, you will be welcomed into this five-star boutique hotel.
With 41 private suites in a range of sizes and styles to accommodate the unique needs and tastes of all who visit. Each suite effortlessly combines Old World Tuscan charm with modern boutique luxury, elegance, and sophistication, including fabrics, fixtures, and furnishings from the most acclaimed designers in Italy and throughout Europe. Steps away are a mesmerizing spa, state-of-the-art fitness center, indoor and outdoor dining, inspired activities, and everything your family could hope for – all backed by attentive services provided by Timbers Resorts.
7. Il Borgo At Castello Banfi
Il Borgo At Castello Banfi is one of the largest wine estates in Tuscany. More recently, it opened its very own hotel, Il Borgo. The styling for the hotel was created by Federico Forquet, who also gets credit for the Caruso in Ravello, the Villa San Michele in Fiesole, and now Il Borgo.
The 14-room hilltop property was built in the 1700s to lodge farmworkers and household staff serving the eighth-century castle just above it. The hotel’s hilltop location offers extravagant views and a sense of privileged isolation. Within the castle are a reading room, a museum with the largest private collection of ancient Roman glassware in the world, and a spectacular courtyard where jazz concerts are held in the summer. Also on offer are a beautiful swimming pool, cloisters curtained in wisteria, and a historic ambiance so perfect that Disney could have created it.
8. Pratello Country Resort
Pratello Country Resort is not specifically a wine resort, but is none-the-less a perfect retreat set in an 18th-century hamlet and located in the center of a 320-hectare wildlife park with woodlands, olive groves, and unique views.
The heart of Pratello Country Resort is the precious garden, a jewel of architecture and nature built in the classic Tuscan style. The green design creates natural, charming geometries in which you are able to discover green corners. Olive groves, fields, hills, and forests are the natural frame of the most romantic corner of Pratello, where you can admire enchanting sunsets. The infinity pool, with views of rolling Tuscan hills, is available for guests of the Resort every day until sunset. Next to the pool is the Pool Bar, where you can have drinks and a light lunch.
Pratello Country Resort morning begins with a rich and elegant buffet in front of the superb view. Before dinner, take an aperitif alfresco to enjoy the views or enjoy it at the delightful lounge bar named Le Scuderie, or if you prefer, enjoy an after-dinner cocktail. At night, the kitchen specializes in Tuscan cuisine. Fresh pasta, exclusive dishes based on game, truffles, and seasonal fresh products can be enjoyed in the beautiful dining room or outdoors under the stars. The cellar offers a good selection of Chianti Classico, Chianti Riserva wines, and Super Tuscans, such as Tignanello. Brunello di Montalcino, Nobile di Montepulciano, and a small selection of white wines to complete it.
10. Villa Roma Imperiale
Sophisticated travelers flock to the town of Forte dei Marm, on the Tuscan coast, for its azure seas, sandy beaches, and views of the Apuan Alps. But this coastal location is only a short drive from the many vineyards of Tuscany.
Villa Roma Imperiale is well-loved for its bright accommodations, sunny colors (and disposition), and flower-bedecked grounds, and proximity to the beach and the vineyards inland. This exclusive villa is just steps from the beach and the town center.
Breakfast is available in your room or on the beautiful patio with an amazing view of the pool, and a small menu tempts with Mediterranean-style salads throughout the day. In the evening, mingle with other guests in the lounge or bar, enjoying conversation and cocktails or a bottle of the local, excellent wine.
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