Borgo Santo Pietro, Tuscany
Best for seed-to-skin treatments straight from a Tuscan garden
Dine on expertly crafted spaghetti alla vongole, a nod to the nearby Pisa coast
Rolling vineyards, rows of ancient poplars, walled gardens where love seats are tucked away under fragrant pergolas: Borgo Santo Pietro is something of a Tuscan fantasy. Hide out here at this bolthole borgo (hamlet), as many holidaying Hollywood actors do, and there’s all the bella vita ingredients you’ll ever need. The on-site cookery school provides classes in Tuscan cuisine led by local food legend, Mamma Olga, tailored tutorials in fine dining from chef Andrea Ferrari, and pizza-making for kids. Borgo’s love of homegrown ingredients extends to the spa. Its new Seed to Skin holistic range, hewn from the 12th-century estate’s herb gardens, have been crafted to aid cell regeneration (and are recently available in Liberty London). Visit the Skincare Lab, a shop-cum-laboratory, to consult Borgo’s skin scientists, and sample products made from 100% raw ingredients, including butterfat and the nectar of 1,000 Tuscan flowers. Spa treatments employ the products from facials to massages, with the option to augment their natural aromas by booking a curtained bed in the spa’s flower gardens. The signature massage (£195 for 90 minutes) was deeply relaxing, with shea butter leaving skin hydrated days later. Next year: a spa complex with suites, an indoor pool, and hydro-thermal area. The basic Seed to Skin range – shampoo, soap and conditioner – is found in all guest rooms, along with chandeliers, plump beds, freestanding baths, and open fires – both indoors and in the walled gardens where loungers beg you to linger. But don’t stay put. Wander the estate’s vineyard and organic farm. Within the formal gardens it’s nought but serenity – the rustle of trees and tinkle of water fountains. The infinity pool and hot tub are equally as organiclooking, appearing to merge with Tuscan hills. Nature reigns supreme everywhere. The trattoria has a 500-year-old oak tree growing through its centre, where you can dine on expertly crafted cacciucco alla livornese (a rich fish stew) and spaghetti alla vongole – a nod to the nearby Pisa coast – while house-made pastas with wild boar and porcini exemplifies an old-fashioned Tuscan kitchen. Meo Modo, the Michelin-starred domain of Andrea Mattei, has a farmhouse kitchen-style setting that doubles as the breakfast room, where a heaving buffet of home-baked cakes, cured Tuscan meats, fruits and yogurts are complemented by a menu of cooked dishes served against that backdrop of gardens, orchards and vines. Sarah Barrell
How to do it
A double room costs from £476, including breakfast (borgosantopietro.com). Rhinocarhire.com offers a week’s car rental from Pisa/florence airports from £49.