This Reborn Lodge Feels Like a Fairytale Fort Set in Italy’s Inexperienced Coronary heart

The water felt like a heat embrace as I immersed myself within the out of doors hydrotherapy pool on a cool autumn day. I let the water from the jets therapeutic massage my legs, watching my husband because the water from one other jet pounded his shoulders and higher again. Even when it began drizzling, we didn’t need to go away the pool. The mist simply made the setting appear much more magical.

Earlier that day, we trudged uphill in Perugia via the pouring rain. We had pushed about half an hour to have lunch at a comfy restaurant and discover the town, however even with rain jackets and a giant umbrella, we had been soaked after we reached the automotive. Again at Borgo dei Conti Resort, which simply emerged from the primary section of a major renovation, we turned into our swimsuits and headed all the way down to the spa. In spite of everything, what might be higher than some spa time on a wet day?

We walked via a rest room and immersed ourselves within the indoor jacuzzi. The sauna and steam room beckoned, however we headed to the out of doors pool earlier than sundown. As I stared out on the olive bushes, I spotted it was precisely what we wanted. In spite of everything, “spa” is an acronym for the Latin phrase “salus per aquam,” which suggests well being by water. The traditional Romans realized it two millennia in the past, and so they introduced their methods of life to Umbria lengthy earlier than it was a part of the fashionable nation of Italy.

This explicit nook of Italy has a wealthy and engaging historical past that may be felt at each flip. Borgo dei Conti occupies the location of a Thirteenth-century fortress, nevertheless it started to take its present kind within the nineteenth century, when Lemmo Rossi Scotti, Rely of Montepetriolo, reworked it into a country nation property the place he and his household may go to flee the town. Rossi Scotti, a painter well-known for his panoramas of Perugia and portraits of the town’s excessive society, added the neo-gothic limonaia and planted the gardens.

In subsequent years, the property modified arms a number of occasions, however when the Babini household acquired it in 2002, they set about restoring it to its glory days, impressed by Rely Rossi Scotti. After an preliminary 2010 renovation, they launched into a much bigger and extra formidable undertaking to remodel the lodge into probably the greatest resorts in Umbria. They tapped Milan-based agency Spagnulo & Companions to renovate the property and The Hospitality Expertise — the hospitality group behind The Place Firenze (one of many finest inns in Florence) — to run it.

My husband and I seized the chance to discover the property extra absolutely the next day when the solar lastly got here out. After breakfast at Cedri, we roamed the grounds surrounding the villa. Within the park behind the lodge, the leaves on the bushes had been turning yellow, and manicured hedges lined the pathways. Wanting up on the turret, I felt like I had entered a fairytale. That’s one of many issues I really like about visiting Umbria — the area often known as Italy’s inexperienced coronary heart — historical past is palpable and instills a way of surprise in each place you go.

Learn on for my full assessment of the reimagined Borgo dei Conti Resort.

The Rooms

Every thing concerning the rooms and suites at Borgo dei Conti conveys a robust sense of place, from the muted colours — sage inexperienced, grey, and shades of brown — to the curtains and headboards that includes designs impressed by medieval Umbrian textiles. Some rooms have unique picket beams on the ceilings, whereas others are embellished with frescoes, like those within the Contessa Suite that depict searching scenes.

All rooms have snug beds, Nespresso machines, and complimentary non-alcoholic drinks within the minibars. The crème de la crème is the Conti Suite, which has a sitting room with a big hearth, wood-beamed ceilings, and antiques, a separate bed room with ceiling frescoes, and a copper bathtub within the spacious rest room.

Meals and Drink

The lodge has two eating places and a bar. Cedri, the connoisseur restaurant, serves breakfast and dinner within the villa’s historic limonaia. I beloved the do-it-yourself plum jam made with fruit grown on the property. Within the night, Government Chef Emanuele Mazzetta serves elegant tasting menus and pasta, risotto, meat, and fish, which can be found a la carte.

My risotto with goat cheese and 22 Mediterranean herbs was gentle and delicate, whereas my husband’s lamb had extra strong flavors. The informal Osteria del Borgo serves conventional Umbrian delicacies and Neapolitan pizza on a laid-back terrace overlooking the out of doors pool. Room service is obtainable 24/7.

Actions and Facilities

The property affords varied out of doors actions that immerse you within the Umbrian countryside and traditions. Other than enjoyable by the pool, you may discover the 16-acre park on foot or by bike. Deep throughout the park is the Casa della Contessa, an enthralling little cottage the place the lodge’s employees can arrange romantic candlelit dinners. They’ll additionally manage a picnic within the olive grove, truffle searching expertise, wine tastings, cooking lessons, and an outside cinema for films underneath the celebrities.

The Spa

The spa is an expansive oasis of calm and wellbeing. You’ll undoubtedly need to put aside a while to chill out within the Finnish sauna and steam room, Himalayan salt room, emotional bathe, indoor jacuzzi, and out of doors hydrotherapy pool. Remedies embody massages, facials, manicures, and pedicures.

Household-friendly Choices

Youngsters are welcomed with family-friendly actions like mountain climbing, biking, tennis, picnics, and visiting the apiary and vegetable gardens. Workers-led childcare is obtainable for kids over 3 for just a few hours every day. Whereas there aren’t technically any connecting rooms, households can ebook adjoining rooms with a hallway door they’ll shut for privateness.

Accessibility and Sustainability

There are ADA-compliant rooms, and all public areas, together with the pool and spa, are absolutely accessible. The lodge follows Relais & Châteaux’s sustainability tips, which set up measures for environmental conservation, sustainable delicacies, and social empowerment. Borgo dei Conti grows its personal greens and herbs and produces honey on-site. The property goals to scale back single-use plastic utilizing aluminum tubes for bathtub merchandise within the rooms and cotton baggage as an alternative of plastic.

Location

The lodge is positioned within the countryside, about half-hour from Perugia, considered one of Italy’s best-preserved medieval cities. The concierge can manage visits to the Museo Atelier Giuditta Brozzetti, a historic textile workshop, and the Studio Moretti Caselli, a family-run stained glass studio in Perugia, in addition to visits to close by wineries and olive oil mills. Different factors of curiosity embody Lake Trasimeno, Solomeo (Brunello Cucinelli’s cashmere manufacturing unit), Assisi, and Orvieto. If you wish to discover the world, renting a automotive is a good suggestion.

How you can Get the Most Out of Your Keep

Borgo dei Conti is a member of Virtuoso, Superb Inns and Resorts, Signature, and Serendipians, and has associated advantages.