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

The water felt like a heat embrace as I immersed myself within the outside 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 wish to go away the pool. The mist simply made the setting appear much more magical.

Earlier that day, we trudged uphill in Perugia by means of the pouring rain. We had pushed about half an hour to have lunch at a comfortable restaurant and discover town, however even with rain jackets and a giant umbrella, we have been soaked once we reached the automobile. Again at Borgo dei Conti Resort, which simply emerged from the primary section of a major renovation, we became our swimsuits and headed right down to the spa. In spite of everything, what may very well be higher than some spa time on a wet day?

We walked by means of a leisure room and immersed ourselves within the indoor jacuzzi. The sauna and steam room beckoned, however we headed to the outside pool earlier than sundown. As I stared out on the olive timber, I noticed 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, they usually introduced their methods of life to Umbria lengthy earlier than it was a part of the fashionable nation of Italy.

This specific nook of Italy has a wealthy and interesting historical past that may be felt at each flip. Borgo dei Conti occupies the positioning of a Thirteenth-century fortress, however it started to take its present type within the nineteenth century, when Lemmo Rossi Scotti, Depend of Montepetriolo, reworked it into a country nation property the place he and his household might go to flee town. Rossi Scotti, a painter well-known for his panoramas of Perugia and portraits of 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 Depend Rossi Scotti. After an preliminary 2010 renovation, they launched into an even bigger and extra formidable undertaking to rework the lodge into among the best 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 resorts 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 timber have 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 marvel in each place you go.

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

The Rooms

All the pieces concerning the rooms and suites at Borgo dei Conti conveys a powerful 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 authentic 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 fire, wood-beamed ceilings, and antiques, a separate bed room with ceiling frescoes, and a copper bathtub within the spacious toilet.

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 liked 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 sturdy flavors. The informal Osteria del Borgo serves conventional Umbrian delicacies and Neapolitan pizza on a laid-back terrace overlooking the outside pool. Room service is out there 24/7.

Actions and Facilities

The property affords varied outside actions that immerse you within the Umbrian countryside and traditions. Other than enjoyable by the pool, you possibly can 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 will additionally set up a picnic within the olive grove, truffle searching expertise, wine tastings, cooking courses, and an out of doors cinema for motion pictures underneath the celebs.

The Spa

The spa is an expansive oasis of calm and wellbeing. You’ll positively wish to put aside a while to calm down within the Finnish sauna and steam room, Himalayan salt room, emotional bathe, indoor jacuzzi, and outside hydrotherapy pool. Remedies embrace massages, facials, manicures, and pedicures.

Household-friendly Choices

Children are welcomed with family-friendly actions like climbing, biking, tennis, picnics, and visiting the apiary and vegetable gardens. Employees-led childcare is out there for kids over 3 for just a few hours each day. Whereas there aren’t technically any connecting rooms, households can e book adjoining rooms with a hallway door they will 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 tub merchandise within the rooms and cotton baggage as a substitute of plastic.

Location

The lodge is situated within the countryside, about half-hour from Perugia, considered one of Italy’s best-preserved medieval cities. The concierge can set up 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 embrace Lake Trasimeno, Solomeo (Brunello Cucinelli’s cashmere manufacturing unit), Assisi, and Orvieto. If you wish to discover the world, renting a automobile is a good suggestion.

How one can Get the Most Out of Your Keep

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