Resort Castelfalfi: Offers Tuscan hospitality in a nutshell

If there's a place in the Italian countryside that says Tuscan hospitality in a nutshell, Resort Castelfalfi is surely it. Inhabiting the evocative buildings of an 800-year-old estate once owned by the Medici family but abandoned in the 1960s, it's home to scattered villa stays, the four-star boutique hotel La Tabaccaia, more than 1000 hectares of vineyards and olive groves as well as lakes and woods, the biggest golf course in Tuscany, and at its centre, the restored castle, housing La Rocca restaurant run by Michelin-starred chef Michele Rinaldi.

Now the resort is also home to Il Castelfalfi Tui Blu, a new build, 120-room, five-star hotel. Upholding the Tuscan tradition with sympathetic materials, particularly on the exterior, it is undeniably contemporary, with clean lines, large spaces and modern sustainability at its core. It features its own fine dining Italian restaurant, La Via del Sale, with an extensive wine collection, and two bars: Il Giglio Blu, overlooking the outdoor swimming pool, and Ecru, in the hotel's lobby.

A huge amount of space is given over to wellness and fitness with La Spa indoor wellness centre including an indoor-outdoor pool, treatment rooms, and a variety of areas designed for relaxation and rejuvenation including a tearoom, sauna, bio sauna, steam bath and a 185-square-metre gym. Guests also have access to Toscana Resort Castelfalfi's extensive amenities, including the 27-hole Golf Club Castelfalfi, regarded as one of the most challenging in Italy, tennis courts, cooking school, and activities such as truffle hunting and tasting the estate-produced wine.

Rooms from €320. See castelfalfi.com