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 way 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 an enormous umbrella, we have been soaked after we reached the automotive. Again at Borgo dei Conti Resort, which simply emerged from the primary part of a major renovation, we become our swimsuits and headed right down to the spa. In any case, what might be higher than some spa time on a wet day?
Dario Garofalo/Courtesy of Borgo dei Conti
We walked by way of a rest 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 bushes, I noticed it was precisely what we wanted. In any case, “spa” is an acronym for the Latin phrase “salus per aquam,” which implies 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 interesting historical past that may be felt at each flip. Borgo dei Conti occupies the location of a Thirteenth-century fortress, but it surely 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 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 palms a number of instances, 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 bold challenge 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 greatest inns in Florence) — to run it.
My husband and I seized the chance to discover the property extra totally 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 have been turning yellow, and manicured hedges lined the pathways. Trying up on the turret, I felt like I had entered a fairytale. That’s one of many issues I like about visiting Umbria — the area referred to 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.
Borgo dei Conti Resort
- A whole renovation introduced a contemporary aptitude to the lodge’s design whereas preserving historic particulars like frescoes and wood-beamed ceilings.
- Rooms and suites are achieved up in muted, earthy colours and have bespoke furnishings and textiles.
- Two eating places provide superb eating and informal choices that valorize native substances and recipes.
- The enjoyable spa has a spacious moist space and an outside heated hydrotherapy pool.
- The lodge is situated on a 16-acre property with intensive gardens and woodlands, solely half-hour from Perugia.
The Rooms
Every little thing in regards to 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 unique picket beams on the ceilings, whereas others are adorned with frescoes, like those within the Contessa Suite that depict looking scenes.
All rooms have comfy 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 home made plum jam made with fruit grown on the property. Within the night, Govt 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 outside pool. Room service is out there 24/7.
Actions and Facilities
Dario Garofalo/Courtesy of Borgo dei Conti
The property provides varied outside 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 inside the park is the Casa della Contessa, a captivating little cottage the place the lodge’s workers can arrange romantic candlelit dinners. They’ll additionally arrange a picnic within the olive grove, truffle looking expertise, wine tastings, cooking lessons, and an outside cinema for motion pictures underneath the celebrities.
The Spa
Dario Garofalo/Courtesy of Borgo dei Conti
The spa is an expansive oasis of calm and wellbeing. You’ll undoubtedly wish to put aside a while to loosen up within the Finnish sauna and steam room, Himalayan salt room, emotional bathe, indoor jacuzzi, and outside hydrotherapy pool. Therapies embrace 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. 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 totally 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 luggage as a substitute of plastic.
Location
The lodge is situated within the countryside, about half-hour from Perugia, one in all Italy’s best-preserved medieval cities. The concierge can arrange 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 realm, renting a automotive is a good suggestion.
The best way to Get the Most Out of Your Keep
Borgo dei Conti is a member of Virtuoso, Advantageous Motels and Resorts, Signature, and Serendipians, and has associated advantages.