Dreaming of a Tuscan Vacay? Here's Your Spot
When my husband and I first met, we made a bucket list of spots we wanted to go together, and Tuscany was high up at the top, naturally. We're normally pretty chill, down-for-whatever travelers, but we'd always had ~grand visions~ of a Tuscan retreat, and we wanted to get ours right. This was not the time to book a random Airbnb that “looks cute” and hope for the best…we wanted to be sure we were putting ourselves in the absolute *perfect* spot to take in all of the wine, rolling hills, cypress trees, olive groves, pasta, and Negroni-infused epicness Tuscany has to offer.
That's why, when I got invited to stay at Borgo Santo Pietro, a 13th-century luxury villa set on 300 acres of working farmland in the heart of Tuscany, I jumped at the opportunity. And you guys, it was exactly what we wanted. I can 100 percent confirm that Borgo Santo Pietro is the quintessential homebase for all of your Tuscan vacay dreams. Here's how to make the most of your time there if you want to get in on the magic...
Stay
Borgo Santo Pietro truly has everything you could possibly want in a luxe Italian countryside retreat...and then some. Run by a Danish couple who fell in love with the Tuscan way of living back in the early 2000s, the boutique hotel and estate has 22 rustic-chic rooms and suites (complete with private pools, vintage chandeliers, and clawfoot bathtubs), multiple farm-to-table restaurants, vineyards, an infinity pool, Vespas on hand to cruise around the hillside, 13 acres of gardens, a fermentation lab, a dairy farm, an herb house, a holistic spa with its own made-in-house skincare line, and, perhaps most importantly, enough open skies to dream and soak it all in. The best time to go is in the summer or early fall (they're open from May 15 to the end of October, which is prime), so you should start thinking about booking it for next year—it fills up fast!
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Take a tour of the farm: Borgo Santo Pietro is focused on sustainability in a big way, doing everything from employing members of the local community to growing and preserving their own food to sourcing the wool for their blankets from their very own alpacas. And on any of their various farm tours, you’ll get to see all of that BTS sustainability magic up close. I was particularly impressed with their vegetable and herb gardens (they grow 200 different kinds of veggies and 50 varieties of herbs!) and their on-site fermentation lab, not to mention their huge crop of adorable—and v useful—farm animals. Aside from the aforementioned alpacas, they’ve got lots of sheep (a flock of 300, to be exact), pigs, free-range chickens, hens, roosters, turkeys, and even peacocks. The staff also puts on daily sheep-milking, cheese-making, and beekeeping demos so you can see how they make their dairy and honey, and you can even sign up to help hand collect fresh eggs each morning.
Visit the Seed to Skin lab: Yep, that’s right—BSP has their own natural skincare line made in house. Launched in 2018 by Borgo’s owner Jeanette Thottrup (who is also a naturalist), and Dr. Anna Buonocore, a local pharmacist and cosmetologist, the natural Seed to Skin line—which includes everything from face masks to serums to cleansers to eye creams—incorporates many of the local herbs and raw honey and sheep’s milk that are grown and produced on the farm. When you visit the lab, you can watch it all being made...and then go use it yourself. The property puts homemade Seed to Skin shampoo and conditioner in each of the guest rooms, and they use their own products in their spa treatments as well, aka it is 100 percent a farm-to-face situation. They all smell amazing, too (think rosemary, lavender, jasmine, rose, neroli, etc.). Highly rec bringing a haul of products home...my husband and I still have Borgo spa nights in our apartment whenever we want to be transported back to Tuscany!
Go for a bike ride to the local swimming hole: Considering that Tuscany is known for its fresh, natural spring water (I am legit obsessed with Acqua Panna, the best bottled water there), you MUST take a refreshing dip while you’re there. Borgo’s got you covered—you can either take one of their bikes out or walk to the local River Merse, where there’s a perfect swimming hole spot with crystal-clear water and gorgeous greenery all around. The hotel will even set up a private picnic for you if you want! (And speaking of bikes, you can also take one of the hotel’s classic red Vespas out for a spin for your true Italian countryside moment.)
Wander through all of the relaxing gardens: If there’s one thing I dream about the most when I think back to my time at Borgo, it’s the landscaped gardens. They are *heavenly*, and there are tons of them around every corner, from the fancy manicured kind with trickling water fountains and statues to the zen spa kind overflowing with fresh lavender and rosemary and water lilies. There’s even a lemon-tree garden for all you citrus lovers out there (hi, me).
Take a cooking class or workshop: When in Tuscany, right? Borgo Santo Pietro offers all sorts of Italian cooking lessons at their Borgo Cooking School, from pizza-making classes to pasta-making classes to dessert and chocolate-making classes. They even have a fermentation lab course, where you can learn how to ferment and preserve your own food (#sustainability!), and aromatherapy and herbal therapy workshops as well. Full disclosure: My husband and I did not get around to taking one of these classes, but we regret not making that happen, so I’m putting it out there to make sure you don’t make the same mistake we did!
Eat
Trattoria sull’Albero: This is the casual and insanely delicious trattoria you came for. Set in a rustic, treehouse-inspired space (i.e. the floor is built around a giant oak tree in the middle of the restaurant), Trattoria sull’Albero delivers on both the food and the gorgeous views of the sprawling vineyard below. And thanks to the open kitchen, you can watch the trattoria’s resident pizzaiolo twirl the pizzas like a true pro before sliding them into the wood-fired oven. Every dish is incredible here, but my favorites were the cappelletti di ricotta e spinaci fatti in casa con burro e salvia (aka ricotta and spinach-stuffed homemade pasta with butter and sage), the pecorina di Borgo pizza (with Borgo’s homemade pecorino cheese), and the Tuscan-style homemade soups—all made with fresh veggies from the garden.
Sull’Albero Bar: Did you even go to Italy if you didn’t ~aperitivo~ every day? Sull'Albero is *the* spot to bring all of your Italian wine and cocktail visions to life. You can sit outside in the adorable little garden area (complete with a trickling waterfall, naturally), or inside on the comfy chairs near the fireplace, which is super cozy at night under the sparkling chandelier. Get a negroni—they do them soooo well—or any of their local wines. And bonus: Like all Italian cocktails, these come with free snacks (potato chips, olives, etc.) in case you weren't already convinced.
Saporium: Make sure to dress up when you go here, because this is the fanciest restaurant at BSP. Expect a five-star situation with Tuscan fine-dining dishes that look and taste like art. You get to choose between an eight or nine course pre-fixe meat, fish, or vegetarian menu (we went for the eight-course meat option, and we were stuffed), or à la carte. Like all of the food at BSP, everything is delicious, but my fave dish was the hare ravioli with pomegranate and wild herbs salad. That meal (along with the entire Tuscany trip, if we're being honest) lives absolutely rent-free in my mind.
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