Outstanding Stays: Borgo Pignano, Tuscany

In our Outstanding Stays series, we shine a spotlight on some of the very best hotels in the world with some help from Mr & Mrs Smith. This week, Louis A. W. Sheridan adapts to farm life in Tuscany
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Louis A. W. Sheridan16 August 2020

The Look

A Tuscan villa is shorthand for ‘the good life’. The only-half-joking retirement plan touted by city-dwellers since the dawn of dinner parties.

As the haze of a half-remembered dream clears, Borgo Pignano takes shape, matching the postcard-perfect proportions of imagined Toscana in exacting detail. Standing high on a hill, staring out over Volterra, the great pale-stone villa rolls through a checklist of majestic must-haves – a rock-hewn infinity pool, spoiling suites, ornate herb gardens, decadent wine-cellar – and then, in true sprezzatura style, throws in a fully-fledged organic farm spanning 750 acres, because…Tuscany.

The Feel

Thematically, we’re deep in Guadagnino territory here; summer seems endless and the calendar year is just out of focus. The soundtrack of clinking glasses and the occasional splash floats up from the terrace through doors and windows that rarely close. Days are unhurried, broken up only by feasts that are fluid in fashion.

Everyone here, guests and staff alike, has a story to share, and the day’s pacing seems to draw them out naturally, often over languid lunches by the pool. There are no worldly distractions yet there’s plenty to pass the time. ‘Experiences’ feels too formulaic a title for the pursuits on offer, instead it’s an all-too-fleeting invite to a pastoral life.

(Louis A. W. Sheridan/Mr & Mrs Smith)
Louis A. W. Sheridan/Mr & Mrs Smith

The Experience

The steady hum of wholesome farming makes for a welcome change to the battle cry of faux ‘eco-hotels’. Organic from the ground up, there’s no force-feeding of sustainable sales patter at Borgo Pignano, instead, nature speaks for itself. Roaming the estate, whether on horseback or by foot, you’ll pass fruit orchards, beehives and an abundance of vegetable gardens.

It’s worth befriending the resident soapmaker who’ll put freshly-picked lavender through its paces and pack you off with presents. The same can be said for the beekeeper, with honeycomb in place of plants. To amp up the pace (albeit marginally) wind your way over to Volterra where you can really appreciate all that Italians can do with grapes.

(Louis A. W. Sheridan/Mr & Mrs Smith)
Louis A. W. Sheridan/Mr & Mrs Smith

Insider info

Ask for Enzo. The farmer and gamekeeper has spent his whole life learning the ways of the land and so there’s no one better to tag along with as he makes his rounds.

Getting There

Fly direct from London Heathrow to Pisa with British Airways. Borgo Pignano is an hour and a half away by car.