Hotel Castello di Reschio, Umbria, Italy

The castle dates back to 1050 and was passed between noble families for nine centuries before the Bolza family acquired it in 1994. Architect Count Benedikt Bolza spent three decades restoring it stone by stone, reviving not just the estate, but its old-world rituals for guests. Staff wear hand-tailored period uniforms the family had made in Italy, and, alongside falconry and truffle hunting, guests can book to take part in embroidery, bookbinding, calligraphy, or herbalism - Reschio's traditional ‘Household Habits’, practised throughout the estate.

Reschio is as much an equestrian estate as it is a luxury hotel. The Bolzas have run a working stud on the property since 1999, breeding and schooling around 40 pure-bred Spanish horses to competition standard. Wander down to the Teatro Equestre and you might find grooms bathing and brushing a horse down, a rider working a stallion through its paces in the dressage ring, horses turned loose to gallop in the hills beyond. Riders of any level can arrange to head out across the estate, and even if you never plan to ride, the stables are worth the visit on their own.

Reschio is undeniably romantic. Couples and honeymooners will find plenty to fall in love with, from the Bathhouse, carved into the castle's former wine cellars, where old healing rituals play out by firelight, to long afternoons by the oval pool, shaded by umbrella pines. It's also one of the most private and secluded hotels in Italy; the full estate runs to 1,500 hectares of oak forest, olive groves and meadows, making it an ideal choice for clients who wish to get away from it all. For families and longer stays, a handful of restored farmhouses lie scattered across the estate, each with its own pool and enough bedrooms to gather everyone under one Umbrian roof.

There are just 36 rooms and suites, each shaped by the castle's medieval architecture, with their own proportions, quirks and character. Old portraits and family photographs line the walls, while a history of the house, written by Reschio's butler Ruggero, is left on every desk. Bespoke furniture from the family's own design studio sits alongside antiques collected over many years, and the complimentary in-room bar is stocked with the estate's own gin, tonics, plus lemon, lime and mint to build your own aperitivo. Ask our advisors about booking the Tower Suite; two bedrooms set over five floors, a freestanding open-air bathtub on the roof, and views across the Niccone Valley.