Hotel Borgo San Felice

On a hilltop in Chianti, with views of Siena on the horizon and vines and oaks in the middle distance, just about an entire village has been converted into a luxury hotel, the only exceptions being the residences of the farmers who tend the vineyards. May as well read that sentence just once more before you make your reservation. This is the Borgo San Felice; this, more generally, is why people never get tired of going to Tuscany.

The fifty-odd rooms and suites are centered on the palace at the heart of the village, and spill out into the nearby residences that surround the square. Needless to say, they’re not your cookie-cutter L-shaped corporate hotel rooms — they all inherit various features of the original construction, and mix the contemporary and the classic in the way only an Italian hotel can.

It also goes without saying that food and wine take on an outsize importance. Poggio Rosso is the flagship restaurant, La Terrazza is the more casual alternative, and the wine cellars are seemingly endless. That might have something to do with the winery right next door. Cooking classes, always a Tuscan classic, are offered as well, and there’s a full-service spa, an outdoor heated pool, and several tennis and bocce courts, to help you while away the empty hours between meals.

How to get there: Hotel Borgo San Felice is located 11 miles from the Siena train station, and 56 miles from Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR).