ANTONELLO COLONNA RESORT & SPA

If you’re a big enough fan of Italian cooking, the name Antonello Colonna may ring a bell. The famed chef and restaurateur — once nicknamed an “anarchist in the kitchen” — made a grand entrance onto the food scene in 1985 when he took over a rustic trattoria in Labico, outside of Rome, prompting a culinary revolution with his adaptations of traditional dishes. A small empire grew from there. Colonna opened his Michelin-starred restaurant at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome in 2007, and a few years later, in 2012, he opened a twelve-room hotel, the Antonello Colonna Resort & Spa, adjacent to his famous restaurant in Labico.

For many travelers, the restaurant is the reason to come, and the notion of staying the night after a dinner at Colonna’s table is a welcome prospect. But the resort is a worthwhile getaway in itself. Colonna is known for his eclectic tastes and his interest in architecture — of his predilections for both the old and the new — so it’s not surprising that the resort is cool and contemporary, housed in a sleek concrete and glass structure that lies low to the ground amid field and forest.

Guest rooms are all clean lines and modern design, bathed in sunlight and lined up in a long row, a series of petite and pristine sanctuaries that open directly onto the park. A few of the higher-end options have Eames chairs and super-king-sized beds bathtubs. All have floor-to-ceiling windows, flat-screen TVs, and lightning-fast wi-fi — impressive, given the secluded location in the country.

There’s not a lot to do here: you’ll go into Rome for that. At Antonello Colonna, it’s all about slowing down and enjoying classic pleasures: sleeping in before enjoying a relaxed continental breakfast, walking in the fields, reading a book by the outdoor pool, or checking into the excellent spa with its Turkish bath and indoor thermal pool. You could muster up the energy to visit one of the region’s wineries. But you’ll want to save your appetite for dinner at Colonna’s legendary restaurant. It might be the reason to come, but the resort gives you a few more reasons to stay.

How to get there: Antonello Colonna Resort & Spa is just under an hour's drive from Leonardo da Vinci International Airport via E80.