Over the past few years, even the most ardent Tuscany fanatic may have felt their enthusiasm dim a little. Sure, the Italian region best known as the birthplace of the Renaissance still boasts the same wonders it always has—treasures of art history, hearty pasta dinners, glorious summer weather, and those iconic streets lined with cypress trees—but post-pandemic, not only has “revenge travel” seen the area near-overwhelmed with tourists, but hotel prices have skyrocketed to eyewatering figures. Slowly but surely, the more savvy traveler has begun to turn their gaze elsewhere.
For many, that gaze has settled on Tuscany’s neighbor, Umbria. Sure, the region isn’t exactly an unknown quantity—many will be familiar with the winding streets and architectural marvels of Perugia, or the bountiful black truffle harvests that arrive every fall—but where Tuscany has more than its fair share of dazzling five-star retreats, Umbria has taken a little longer to catch up. The latest arrival to the Umbrian luxury hotel offering? Borgo dei Conti Resort , which opened just a few weeks ago near the charming village of Montepetriolo, and looks (and feels) like a medieval Italian village preserved in aspic.
A few weeks back, on a baking hot summer afternoon (albeit, mercifully, in the air-conditioned hotel shuttle car), I pulled up to the gates of the estate, where the drama begins—courtesy of an imposing gatehouse, complete with portcullis, that could have been plucked straight o.