Looking like it’s been popped out of a medieval storybook, Hotel Castello di Reschio sits proudly in the Umbrian countryside. Italy has no shortage of heritage castles (or castellos) being turned into elaborate luxury hotels, but there’s something about this 10th century castle, restored as a hotel by Count Benedikt Bolza and his family, that is more provocative and attractive than most.
With 36 suites, an on-site restaurant and a spa, Hotel Castello di Reschio, a member of Small Luxury Hotels, is a grand example of the various adaptive reuse properties that give regional Italy its unparalleled reputation as the perfect holiday.
The property welcomed its first guests in spring 2021, decades after Count Antonio Bolza purchased the sprawling Reschio estate in which the hotel sits. The 3,700-acre estate is positioned conveniently on the border of Umbria and Tuscany, so is a bit of a no-brainer for any holidaymakers driving between the two regions.
RELATED: Belmond Villa San Michele Review – A Renaissance Masterpiece Just Outside Of Florence
Antonio’s son, Benedikt and daughter-in-law Donna spent years transforming some of the estate’s crumbling heritage buildings into private homes before turning their attention to this 1,000-year-old castle with a sensitive restoration paying homage to the site’s immense history.
It reportedly took a decade for the castello to be reborn as a luxury hotel, during which time the Bolza family built 30 suites in the hotel and an additional six suites next to the parish church.
Some rooms have views of the central courtyard while others scan the rolling hills of Umbria, a landscape that is vastly similar to neighbouring Tuscany but typically only gets half the attention from international visitors. The region may not have the bountiful Chianti Classico and masterful Florence, but it does Perugia and the World Heritage-listed town of Assisi.
All the Castello’s suites are dressed with terracotta brick or wooden floors and treated with a fiercely local mentality, featuring numerous Italian fabrics, locally crafted marble and brass vanities, and hand-stitched linen curtains. There are even hand-crafted bespoke beds and lighting via Benedikt’s furniture brand, BB for Reschio.
The pinnacle offering for Hotel Castello di Reschio is the five-floor Tower Suite, accessible over the castle’s gateway with two bedrooms, a living room, study, open-air bathtub and a roof garden.
The room has been treated as the ultimate private sanctuary in Umbria, but there are also plenty of other places around the property where one could break away from the world. Palm Court, for example, is a space for the castle, modelled off iron-and-glass Victorian conservatories. It sounds like the hotel uses this as the main social space, where guests can read, converse or nibble on cakes and cocktails from the neighbouring bar.
There are a few dining options for guests. Located in the castle’s western ramparts is Ristorante Al Castello where most produce is hand-picked from the estate. There’s also Il Torrino in the watchtower for a more casual meal overlooking the oval outdoor swimming pool.
As for the hotel spa, expect a relentlessly boutique experience with a small space in the vaulted stone cellar carved out with hammams, saunas, plunge pools and treatment rooms.
Hotel Castello di Reschio
Address: Tabaccaia di Reschio, 06060 Lisciano Niccone PG, Italy
Contact: +39 075 844362
Rates at Hotel Castello di Reschio start from around AU$1,336 per night.
