Ciao.I am a furry beast (not of Chewbacca proportions though!) ... but tonight I feel smooth. No, I haven't had a wax but instead a 2-hour spa treatment that included skin brushing, exfoliation, salt & oil scrub, body wrap and head massage! I feel younger and strangely lighter ... that Diego in the spa here at The Castello del Nero is a genius.
For too long, visitors to Tuscany have had to put up with ageing hotels that have a great name but very archaic & depressing services.
In 2002, Bob Trotta bought 700 acres of land around the town of Tavarnelle Val de Pesa - in the heart of Chianti and betwixt Pisa and Florence.
For 16 months, Bob & the President of the property Cav. Samir Victor El Kharrat - one of the most gentle & knowledgeable hoteliers I have ever met - had to apply for every permission under the sun to turn a run-down Tuscan castle into a luxury hotel ... There are some pretty strange laws for hotels here in Italy - like you are not allowed irons in rooms but here at the CdN, they had to get numerous permissions from the Ministry of Fine Art to update and refurbish the rooms, build the outdoor swimming pool ... even to have parasols on the sun deck.
Anyway, the hotel has 50 rooms & suites, a HUGE Spa, outdoor swimming pool and acres & acres of vineyards, olive groves and basically heaven. In summer, this place will be packed by sun worshippers and in winter by romantics.
The cuisine is fabulous! The mozzarella cheese is perfecto and the pizza is so good that I don't even think of adding ketchup! Tonight I will try the main restaurant ... La Torre ...
There's a gorgeous chapel ... cypress trees and a 400-year old Cedar tree dominate the front of the hotel - making the place look like the archetypal Tuscan dream house. Talking of houses, Bob & Samir are converting 4 houses on the property that will start at 3 million Euros and there's also a self-catering guesthouse ...
I love the film Avanti (Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills) and I have been always looking for a romantic hidey-hole; the Drunken Duck could be one and the CdN could be the other! I reckon I will be coming here for 3 days for the rest of my life!
Song of The Day: Funiculi Funicula - Pavarotti
Weather: Perfecto
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