The first thing that grabs you about Fonteverde is the view: a breathtaking vista of the green and gold Val d’Orcia, a Unesco-listed landscape in Tuscany, with the blue Tyrrhenian Sea in the distance. The next is the pools, so many of them: large, small, hot, cold, bubbly, calm – even one for dogs. As you gaze out from the terrace with a cool drink while your bags are being brought to your room, a delightful thought occurs to you: You can spend all day in the pools and never lose sight of that view. Your shoulders go down, and you take a deep breath. From now on, all will be well.
Fonteverde is the perfect place to start again - whether that means reclaiming a fitness program, re-establishing a healthy relationship with food, recalibrating everyday life to manage stress more effectively, or reconnecting with loved ones. A destination in itself, though close enough to the tourist attractions of Tuscany to serve as a base camp, Fonteverde was built in the 1600s as a summer spa residence for Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’ Medici. Expanded into a grand hotel while preserving its palatial structure, Fonteverde is to this day a place of renaissance, or rebirth. “People come here for different of reasons, but in the end they are alike: they never want to leave,” says Antonello Del Regno, the hotel’s general manager.
People come here for different reasons, but in the end they are alike: they never want to leave.
De-stressing is the watchword at Fonteverde, a key part of the property’s Equilibrium philosophy that also takes in mindful nutrition, physical exercise, and aquatherapy. With five million liters of naturally heated thermal water flowing through the property per day, most Fonteverde guests inevitably take the plunge. But guests can choose as much or as little of the spa experience as they like –from a full medical program directed by onsite experts to lazy days spent lounging in the sun. Meals, taken on the terrace or in the Ferdinando I restaurant, are in the Tuscan tradition – simple, fresh and delicious – even if they are part of Fonteverde’s leading-edge Simulation Fast diet, billed as “all of the benefits of low calories with none of the stress.”
Fonteverde is a generous host, making pleasurable choices available at every turn. Guest rooms, whether in the original Renaissance building or the more modern wing, all face either the valley or the woods for perfect peace and quiet. Experience packages pamper romantic couples with private spa treatments and dinner à deux on a secluded terrace; a Gentleman’s Weekend includes the loan of a vintage car for barnstorming in the hills. Even the needs of dog lovers are not only considered but embraced: the spacious property includes a special pool and relaxation area just for canine companions – a growing market, according to the Fonteverde team, as more guests travel with their four-footed family members.