GREAT ESCAPES ABROAD
ACOUNTRY ESTATE L’Andana is set amid glorious vineyards with grand interiors, comfy rooms and Michelin-starred food; enjoy blissful al fresco breakfasts and poolside drinks
WHY IT’S GREAT If you equate Tuscany with crowds of art-hungry culture vultures and Chianti-quaffing tourists, you could be in for a soothing surprise. Head for L’Andana, a gorgeous hilltop villa hotel set among vineyards and cypress trees, in a get-away-fromit- all part of southern Tuscany called La Maremma. Once a wild place of malarial swamps and marauding brigands, it’s now the quiet and very civilised home to some of Italy’s most forwardlooking winemakers. The region’s wild coastline and tranquil villages are ripe for discovery.
Formerly the private hunting lodge of Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany, who was instrumental in draining the Maremma marshlands, L’Andana is a pink-toned escape of dreams set in 100 acres, with its own vineyards (wine is made here under the Acquagiusta label), olive trees (buy some estate-made oil to take home) and even a tiny chapel – a wedding was in full swing on my visit. There’s also a choice of swimming pools, an ESPA spa, tennis court… even a helipad should you choose to arrive by chopper, although the atmosphere is decidedly glitz-free.
ROOMS The 33 bedrooms and suites are in two wings off the main building. Large windows open up to gorgeous vistas of the gentle Tuscan hills. Antique furniture and Florentine fabrics abound; beds are massive, squishy and comfortable, and the sizeable bathrooms have huge bathtubs to sink into. The colour scheme throughout the bedrooms and common rooms is all earth-toned siennas and ochres, with an elegant patina of age.