La Monastica Resort & Spa

Style

Chapel belle

Setting

Tranquil Tuscan hilltown

All that imbued the monks’ lives with contentment has been cleverly conserved at hilltop monastery turned luxe escape, La Monastica Resort & Spa. Its Tuscan village setting is a place of calm — so too is its stellar spa, where you can take the waters in storied surroundings. Dinners in the old chapel are served with valley views; and rooms are artfully dressed for rest, with bespoke furniture and beguiling backstories. You may have just found your new holiday creed.

Facilities

Rooms

19, including 12 suites.

Checkout

11am, and check-in is at 3pm. Both are flexible on request and subject to availability.

More Details

Rates include a lavish breakfast spotlighting estate produce, cereals, still-warm pastries and bread, as well as gluten-free options.

Also

Sadly, the uneven terrain and ancient features of the protected stone building may mean La Monastica is unsuitable if you have mobility issues.

Fitness Center

Free Internet Access

Laundry

Pet Friendly

Pool

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Spa, terrace gardens, two outdoor pools, concierge, paid laundry service and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: minibars, Nespresso coffee machines, tea-making kit, free bottled water, bathrobes, slippers and Votary bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

Each room is uniquely designed and furnished — with a backstory to boot — but the bright, spacious, open-plan La Castellana Suite catches the eye for its private terrace, access to a tower with unforgettable wraparound views, and bespoke sunburst headboard (inspired by a crown once worn by noblewomen of the founding da Buggiano family). Those who are partial to a dip will be drawn to La Badessa Suite — it has a hydromassage pool and a freestanding bath tub in its private garden.

Poolside

There are two — an upper and a lower — in prime panoramic spots in the terraced gardens. They’re for cooling and calming rather than anything strenuous, scented by citrus trees and filled with water specially treated to be gentle on the skin. The spa also has a soothing indoor/outdoor two-person pool hemmed by natural rock walls.

Spa

There’s a palpable air of monastic serenity at the spa. With four treatments rooms, sustainable natural Comfort Zone products, a restorative two-person rock pool filled with micronised warm water and natural extracts, and a multi-sensory soothing space at the foot of a mediaeval tower built on ancient ley lines (plus a sauna, steam room and hammam), it’s the heavenly heart of the hotel.

Packing Tips

Seek out a copy of The Betrothed, the 19th-century epic by Alessandro Manzoni, a popular read in Italia – its chapters on Gertrude, the Nun of Monza, were an important reference during the restoration to understand the characters who would’ve lived here.

Children

Bambini of all ages are welcome and babysitting is available on request but this is a place more geared to the adulti.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

For surveying the restaurant's full glory, we like the seats beneath the wall-mounted reliquary in the main chapel, the monastery’s original name etched ornately above.

Dress Code

No need for ecclesiastical get-up any more, but something elegant and refined would suit.

Hotel Restaurant

Devoti is the domain of chef Igor Rosi whose team fashion the gardens’ biodiverse bounty into Tuscan fare to savour, served in the showstopping central chapel. The likes of tempura seasonal flowers, nettle ravioli with sweet garlic, and lobster salad with dill mustard appearing alongside hearty grilled meats and decadent desserts.

Hotel Bar

Cocktail hour begins in the garden, figuratively at least, as mixologists fetch freshly grown herbs and flowers to flavour and decorate the signature serves on offer. There is a bar to sit at — a stylish curved corner with backlit bottles and tubular pendant lights — or you can take your drink to whichever viewpoint most appeals. The wine cellar hosts tastings if you’d like to learn a little more about local favourites.

Last Orders

Breakfast is served from 7.30am until 11am; lunch is from 12.30pm until 2.30pm, and for dinner, it’s 7.30pm until 10pm. The bar pours till 11pm.

Room Service

A selection of dishes can be whisked to your door between noon and 10pm, with a smaller choice of snacks available through the night once the kitchen is closed.

Planes

The airports of both Pisa and Florence are about a 50-minute drive, and the hotel can arrange private transfers to either (price on enquiry).

Trains

Direct trains take about an hour from Florence to Borgo a Buggiano station, where staff can meet you for the five-minute drive to the hotel. Or halve the journey time by taking the fast train to Pistoia from where the hotel can also arrange pick-up.

Automobiles

If you're planning to do anything more than unwinding in the spa, a car is pretty essential in these parts. Hire one at the airport and you’re well placed for exploring the greatest hits and hidden gems of Tuscany. There is free valet parking on-site, and electric-vehicle charging points are available for an extra fee.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

The mediaeval village of Buggiano Castello is where you’ll call home, a quiet hilltown surrounded by olive groves and ancient cypresses with views across the Valdinievole valley that would’ve made its original inhabitants feel closer to God. The hotel’s nine terraces are contoured to the hillscape, each offering something different — a pool, a rose garden, a panoramic seating area — so you can switch up your scenery without even leaving the grounds. But while it feels tucked away, you can wander into the car-free village or take a short drive to the famous spa town of Montecatini Terme. The cities of Pistoia and Lucca are each a 30-minute drive, and the beaches of Viareggio and Forte dei Marmi are all reachable by car within 45 minutes.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .