Hotel Relais La Suvera, Siena, Italy

Boutique hotel Relais La Suvera in Siena is the ideal holiday retreat for the history and art lover. Surrounded by culture you can play the role of the signore of the palace.

This ancient Papal Villa is now home to the Marquis Ricci and the Princess Massimo, who enjoy sharing their family heritage and their invaluable private collection with their guests. You feel privileged to be here; it feels like you have been locked in a museum or in a royal palace after closing time, only to discover that a suite has been prepared for you.

The facilities

This boutique hotel is in such a fabulous setting, you can’t help but expect princely treatment, and you won’t be disappointed. The service is excellent, but very discreet. There are a lot of genuine smiles from the friendly staff, which magically appear to fill your wine glass, or hand you a towel by the swimming pool exactly and only when you need it.

If you are looking for tranquillity, have a stroll around the gardens; they offer a sense of peace and seclusion, or exit the main gate and take a night walk, letting the fireflies lead your way uphill.

The Relais’s latest addiction is the Wellness Centre, where you can enjoy a water massage in the big Jacuzzi made from the medieval well. Several beauty treatments are also provided by the boutique hotel, with an emphasis on natural and local products. Even the toiletries in your room have Tuscan olive oil as a main ingredient.

A word about the food: eat in at the excellent restaurant Ristorante Oliviera, awarded three golden keys by the Gambero Rosso guide, and housed in the old Oil Mill. The menu includes traditional Tuscan dishes and the wine list focuses on local producers, with the best reserves available in the area. Unfortunately the restaurant terrace faces a public road, which might be a bit annoying if you eat al fresco. However, La Suvera just managed to get permission from the Comune to close the road for their private use, and will themselves pay for another road to be built. A telling example of the boutique hotel's dedication to the happiness of their guests!

The rooms

Relais La Suvera has 35 rooms.The double rooms in the boutique hotel are located in the old stables and in the farmhouse. Each is uniquely adorned with art treasures (you can read about every single piece in the information sheet in your room), and provided with modern comforts like plasma screens, Sky TV, and air conditioning.

If your wallet can stand it, book a bedroom or a suite in the Villa Papale. These are exquisite jewels of opulence, where Renaissance paintings hang with nonchalance even in the bathroom. Each room features period furniture, mirrors, velvet and silk bed drapes, and crystal chandeliers, and each is dedicated to family ancestors or historical characters linked to the house.

Choose the Pope Julius II suite for its stunning views and enjoy the Tuscan sunsets from the draped bathtub positioned next to the window. Honeymooners will be tempted by the Maria Gabriella di Savoia: it is the biggest and most sumptuous suite of the boutique hotel, with 18th-century furniture, precious drapes, and a double Jacuzzi.

The perfect choice for the ladies is the extremely feminine Camera Elena, once the room of the Marquis’s daughter. Gentlemen should experience the Napoleon Suite: after a night amid the frescoes of battle scenes, the green marble and tapestries, and the golden décor in the huge bathroom, you will feel ready to conquer the world.