Tuscany, Italy
“There will be wolves,” was all the incentive needed to stir enthusiasm in my perma-wired boys, aged 10 and 13, for a few nights at Oasyhotel, a new collection of sixteen Scandinavian-inspired wooden lodges perched 3,600 feet up a mountain in the Tuscan Apennines. As we sat around a campfire on our first evening, mesmerized by the crystal-clear sky, the wolves felt tantalizingly close, even if seeing these elusive animals in daylight is rare. No wolves were spotted, but the nature immersion was still a magnet. The entire site is a World Wide Fund for Nature reserve, with regenerative principles at its core, so wildlife, including deer, wild boar, and foxes, roams free. The real thrill was whizzing down the mountain trails in high speed. We were equipped with electric bikes upon arrival.
This former hunting estate is set in more than 2,470 acres of wildflower meadows, and beech and pine forests. We visited in deepest autumn, but in the summer a lake offers swimming, paddleboarding, and kayaking. There is a special area for parents who are grateful. yoga A spa offers transportive massages. And for kids, the young and utterly charming staff brought a relaxed and fun energy, even during the swanky dinners in Le Felci, one of two restaurants. The ecological ethos extends to the food: 70% of the produce used at the hotel comes from the mountain, so breakfast included the estate’s own organic yogurts, cheeses, jams and juices, while dinners were mostly rich, hearty and meaty Tuscan dishes of pork, rabbit, and beef. We were fed burgers and cotoletta cutlets on repeat, as well as fries, by the younger guests. Less popular with my boys was a morning spent making caciotta cheese in the dairy (my idea of heaven), but feeding the farm’s Limousin cattle next door distracted them. It’s hard to imagine cows having this transfixing effect at home, but on the mountain, nature wove its magic. –Clare Coulson
