Lupaia

Lupaia sits on a hilltop between Montepulciano and Pienza, reached by two and a half kilometres of gravel track through olive groves and vineyards. The name recalls the wolves that once roamed here, and the five stone farm buildings go back to 1622, when goats lived on the ground floors and the farming families above them. Heidi and Christopher Mueller left corporate careers in Salzburg and looked at more than sixty properties over two years before choosing this one in 2015. It was already taking guests; the couple restored it, reopened it in 2016 and still live on the estate.

All twelve rooms and suites have their own entrance and a private terrace or garden. Four suites, Montepulciano, San Biagio, Vigna and Oliva, look straight across the valley to the town, while the rest face Montefollonico or the Chiana valley. The open kitchen is the centre of the house: each evening it serves a different four-course menu built on the organic garden and local suppliers, and bread, pastries and pasta are made in the house. The Michelin Guide observes that guests who come to explore the region's restaurants keep drifting back for dinner.

Lupaia joined Small Luxury Hotels of the World in 2022 and has held a Michelin Key since 2024. Days pass at the tiered infinity pool, which faces west into the sunset, on e-bike tours through the vineyards or on a truffle hunt in the surrounding woods. Well behaved dogs are welcome for a nightly fee, and the house closes from early December to mid March.