Checking-In to: Borgo Santo Pietro

CHECKING-IN TO | CABANA TRAVEL | CABANA MAGAZINE

Sophie Goodwin checks in to a Tuscan sanctuary, Jeanette and Claus Thottrup’s magical 12th-century hotel-hideaway, Borgo Santo Pietro. Within their portfolio, the Cabana collaborators own the Satori yacht and two Michelin-starred restaurants, Saporium Borgo and Saporium Firenze.

BY SOPHIE GOODWIN | CABANA TRAVEL | 20 SEPTEMBER 2024 

When Claus and Jeanette Thottrup purchased Borgo Santo Pietro - a Tuscan villa with expansive grounds, formerly a quarantine site for medieval pilgrims - they quickly knew it had to be shared. The 300-acre estate has an instant aura; as soon as you walk over the threshold you are enveloped in Tuscan warmth and charm.

Southwest of Siena next door to the romantic roofless abbey of San Galgano and close to the charming cities of Siena, Volterra Massa Marittima and Colle Val d'elsa, the villa is less like a hotel and more like an ornate working farm run by friends.

Claus, a talented property developer, and Jeanette, a fashion designer turned interior decorator, are two sides of a highly successful coin; they see each other's blind spots. "Luxury is what you can’t see. It’s what you feel," they note.

The entire estate is a masterclass in good taste. Earth tones, log fires, leather armchairs and stone floors are offset with gilded mirrors and chandeliers, while the unshakably charming staff wear elegant green linen uniforms designed by Jeanette.

The 22 rooms are individually adorned with antique treasures, hand painted frescoes and bespoke beds, while the suites have private pools and Mediterranean courtyards. The property even has an in-house florist, Esmerelda Gutierrez, who is on-site daily arranging blooms from the garden into fresh displays.

Another feather in Jeanette's creative cap is Seed to Skin Tuscany, the organic skincare range she founded in 2018. The hand-crafted products are made at their on-site laboratory, derived from potent herbs and raw ingredients, artfully combining science with holistic properties for skin regeneration and health.

The elegant glass bottles are distributed throughout the bedrooms and form the basis of the treatment therapies in their beautiful onsite holistic spa, built in the gardens. Their latest standout product, The Light Source & The Night Force, is a truly efficacious day and night treatment for anti-ageing.

Beyond the spa, and if you tire of the infinity pool, activities are endless. Choose from vespa tours, art classes, hot air balloon rides, yoga, wild swimming in the River Merse or wine tasting from Borgo Santo Pietro's extensive cellar. The Borgo Cooking School is also legendary, offering hands-on courses and workshops.

The 800-year-old farmhouse is 80% self-sufficient, with a farm-to-plate philosophy. Pioneers of biodiversity and regenerative agriculture, Borgo Santo Pietro is a hive of activity, from free range chickens housed in pastel colored coups to bees, alpacas and extensive vineyards, producing Borgo Santo Pietro Per Gli Amici rosè wine. There is also a drying shed for herbs and flowers, a chocolate and ice cream lab, plus pigs and sheep producing artisan cheese and yoghurt at the onsite dairy. 

Operating as a collective, the head farmer, master gardener, butcher, sommelier, forager, cheesemaker, fermentation specialist and baker are all specialists in organic cultivation, working the nut fields, herb gardens, vineyards and forests all-year round.

Meanwhile, Saporium, their Michelin-starred restaurant, has a sister outpost in Florence and is run by executive chef on the up and up, Ariel Hagen, who has fiercely commanded the kitchen since 2022. Hagen is brave and bold, a talent who bores easily and takes risks, demonstrated by the delicious, inventive dishes he creates. Turning simple farm produce on its head, his food is challenging and extraordinary: pigeon collides with cherries and eel with grilled watermelon.

A testament to the hotel’s unique philosophy, Saporium holds a green Michelin star for sustainability too. Hagen works with picked fruit, vegetables fermented on site, fresh eggs, rabbit and fallow deer. All other ingredients are sourced locally.

As a palette cleanser, the hotel’s second restaurant, La Trattoria sull’Albero, offers more casual fare, with an outdoor bar dotted with fire pits. Designed around a large spreading oak tree, the site's rustic charm is reflected in its classic Tuscan menu: wood fired pizzas, grilled fish, zucchini flan, homemade minestrone soup and florentine steak, served up with views of the fields and forest of the Valle Serena.

Constantly evolving, Borgo Santo Pietro refuses to stand still. During the summer, the team launched the Orto Pop-Up: a complex vegetarian menu devised by their fermentation specialist, served family style among the vegetable gardens at sunset and set to live music. Agile and engaging, with one eye always on the future, Claus and Jeanette have created a Tuscan retreat with the warmth and energy of a year-round summer fiesta. The question is, what will they serve-up next?