Tuscany in Style 1 - Grotta Giusti

The composer Giuseppe Verdi once said: “You may have the universe, if I may have Italy…”

Which is relevant to what follows, as Verdi used to stay at one of the two remarkable hotels in Tuscany which are the focus of the two features we’re putting up on this site.

They know a lot of things about quality and class, those Italians - and Verdi was no exception. Tuscany is perhaps the standard-bearer for this rule. Just about everywhere you look in this province you will see beautiful, classical, views.  Just about everywhere you eat you will be treated to wonderful food. And just about everywhere you stay there’ll be something exceptional about your surroundings. 

That is what I was thinking on my dual-hotel trip to Tuscany recently - a long-weekend which was full of novelty and surprises as well as the high quality I was expecting.

My friends in the travel public relations world know that I have a weakness for the kind of Bel Epoque style hotels which hark back to times that were somehow more elegant, classy and altogether more stylish than the blander, ubiquitous, offerings presented by many of the big international hostility groups today. 

Which is why they introduced me to the folks who run the Italian Hospitality Collection - a world-class hotel, resort and spa brand that provides… “rich, authentic experiences for travellers who seek to feel loved, cherished and indulged in a genuine Italian lifestyle.”

That is what it says on the side of the very chic and classy tin, and also what you get inside. Here is what my invitation had to stay about the first of the two Tuscan hotels I visited… 

“With a decadent history as the former home of famed poet Giuseppe Giusti, Grotta Giusti is now a prestigious hotel that has maintained its historical air and natural charm with a backdrop of antique furnishings and paintings. It offers lavish rooms with marble bathrooms, a large outdoor thermal swimming pool and a private underground thermal cave and lake, where guests can scuba dive or indulge in a spot of floating therapy.”

Apart from being elegant and lovely to look at, it was one of the most remarkable hotels I’ve ever stayed in. No wonder Giuseppe Verdi used to stay here.

Basically, both the Grotta Guisti and its sister hotel - the palatial Bagni di Pisa, 40 miles away - evolved over time because of their twin locations, which happen to be right on top of a major geological fault that crosses Italy. What this means is that hot water warmed by the Earth’s core bubbles close to the surface - and that this has been utilised for all manner of curative and cleansing purposes since Roman senators once relaxed hereabout 2000 years ago.

Hot water spas play a much bigger part in Italian culture than they do here - indeed both hotels feature a new wellness programme called Equilibrium, developed by top doctors who incorporate the various spa therapies to help reduce inflammation in the body. We haven’t time here to go into this in detail, but I had a chat with Equilibrium’s founder, a Dr Fortunati, and he told me how the programme focuses on the relationship between the mind and the nervous, endocrine and immune systems.

It all seemed to make sense, but I was only around for a weekend so wanted to simply soak up the lovely feeling of being in Tuscany in spring. To do this I went for a couple of wonderful walks and a cycle ride around the picturesque rural area in which the hotel is set. 

I also enjoyed swimming in the vast open air pool which is open also to members of the public who turn up in droves to immerse themselves in its hot waters. It was all wonderfully Italian, with large family groups chatting and laughing as they bobbed out amid steam in spring sunshine. 

Grotta Giusti has recently undergone an extensive €1.5 million renovation. Verdi described the place as the “eighth wonder of the world” – mainly because it does boast the largest thermal cave in Europe - but I couldn’t help but wonder how much more he’d be impressed now

It is in the cave that guests can scuba dive or indulge in that spot of “floating therapy”, which I found to be a profoundly moving experience. People regularly come out of the cave in tears after floating weightlessly - some say it’s like being in their mother’s womb. 

Your body adapts to the hot water in the cave where you are escorted at all times by experienced divers. The air is hot as well, so that when a diver holds you weightless on the tips of his fingers and gently swishes you about, you feel as though you are floating weightless in outer space. 

The local villages are well worth visiting. We enjoyed a lovely cycle ride around the area on bike borrowed from the hotel.