Rent Italian homes with hotel amenities for the price.

** Have you ever swum in a tower? Did you find a hedgehog's needle on a walk? Have you seen an eighty-year-old count riding to dinner on a horse? Neither have I. But somehow all three things were accomplished within a few days of staying at the magnificent and eccentric estate Reschio, covering1500 hectares, located on the hills of Umbria, overlooking the Tuscan border. This magical place in an unfashionable region of Italy, about45 minutes north of Perugia, combines beautiful landscapes, seclusion, impeccable design, and hospitality.

Pomestie Resho

The estate is centered around a castle, built in the X century. In1984, it was purchased by Hungarian-Italian nobleman Antonio Bolza (the above-mentioned count on horseback), who ten years later sold his publishing house and bought the entire estate. His son, the young and stylish architect, who was trained in London, Count Benedict, and his daughter-in-law, the artist Donna Nencia Corsini, now manage this place. They moved into the castle when it was still in ruins, raised their five children here, and still live and work on the estate. Over the past29 years, the couple has diligently and slowly turned the castle into a luxurious hotel with36 bedrooms and restored29 out of50 farm buildings, turning each of them into a private home owned by people from all over the world.

Ten of these houses can be rented out when their owners are away, including Piantaverna, where my husband, mother, and two children stayed (although with four bedrooms and four bathrooms, you could fit up to eight people). The house also has a private pool and a large garden, where my three-year-old daughter made daisy chains with her grandmother, and my nine-year-old tried to spot wild boars (don't worry, there are electric fences).

These spacious homes offer plenty of space, luxury, and complete privacy; perfect for children and grandparents. We haven't seen the nearest house, so no one will hear your cries (which is very convenient with a little one like mine). Overall, you'll feel completely isolated from the world -- except for a five-minute drive down the road where there's a charming hotel with a bartender ready to make you the perfect Negroni, as well as two fantastic restaurants serving blueberry tagliatelle and game ragu or delicious roasted lamb ribs with fried potatoes if you fancy. Or not; the beauty of Resho is that you're not in a "resort" and you're not obligated to see a soul. Except, perhaps, that handsome count riding by on his horse.

Houses with hidden wealth

But these are not just ordinary houses for independent living. These are houses with hidden treasures. These are the houses that excite designers. I'm not surprised to learn that some of the owners are fashion designers and tech bosses. Each house is unique, and you can see the great love put into its creation in its appearance and atmosphere. The design of Pianterverna was minimalist and super-luxurious; a walk through another house revealed a more bohemian, family atmosphere. If you happen to fall in love with a chair you've spent a week on, you can have it sent home: some furniture designed by Count Benedict is available for purchase. (The design studio at the Resho headquarters, located at the end of the estate, was previously a tobacco factory from the 1940s, where I could spend hours.)

Activities and amenities

In Pjantaverne, there was a huge bathtub with a view of the hills (my favorite), a living room with a modern TV (the kids' favorite spot), a lovely terrace for reading books (my mom's favorite place), and a beautifully designed kitchen (my husband's favorite).

Activities at the estate

We arrived for Easter when the weather was still changing — fog on the hills in the morning, sunshine during the day, and coolness in the evening. Two weeks by the pool in the summer would undoubtedly have been unforgettable, but due to the weather, we had to go outside and spend our time actively. Assisi is an hour's drive away. During our trip on Good Friday, monks in robes and sneakers were standing in line to enter the 13th-century Romane cathedral, located high on the hill. The town can be explored on foot in a few hours, even with a stroller. There are the usual tourist shops and ice cream parlors, but we discovered a great pizzeria café, Il Menestrello, where not very friendly waiters serve oily margheritas (main dishes from £13; ristorantepizzeriailmenestrello.it).

There was also a lot of interesting things at the Resho estate. Thanks to Count Antonio's love for horseback riding, there is a stable where you can see "dancing" horses (training, as most people know). You can rent 40 Andalusian purebred horses to ride around the estate. We spent the morning gathering berries and herbs on the estate with the help of a patient guide — my eldest daughter happily picked flowers and herbs like chamomile, mint, melilot, cypress, and olive leaves, which she then made into tea and drank, which was a real wonder for a nine-year-old who loves pizza and chocolate. Other activities include hiking, tennis, wild swimming in the estate's lake, olive oil production, cannon shooting, truffle hunting, and painting lessons.

Spa

And then there is the spa — although the word "spa" hardly captures its essence. Buried underground, deep within the castle, it centers around one main private room and a pool that, fortunately, has not been remodeled into an ugly modern object, as is currently fashionable in the hotel world. Instead, the bath, as it is called, features original stone walls, antique paintings, flickering candles, and glass containers filled with herbs and tinctures like lavender and St. John's wort. On Maundy Thursday, I lay naked before the crackling fire, gently dozing while receiving a massage, and then headed to the dimly lit pool nearby and swam into a tower from which a waterfall cascades from the ceiling. It is truly a religious experience — and when has that ever been said about a family vacation? A true quiet luxury.

Laura Atkinson was a guest at the Castello di Reschio hotel, where a seven-night stay without meals in the Piantaverna house costs from £18,471, while rooms with breakfast start at £744 (minimum stay of two nights; reschio.com). Flight to Perugia.