Immerse yourself in the unique atmosphere of Tuscany in wonderful hotels and villas.

When I started writing about traveling in Italy in the mid-1990s, long before I moved from Rome to the Umbrian town of Citta della Pieve, Tuscany was considered an alternative destination.

I still remember an article I wrote for a travel magazine in 2002 in which I couldn't recommend a single hotel in Val d'Orci. Yet in just two decades, this stunning, UNESCO-listed stretch of Tuscan countryside has gone from an ultra-niche hiking and biking destination to an Italian Eldorado.

Since 1998, the number of luxury hotels in Tuscany has skyrocketed. In the 90s, wine regions like Chianti were better served, but even there the main option was agriturismo, a farm that takes paying guests. "Simplicity" was a winged word, and it also applied to service. Then you've likely stayed in a rented villa, chasing the kind of idyll described in Frances Mayes' 1996 book Under the Tuscan Sun and the subsequent movie. But rented villas can cause a lot of hassle, even if they come with staff.

If anything, the pandemic has accelerated the trend and led to a surge in visitors, especially from Italy and other European countries. "People are looking for places away from the crowds, with lots of outdoor corners to relax," said Margarita Ramella, executive director of La Pescaia resort in Tuscany.

The Tuscan Countryside Mark 2.0 is increasingly permeable, but it's also now increasingly aware of its guests, drawing comparisons to similar resorts from around the world, from Chile to Bangkok.

At this time, some smaller properties also appeared - boutique hotels like Castello di Vicarello, Borgo Santo Pietro, Villa Fontelunga and the La Bandita Country Hotel in Val d'Orcia.

But even in the intervening years since the first wave of resorts came to the region, there have been changes. This has happened in part because more guests are longtime Tuscany connoisseurs who don't want to live in a cottage community that cuts them off from artisans, country bars, wineries and summer festivals.

The Tuscan Countryside Mark 2.0 is increasingly permeable, but it is also now increasingly aware of what its guests can come for, drawing comparisons with similar resorts from around the world, from Chile to Bangkok. Simply offering a room adorned with faded Renaissance frescoes is no longer enough - today's travelers also expect world-class service and amenities.

In the following, I will look at hotels that are either new to the market or have changed significantly in recent years. I'll also give you a list of commendable mentions. All of these Tuscan hotels create their own countryside dream. But in this region, where landscape is culture, where there has been a useful feedback loop between locals and visitors since the Medici centuries, dreams often become indistinguishable from reality.