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One Suite only with 1 king size bed and 1 Sofa couch. Sleeps a maximum of 4 people. Ideal for couples.

Open year-round except the last week of December

Picture this: you wake up, tousled in silky-soft bed sheets as the morning breeze wafts in through your window, perfumed with lavender and rosemary, and wild thyme. The air is crisp, but in that way that you know will soon yield to full heat. You leisurely make your way downstairs and out onto the lawn, the rustling sounds of barley and gentle whirring of a working farm coax you awake. Coffee in hand, you start your morning with a good book and breakfast of fresh fruit that you picked from the garden. 

Sounds pretty idyllic, right? Kate Middleton (no, not that Kate Middleton) thought so too. In 1997, the former TV producer traded studio lights for an overgrown plot of land in rural Tuscany, and never looked back. After becoming a certified organic farmer, she and her partner, Brad, poured their all into rehabilitating the land and restoring the once-abandoned buildings that now make up Le Caviere. In 2012, they opened their doors as a guest house. 

Their philosophy is to make their guests feel at home, comfortable, and relaxed–evidently, they have a knack for it, as several repeat guests loved it here so much that they decided to buy their own properties in the area. 

This is as authentic of a Tuscan experience as you’ll get–Le Caviere is a real working farm, and a family business, nestled in the hills near Sansepolcro, blissfully off the beaten tourist track. After a few days here it really does start to feel like your own–there is only one guesthouse that houses two (at most four, with two on a sofa-bed) guests, with another currently undergoing an exciting renovation, along with Kate and Brad’s home. As you lounge by the pool or come in from a day of hiking in the nearby woods, you’ll glimpse Kate and her team caring for the vines and olive trees, tending the kitchen garden, and cutting the grass. 

They grow all kinds of seasonal fruit and vegetables: tomatoes, lettuce, courgettes, aubergines, potatoes, spinach, radishes, raspberries, strawberries…and 1,500 olive trees with which they produce their own cold-pressed, organic, extra-virgin olive oil. That same garden produce will reappear later, on your dinner plate; you can book a cooking workshop with a local chef who will come and show you how to prepare local, seasonal dishes with everything grown at Le Caviere. Kate and Brad also love to share their produce and always leave a bottle of their homemade Vin Santo, biscotti and olive oil in the kitchen upon your arrival.

End the day under the spray of the rainshower, which boasts double heads carved out of a single piece of Travertine marble, set underneath an arched brick ceiling. As you climb back into those lavender-scented sheets, you’ll hear deer barking at one another and see the wild boar munching on grain in the field below the agriturismo. 

A few segreti (secrets) from Kate:

Enoteca Guidi – All the ingredients here are seasonal and locally sourced, and it’s the best restaurant in town. Must Try: risotto with shrimp bisque, burrata, red prawn carpaccio and candied lemons; sliced steak with rosemary and olive oil, served with asparagus soufflê and fresh tomato sauce; pear cheesecake with port or the chocolate chili pepper cake for dessert. 

Busatti – Here you can find beautiful artisanal tablecloths, napkins, runners, bedding, aprons, towels, bathrobes, and yards of the most exquisite fabrics all made in nearby Anghiari.

Il Falconiere – Only an hour away, this winery has fabulous wine, tours from super friendly guides, and a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Osteria da Giovanna – A Slow Food-recommended, family-run restaurant just outside the city center of Arezzo, named for the current owner’s grandmother, Giovanna, who first opened her grocery store here in 1954. Standouts are the pici all’aglione and everything from the grill.