La Bandita travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

La Bandita is a Tuscan farmhouse, with light white spaces and modernist infinity pool overlooking a Val d’Orcia nature reserve. This is a chic urban place, full of fresh air and clean space, contemporary furniture, and bold slabs of pure colour. No frills, no clutter, no rough edges and not a hint of wrought iron. The owner is a New Yorker escapee John Voigtmann, who has worked with Christina Aguilera.

Each white room is washed up with stencils of colour – red or green trims on white pillow-slips, for example or textured walls of resin cement in deep shades (yellow for sunlight, blue for bathrooms, red for fireplaces). And there is natural colour too: squares of warm sunlight cast on pale surfaces, or picture windows that frame a true-blue sky, a perfect landscape. They are all furnished in the same style with extra-high ceilings, extra-large walk-in showers, baths and air-conditioning.

There is no restaurant in the area, so the chef David Mangan is on hand to rustle up lunch or dinner on request. He and John serve a relaxed ‘family-style’ meal twice a week – when the mood takes them (for new arrivals, possibly, or last nighties). On warm evenings, dinner is served at a long candlelit table under the pergola on the terrace. If you want a more intimate dinner, somewhere more private, just ask. Breakfast features a healthy selection of whole-grain cereals (granola, muesli), seasonal fruit smoothies or fruit salads, yoghurt and, when it’s hot, iced lattes.

The village, where is villa sited is a UNESCO World Heritage site, consisted a wonderful collection of 15th—16th century buildings, a charming piazza, the Gardens of Piccolomi, and narrow streets of touristy shops. When you feel a bit tired John’s wife could refresh your mood. She is a yoga instructor and is available for private classes for all levels. Or have a massage with a therapist. The hotel is also within easy distance of the medieval hot springs at Bagno Vignoni, or southern Tuscany’s wine capitals, Montalcino and Montepulciano.

Location: near Pienza, south of Siena, in Southern Tuscany, Italy. When to go: Spring, summer or autumn (La Bandita is closed from November to 15 March).  Go out of season for cooler weather and fewer tourists, in spring for lambs, and autumn for the wine harvest.