Meet The Hotelier Behind Castello Di Vicarello In Maremma In Italy

84Rooms: Tell Me a Little Bit about Castello di Vicarello?

Neri Baccheschi Berti:

My parents found it in the early 80s, when they saw it they just fell in love with it, but at the time my mother used to be in fashion designing, she used to have her own label and my father used to import furniture. They were both living in Indonesia in Bali and Vicarello at the time was a ruin, so for about 10 more years they kept living in Indonesia, but then they decided to change their life, come back to Vicarello, and renovate the place, it took about 11 years to renovate the propriety and it was opened it in 2003. The hotel started with three rooms, then four, and then five. Four years ago I decided to change my life as well, I used to be a Banker in Zurich, but I ended up travelling between London and Hong Kong. Then I decided to change my life. I came over to Vicarello and started taking care of the property. Now I’m 4 years in, we are developing some new suites. We arrived at 10 suites and it’s been a very exciting time.

84Rooms: What is the Ethos that Underpins the Experience in Your Hotel?

Neri Baccheschi Berti:

I would say that our philosophical ideal that underlies the customer experience is comfortable, authentic, and familiar. This means that our clients need to feel extremely comfortable in an ambient that is very familiar to them, starting from the very first day they arrive, so there is a lot of thought behind it and that is not so easy to make it happen but I think we have all the characteristics in order to make it happen. Of course, we want to give them a unique experience but a unique experience is not just about an activity that they experience but it’s about the old stay, from the amenities to the accommodation to the people, to the food, and I think we are doing it very well.

84Rooms: What is Your Favorite Room or Place Within the Hotel?

Neri Baccheschi Berti:

The glass room, it’s one of my favorite spots, because it’s so immersed in nature. It's connected with the main area of the castle's big living area, the dining room, and the medieval kitchen, it’s a very special spot. All glass allows the space to fully connect with nature. It’s a very inspiring room, a lot of ideas are flowing in when you are in this space, and I am able to connect to my thoughts when I’m setting this room. Another room is The Spa Suite, it’s something completely different. It’s modern in touch and immersed in nature, very private. It was my first project at Vicarello, very special.

84Rooms: What are Your Future Projects or Plans with Castello di Vicarello?

Neri Baccheschi Berti:

We would love to arrive at 15 suites, but no more than that as we want to keep the exclusivity and privacy that we offer here at Castello di Vicarello. We would love to build the new church. Currently, we are actually going to renovate the existing church, which is a Romanic church from XI Century. We are also going to renovate the Tower of the Castle and that’s going to be a new suite for guests.

84Rooms: Have You Thought about Opening Another Hotel?

Neri Baccheschi Berti:

Yes, we thought to open another hotel and actually, we are working on one now. A new hotel in Milan and it’s going to be called Vico Milano with only 11 suites. Vico Milano is going to be located in the center of Milan and will have the same philosophy as Vicarello. Same approach and ethos of authenticity, familiarity, and comfort for our clientele.

84Rooms: Where do You Travel to in Your Free Time and do You Have a Favorite Hotel You always Go to?

Neri Baccheschi Berti:

I would say I travel all over the place, however, there are a few places where I try to go every year, for example, to the Amalfi Coast and to Sifnos, an island in the Cyclades. I try to do a new trip to a new country every year too, to discover a whole new place. I normally go by motorcycle or by car, so these trips are quite an adventure. (In addition, Neri's favorite hotels, where he goes very often: "Casa Angelina" in the Amalfi Coast and "JK Place Capri").

84Rooms: What Kind of Guest is Castello di Vicarello Most Suited to?

Neri Baccheschi Berti:

It’s not an easy question, as we have many different kinds of people from actors, lawyers, to entrepreneurs, and people that work in finance. It’s very diverse. But the most common one is the romantic escape, we have a lot of couples and honeymooners. Everyone is very happy here and comes for the ethos of Vicarello, whoever they are, they can escape here.

84Rooms: What are the Things you Most Recommend to your Client to do as an Experience in Your Area?

Neri Baccheschi Berti:

Castello di Vicarello is a lovely spot as we are between Rome and Florence, right in the Maremma region in Tuscany. It is really stunning. We are 30 minutes away from the Montalcino area where the Brunello wines come from. And some lovely medieval villages, like Pienza, San Quirico D'Orcia, Bangi Vignone. Siena is only 40 min away. We have the seaside town of Castiglione Della Pescaia or the old Argentario coast within driving distance. For sure I would also recommend our clients to do some activity here, from wine tastings with my brother, he’s the winemaker of our own wine, which makes it interesting also because our wine is extremely special and organic, for the way we produce it. Or cooking classes, we offer many different activities.

84Rooms: What are the Things You Prefer to Do in Your Area that only the Locals Know?

Neri Baccheschi Berti:

I like to go on Sunday to Arcidosso, there’s an amazing local bakery called Corsini. Also excursions in the wild Maremma countryside.

You Can Book Castello di Vicarello here

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