5 hotels among flower meadows that protect bees

By Chris On May 20, 2022

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We have always taken them for granted, but only now that they are in danger from pesticides and pollution do we realize their indispensable value. Bees, whose International Day is celebrated on 20 May, pollinate more than 130,000 plant species by moving from one flower to another. Together with other pollinating insects, they are therefore sentinels of biodiversity, as well as a guarantee of at least 30% of the food we consume.

And to help the precious work of bees, and offer zero-cm honey to their guests, there are hotels that have equipped themselves with hives. Here are five that offer beekeeper experience for a day, educational tours and gourmet menus with the sweet product of the hives.

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Meleto Castle, Gaiole in Chianti (Siena)

From the top of a hill, like a balcony overlooking the Chianti area, the mighty thirteenth-century towers and walls of Meleto Castle https://www.castellomeleto.it. A historic jewel transformed into an organic farm that boasts suites with coffered ceilings and frescoes where you can sleep like gentlemen of the past. If the main production of the estate is Chianti Classico Docg, the commitment to a territory that is as healthy and natural as possible has sacrificed a hectare and a half of land to the vineyards to donate it to bees: true creators and artisans of biodiversity thanks to their work of pollinators. Thus was born the Bee Park, an area of biological diversity in which 30 varieties have been planted which guarantee pollinators nourishment and blooms from March to October. Here you walk among flower beds and patches of rosemary, chamomile, lavender, clover and sainfoin, to name but a few, up to fruit trees such as apple and almond trees, just planted. Today the park has 40 hives, but the goal is to reach 100. A real paradise for bees thanks also to the conversion to organic of the entire estate, which overall boasts 100 hectares of extension among woods, vineyards and olive groves. The fruit of so much work? A wildflower honey which is an explosion of blooms in the mouth, where a floral note prevails rather than another, depending on the moment of harvest. To guarantee support for the project, Meleto has launched the In the Name of the Bee initiative, which allows the adoption of a hive guaranteeing 10 kg of honey per year against an investment of 250 euros.
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The castle of Meleto

The Paco delle Api on the Castello di Meleto estate.
Fani Kurti

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Borgo Scopeto Relais, Castelnuovo Berardenga (Siena)

Remaining in the Chianti hills, in Castelnuovo Berardenga, you will find another jewel of hospitality that has also given bees their space. Borgo Scopeto Relais https://www.borgoscopetorelais.itcharming hotel affiliated with the Condé Nast Johansens collection https://www.johansens.com, is an eighteenth-century noble villa surrounded by hectares of vineyards, olive groves and fields of lavender and helichrysum. Here, bees find a favorable habitat and become protagonists in the activities Beekeeper for a day, in which to discover all the secrets of their precious work together with the estate’s experts. Among the spearheads of the structure is the kitchen of young chef Pietro Fortunati, Tuscan doc that offers gourmet dishes enhancing local ingredients. Among the zero-meter raw materials proposed by the menu of the La Tinaia restaurant, there is also the house honey that enters the menu with unforgettable dishes such as saffron risotto, Maremma buffalo mozzarella, onions and pearls of crystallized honey. Or the strudel broken down with honey and sanded pine nuts.

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Borgo Scopeto Relais

The lavender fields that favor the work of the bees of Borgo Scopeto Relais.
Thaddaeus Salcher

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Adler Lodge Ritten – Renon Plateau (South Tyrol)

In the woods overlooking the Dolomites of the Renon Plateau, in Soprabolzano, the twenty dark larch chalets of theAdler Lodge Ritten. Here nature is the protagonist and you can see it immediately upon entering the main lodge, where you are greeted by the scent of wood, among designer logs, natural ponds and a Forest Spa protected by trees. Respect for the territory that hosts it is also tasted in the dishes of the restaurant, which re-elaborates local and seasonal ingredients. Among these is also honey, produced by colonies with over 360 thousand bees, who live in the new hives under the trees next to the lodge. The South Tyrolean beekeepers Doris and Michael Hafner took care of it, who accepted the challenge of producing honey at an altitude of 1250 meters. Moreover, here the pollinators find an intact habitat, rich in alpine flowers and free of pesticides and intensive monocultures. Practically a kingdom of biodiversity that makes bees happy. Not surprisingly, a few minutes from here, in Costalovara, you can also visit the Beekeeping Museum at Maso Plattner.
At Adler Lodge Ritten, hardworking workers, flying between lime trees and mountain flower meadows, produce a delicious forest honeydew, cold extracted and served in Adler branded jars. The same that the guests of the lodge enjoy for breakfast combined with yogurt, milk and mountain cheeses. For those who want to know more there are also honey tastings together with beekeepers, who explain the secrets of bees inviting you to try different varieties and combinations made in Sudtirol.
®Arik Oberrauch

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Adler Lodge Ritten

Honey produced by the beehives of Adler Lodge Ritten.

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Cascioni Eco Retreat – Arzachena (Sardinia)

Open for a year in the scented countryside of Mediterranean scrub that slopes down towards the Bay of Cannigione, theeco-retreat Cascioni it is surrounded by 18 hectares of greenery. Its name in Gallura means cupboard, crate for grains, and the style of this country chic address is based on the rural and ancient tradition of the Sardinian hinterland. Each suite is different from the other and is inspired by the customs and traditions of Gallura. And the experiences that guests can have guided by experts are dedicated to the territory. One of them is Golden notes: a walk on the estate. I together with the experts to admire the vitality of the hives among the flowers and plants. The Cascioni bees produce the thistle, eucalyptus and wildflower honey, which can then be enjoyed at breakfast or paired with island cheeses together with a good glass of wine. This is accompanied by other experiential activities such as the ceramic laboratory inspired by the ancestral motifs found in the mysterious Tombs of the giants of the Nuragic civilization. Or the vegetable dye, the courses of jams and delights in jars, the oil and wine tastings, and the kayaking in the nature of the Saloni pond nature reserve, which then reaches the sea among tamarisks and reeds. Those who prefer to relax in the pool will find shade from the carob trees, while those who want to explore the estate will lose themselves among olive trees, cork oaks and groves scented with myrtle, mastic and juniper.
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Cascioni Eco Retreat

The Cascioni eco retreat estate.
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Villa Crespi – Lake Orta (Piedmont)

It stands out with its minaret tower on Lake Orta. Villa Frizzy is a Moorish-style jewel commissioned in 1879 by the cotton entrepreneur Cristoforo Benigno Crespi who had it built in a Middle Eastern style with inlays, arches, domes and starry skies from A Thousand and One Nights. Since 1999, it is the reign of Cinzia and Antonio Cannavacciuolo, which has brought two Michelin stars with the menu of his restaurant that marries the flavors of Campania origin and those of the Piedmontese territory. The brigade uses local ingredients starting with herbs from the garden and home-grown honey. In fact, since 2018, they have been installed in a corner of the park facing south-east 5 hives which produce a delicious honey used in desserts such as “Honey, pollen and hydrotonic”. The bees of the ligustica breed produce three seasonal harvests. In spring the black locust honey pseudoacaciain early summer the wildflower honey and finally the chestnut honey. A delight also available to guests at breakfast for a sweeter awakening with a view of the lake.