In the heart of the Langhe, the chef’s haute cuisine is combined with spa and wellness
An all-spring color palette welcomes us to this place of mind that is already a geographical destination for wine, an ideal landing place to put aside the weight of the present for at least a few hours, the physical and mental fatigue of a daily life compressed by metropolitan thoughts and duties. The pure and bucolic beauty of the countryside, the hills of Barolo, the vineyards that follow one another in ordered rows and gently combed by the wind, meet the harmony of the Arborina Relais boutique hotel in La Morra, a place of charm that reinterprets the golden rules of Piedmontese hospitality: the care of receiving in a linearity of details and meticulous attention, supported by the beauty of nature tout court. Silence, the right timing, the value of essentiality: here everything revolves around the customer welcomed in the comfort of ten design suites – Garden, Junior and Romantic Suite – with an essential, warm, welcoming, sustainable and never flashy style. The natural materials that combine tradition and innovative design – wood, stone, precious fabrics -, the large panoramic windows in all the suites and the evocative view of the most famous clives of Barolo enter in perfect harmony with the elements of the territory . Arborina Relais, both a charming residence and a gourmet restaurant part of the Les Collectionneurs circuit, was born in 2015 as a boutique hotel and soon became a “destination luxury hotel”. Dedicated services, immersive experiences in the world of wellness and food and wine, the quality of one’s time returned in dedicated wellness programs and treatments, visits to the territory organized in a tailor-made way on the basis of desires and needs, are what is offered to satisfy the customer too. more demanding. Anyone can enjoy the SPA, always and only for the exclusive use of guests, equipped with an outdoor pool heated all year round, a sauna, a Turkish bath, and the opportunity to purchase body and face rituals and dedicated massages. The philosophy of the wellness center is combined with the love for this land, and with the use of completely natural and functional cosmetics made with local raw materials such as hazelnuts, grapes and seeds, flowers, fruit and derivatives of Cherasco snails. From the wellbeing of the body and mind to that of the table in the reception of the Osteria Arborina, which boasts a Michelin star, integrated within the Relais. In an open kitchen that intrigues and captures the curious gaze of customers welcomed in a handful of exclusive tables, the hands move with ritual gestures, while the faces of young chefs cross between looks that blend in harmonious coordination. It is a gentle rigor to pull the strings of an industrious brigade that the very young executive chef Giuseppe Lo Presti has united around him, between human smiles and far-sighted objectives. Forge of ideas, with passion and talent, she brought her thoughts on life but above all memory and remembrance into the kitchen. He defines it as “of memory”: an experience where you can welcome the past and the future by mixing the Sicilian and Tuscan food and wine culture, blending them with strength and great ease in the Langhe area. A cuisine that strips itself of any frills, which thrives on definition, cleanliness, precision, but above all on clear flavors that remain pure and authentic on the palate and in the memory of those who have chosen the pleasure of a stop in Arborina Osteria and Relais. Land and sea with its strictly local products, the exclusive partner suppliers of the Langhe enhancement project, are the precious elements for the construction of the two menus that trace the emotional vision of Giuseppe Lo Presti and his path between tradition, territories he loved and influences from the past. Light and elegant, above all always recognizable in the flavor both “Langhe my way”, Fassona 36 months with mandarin and white pepper, restricted to Barolo, hazelnut and radish fermented with raspberry, Plin 2.0 with “dead roast” Carmagnola rabbit in two services and Tournedos di Fassona, its base, crunchy chard, carrot cream and ginger: the material between cooking and mixing that preserves the Piedmontese heritage. With “Sicilia Toscana e Piemonte” it ranges from natural red shrimp, tomato water, basil and olive soil, to Tortello with tripe, red mullet in three firings, datterino mayonnaise and natural cuttlefish ink – a jewel of beauty and goodness that melts the desires of pleasure in a whirlwind of taste and gasps of the soul – with wild Ombrina with lime, bouillabaisse in cream and shallot with Barolo; happy, domestic, eternal cuisine, copious flow of authenticity that takes back its scents and cultural collocation.
