L'Albereta Relais & Châteaux

The nearest partner course is Franciacorta Golf Club in Corte Franca, which lists L'Albereta among its partner hotels. Founded in 1984, it was laid out by Pete Dye and Marco Croze, with a clubhouse by architect Paolo Dabbeni. Its 27 holes spread across some 80 hectares of woods and vineyards in three nines: Brut, which rewards accuracy and length; Satèn, with water, elevation changes and doglegs; and Rosè, the newest, opened in 2009.

The club has staged the Alpen Cup (2000 and 2006), the Ladies International of Italy (2007) and the European Masters Senior Championship (2010), among others. It is open every day from 8am to 6pm and tee times can be booked online.

For variety, the hotel points out that nine courses lie within 100 kilometres. It does not, however, publish golf packages or special green-fee terms.

At its core is a late-19th-century neo-Renaissance villa that belonged to lawyer Giovanni Cavalleri and his wife Anna. It was bought by Vittorio Moretti, chairman of the Terra Moretti group, and his daughter Carmen turned it into a hotel, which opened on 23 September 1993.

There are now 53 rooms and suites. The first-floor Superior Terrace rooms have balconies over the vineyards, while the largest family option, the Torre del Lago Suite, covers 80 m² and sleeps up to six. Facilities include indoor and outdoor pools, both heated, a tennis court and a park dotted with contemporary sculpture.

Chenot Espace fills 2,000 m² over two floors. The hotel says Henri Chenot chose it as the only Italian destination for his method, delivered here in programmes of three to seven days by a team of more than 30 professionals, doctors and therapists included. Guests on a programme eat at the Ristorante Chenot, reserved for them; day visitors can book the Detox Day Spa, with treatments and lunch, from €450.

The main dining room is L'Aurum, listed in the Michelin Guide, whose inspectors still detect the influence of Gualtiero Marchesi, once brought in to lead the hotel's kitchens. Leone Felice follows the seasons with vegetables and herbs from the garden, and Quintale puts the charcoal grill centre stage. La Filiale serves Franco Pepe's pizzas with Franciacorta sparkling wine, and Stanza 54 pours from the Moretti family cellars.

• Nine rooms to start: when it opened in 1993, the hotel had only nine rooms.
• A villa full of music: Anna Cavalleri, a musician, created a Music Room filled with instruments and hosted artists from around the world.
• A childhood dream: as the golf club tells it, a young Carmen Moretti toured the world's Relais & Châteaux with her father, guidebook under her arm, dreaming of a place of her own.
• Early accolades: the hotel says it was named Europe's best resort in 1997 and, in 2008, made the SPA Guide's list of the 101 best spas in the world.