Upon arrival at the Castiglion del Bosco, a smartly suited clerk produces a silver tray with steaming, lavender-scented hand towels. Bags discreetly vanish from the Benz that ferried me here from Florence, nearly 100 kilometres to the north. Before me lies 2,000 hectares of Tuscan countryside, including Sangiovese vineyards, stone ruins and remnants of a 12th-century castle.

My destination is one of Europe's most rarefied new vacation spots. The CdB, as it's known, is a private club where dues-paying members currently have access to nine far-flung villas and a championship golf course; and where interlopers can mingle with the couture class by reserving one of 23 suites in the old town centre, or Il Borgo.