Not everyone will ‘get’ Nordelaia. The first time I visited this ambitious hotel in the hills of northern Italy, I found myself perplexed. “The whole thing faces the wrong way,” I said to my husband in a fit of London rage after the barman informed me they didn’t have any cranberry juice thus vetoing my cocktail of choice (a Cosmopolitan). The next thing I knew, we were three sheets to the wind and had a flat tyre. The night has since gone down in family history as the night my husband and I congo-ed around the kitchen island. Don’t ask.
Two years later I’m back on official travel writer business and I’m pleased to report Nordelaia has found its groove. Food is the focus. Ask to see the kitchens (a vast one below deck for prep and another one up top for finishing touches). They are professional kitchens the likes of which one would expect to find in a top hotel in Paris or London manned by passionate twenty-somethings whose vitality spills onto the plate and beyond. British chef Charlie Pearce is the ringmaster.
Seen The Menu with Ralph Fiennes? LORTO, Nordelaia’s fine dining restaurant, is a bit like that except it’s not on a remote island and no one dies. It’s a six-course menu. Just fish and veg. No meat. Asterisk: the main course features chicken but we’ll come onto that. There’s no music. Diners are encouraged to pay full attention to the flavours on parade: a wafer-thin mackerel cigar; Amberjack tartare; a carrot and chilli granita; fresh bread with whipped Marmite butter; goats milk ricotta ravioli with wild garlic sauce. One of the dishes arrives looking like a bowl of mud. It is in fact potato risotto dusted with black fermented lemon powder. Nothing comes under a cloche or with smoke. It’s highly theatrical nonetheless thanks to LORTO’s bare-ankled loafer-wearing manager who moves around the room like a young John Travolta.
It’s a beautiful dining room. Pendant lamps resembling giant bronzed lily-pads cast a warm glow while floor-to-ceiling racks of rosé lend a feminine touch. At one end, mastery is at work in a gleaming open kitchen.
Just when I felt I couldn’t manage another morsel, a waiter brought over a honey-glazed hunk of brioche with a pot of onion and marjoram goop so deliciously cheesy, it had me reeling backwards in my chair. After this, the star dish (roasted hispi cabbage) was a bit of an anti-climax however I’d pay good money to lick the double-roasted chicken sauce from the plate. The final triumphant flourish was a peanut butter and caramel ice-cream ‘sandwich’, dainty as a macaron. Chef’s kiss.
So much talk of food, I haven’t even touched on Nordelaia’s location. Equidistant from Turin and Milan (both approx 1.5 hours by road), the hotel sits atop a hill in the heart of Piedmont’s wine country. Stand on the terrace and pan your eyes left and right and all you’ll see is forest, vineyards and the occasional agriturismo. The closest town is Cremolino, a small medieval village featuring a Castello. To get there, it’s a 3km scenic walk along on woodland trail or a five-minute drive.
Can’t live without your 21st-century mod-cons? Don’t worry, there’s speedy Wi-Fi (you can WhatsApp the team at Reception if you need anything), top-of-the-range e-bikes and a spa with separate heated pool. And then there are the touches that go beyond: ‘LaFleur’ table lamps designed by Marc Sadler light the place up in the evening; the main pool is a sculptural work of art; my bedroom (‘Estate’ translation: ‘Summer’), one of twelve, had a four-poster bed that summoned the newly furbished suites on the Orient Express.
Having come out of nowhere during the pandemic, Nordelaia might have taken a while to find its feet but it’s definitely found them. Should further proof be required, on my last night I ordered a Cosmopolitan. A frosted martini glass arrived at the table, pale pink, cloudy and pretty as a peony. And guess what? It knocked my socks off. Congo, congo, congo…
Rooms at Nordelaia start from 220 euros including breakfast. Dinner at L’ORTO is from 90 euros for six courses. Spa days are open to external guests and start from 160 euros. For more information, visit www.nordelaia.com.
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