World’s Best Luxury Farm Stays

This legendary farm and luxury hotel bordering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most well-regarded foodie destinations in the country. Last year, the property’s historic Guest House underwent a major renovation, reducing the number of guest rooms so that each can be larger and more luxurious, and a 17,000-square-foot event center with an outdoor amphitheater and underground tunnel to the Barn Wine Cellar opened in late summer. But the property’s commitment to heirloom ingredients and the land hasn't changed at all: Meals are served in an 18th-century Amish bank barn with a gambreled roof and virtually every ingredient used—including wild flower honey, farm eggs, cheese from East Friesian sheep, and even the spicy Saison—has been grown or produced on the 4,200-acre estate. All-inclusive stays start at $895 (two night minimum); 1471 W. Millers Cove Rd.; 865-984-8166; blackberryfarm.com. —Casey Hatfield

The heart of this 300-year old Cape Dutch Farm and winery, named for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, is the eight-acre garden, inspired by one that once supplied the Dutch East India Company. Designed by a French architect, it has a classical feel and overflows with fresh produce: stone fruits, nuts, citrus, berries, even a prickly pear maze. At the Farm Hotel, some design elements scream farm stay—thick walls, fireplaces, and gables—but the rooms feel fresh and modern thanks to a white color scheme, architectural four poster beds, and luxurious touches like heated floors. In the restaurant, Babel, located in a former cow shed, guests dine on seasonal dishes such as a monochromatic “yellow salad” of pineapple, gooseberries, and apricots in summer, or in winter a leg of lamb slow cooked in red wine. In the glass and steel conservatory more casual meals are served picnic style with preserves, salads, and fresh bread displayed in cute wooden crates. Suites from $400 for two guests ($300 for single occupancy); Franschhoek; 27-2/1863-3852; babylonstoren.com. —CH

At this Inn and James Beard Award-winning restaurant, one could say the entire island is its pantry: chefs forage for seaweed on the shore below the main house, pluck wild berries off the property’s bushes, and fish the Puget Sound for ruby red salmon. While the property is not itself an active farm, Loganita Farm, just up the road, supplies the restaurant with produce like kale, sunchokes, rhubarb, sorrel, and edible flowers, and walking tours of the farm are provided for guests most days. Accommodations at the Willows are beach cottage chic with wicker furnishings, white wood paneled walls, and stone bathrooms. The piece-de-resistance of a stay at the Willows is the 20-course tasting menu, which allows you to truly taste the island's air, sea, and earth in every bite. Pristine seafood shines in dishes like Dungeness crab in pine nut milk, spot prawns cooked in rock salt, and smoked salmon served in a little cedar box that tastes so sweet it’s like candy. Rooms from $230; 2579 W. Shore Dr., Lummi Island; 360-758-2620; willows-inn.com. —CH

You could say the transformation of this simple country house in County Cork, Ireland, into a famous destination for cooking and dining happened organically. The Allen family bought the property in 1948, raised their children there and farmed the land. In the 1960s they decided to open a restaurant serving only seasonal ingredients, as well as eggs, dairy, and meat produced and raised on the farm. Needless to say, the idea flourished. Still family-owned, today Ballymaloe operates an elegant hotel with a restaurant, walled garden, and world-renowned cooking school (located just down the road). Guest accommodations, in the ivy covered main house and several other farm buildings, are charming and very Irish with floral wallpaper, pastel colors, and antique oak desks and chairs. Food is never an afterthought at Ballymaloe. Irish soda breads and scones are baked daily and dinners consist of local lamb and farm grown ingredients like borlotti beans, Swiss chard, and Treviso radicchio. Afternoon tea with cake and house-made ginger-rhubarb jam served in the geranium-filled conservatory is a sublime experience. From approximately $112 a night per person; Shanagarry, Midleton; 35-32/1465-2531; ballymaloe.ie. —CH

Wealthy businessman Christophe Delaune gave up his fast-paced life to open this farm fantasyland in a bucolic corner of Normandy. Typical Norman architecture—half-timbered buildings with sloping thatched roofs—was the inspiration for the cottage in Disney’s take on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and that’s exactly what Le Domaine d’Ablon looks like. Various farm buildings (many recently built by local artisans) dot the property; accommodations include a two-bedroom cottage and two suites in a building that resembles a grange. But guests can expect every modern comfort: large bathrooms with standing bathtubs, Bvulgari bath products, and king-size beds with high thread count sheets. The storybook property also has orchards, stables, and a meticulous kitchen garden where vegetables are planted in neat rows separated by herringbone brick walkways. Breakfast, brought to guests in their room by Delaune himself, is a highlight. The spread might include peach and apricot confiture, housemade Nutella, and fresh cakes and croissants made in the wee hours of the morning by the hotel’s chef Jérôme Billochon. Suites from $447; 2504 route de Genneville; 30-1/47-20-44-99; domainedablon.com. —CH

The Count and Countess Bolza fell in love with this massive estate dotted with olive groves in the 1990s; today the family has turned the property into an artsy retreat attracting travelers in search of secluded luxury. Located in Umbria, Castello di Reschio an Enoteca wine shop, a Bodega selling Italian handcrafts such as Venetian silk slippers, and a restaurant, Osteria, that serves traditional Umbrian fare incorporating the property’s own organically grown vegetables and fruit. Guests stay in ancient farmhouses, but the accommodations are hardly rustic. Each has an infinity pool and modern furnishings designed by the Bolza’s architect son Benedikt. Guests can take advantage of a plethora of activities, from cooking lessons to searching for truffles and porcini mushrooms to clay pigeon shooting and mountain biking in a portion of Reschio’s 3,000-acre wilderness. The estate’s pureblood Andalusian stud farm produces some of the finest Dressage horses in the world. Houses from $10,063 a week; Fattoria di Reschio, 06060; 39-0/7584-4362; reschio.com.

People come to this remote outpost three hours from Melbourne for a variety of reasons: beautiful scenery (the hotel has Grampians National Park as a back drop), solitude, and good eating. Each day, chefs harvest fresh ingredients from the organic kitchen garden. The farm uses ducks, not pesticides, to control pests like snails in the acre-plus garden. Orchards and olive groves provide more produce and the property raises free-range hens as well as lamb and beef. Guests have a variety of choices when it comes to accommodations, including sparsely furnished stone cottages with views of Mount Sturgeon and recently refurbished suites with heated floors, rain showers, and balconies. In the restaurant, the chef’s tasting menu might include Royal Mail lamb with miso eggplant and mulberry, and chocolate Blackforest cake paired with a 1997 ‘vintage port’ shiraz. The wine cellar, curated over 40 years, is one of the best in Australia. Rooms from $230; 98 Parker St.; 61-3/5577-2241; royalmail.com.au. —CH

This historic Texas Hill Country Inn, which has hosted Union soldiers and cattlemen, brims with rustic, western charm. Spanish-style haciendas and casitas feature king-size beds with Egyptian cotton sheets and private patios. The 313-acre resort also has an infinity pool, hiking and biking trails, and activities like clay target shooting and horseback riding lessons—Dos Brisas is home to the second largest private indoor riding arena in Texas. The Inn at Dos Brisas Restaurant, supplied by a 42-acre organic garden growing heirloom fruits and vegetables, berries and herbs, is considered one of the best in the Lone Star State. The vegetable-centric menu is served in an elegant dining room with an 18th-century fireplace from France and a mahogany bar. Dishes like honey roasted Rohan duck (for two) with wild ramps, fava beans, and potato gnocchi are perfect on a warm Texas night. Rooms from $450; 10000 Champion Dr.; 979-277-7750; dosbrisas.com. —CH

This small hotel on a working tea estate has just 10 suites with panoramic views of the jungle and Koggala Lake, so while it's close to popular sites like Galle Fort and Unawatuna beach, it feels very secluded. Each suite is uniquely furnished—the newest, the Hibiscus suite, has its own infinity-edge plunge pool and Mediterranean-inspired blue-and-white decor. Kahanda Kanda uses fruits, vegetables, and herbs grown on the estate to create simple fusion food, and classic Sri Lankan dishes like crab meat curry made with coconut milk and turmeric and served with garlic kankun, a leafy local vegetable. Cooking classes can introduce guests to the secrets of Sri Lankan and Thai cuisine and a variety of other bespoke itineraries can be arranged from a tour of Galle Fort, a Dutch fort and World Heritage Site, and a safari at the Yalal Game Reserve, home to the largest leopard population in the world. Suites from $335; Habaraduwa Dikkumbara Rd.; 94-9/1494-3700; kahandakanda.com. —CH

Nobel Prize-winning author Sinclair Lewis and journalist Dorothy Thompson found paradise on this 300-acre farm with an 18th-century farmhouse in the 1920s, and today hotel guests feel much the same way. Set in an unspoiled valley, the property has the same rolling hills, meadows, and woodlands, but the updated all-inclusive hideaway has become one of the premier small hotels in the country with 20 elegant guest rooms, a fitness center, tennis courts, and a spa. The best rooms may be in the Farmhouse at Copper Hill, a four-suite sanctuary overlooking a pond where each room comes equipped with a king-size feather bed and sitting area with wood-burning fireplace. Twin Farms grows its own herbs, fruits, and vegetables, while its chicken comes from Kiss the Cow Farm just two miles down the road. Famously, the property has no menu: executive chef Nathan Rich comprises meals based on guests dietary requirements and the freshest ingredients available each day. All-inclusive rooms from $1,500; 452 Royalton Tpke.; 802-234-9999; twinfarms.com. —CH

Located in the sustainable community of Kittitian Hill on St. Kitts, Belle Mont Farm is environmentally friendly luxury at its best. Architect Bill Bensley, who designed the Siam in Thailand, designed the accommodations: cottages patterned after traditional chattel houses so they blend seamlessly with the landscape, each with their own wrap-around veranda with fabulous views of the Caribbean Sea. This is not a beachfront resort as it’s perched on Mount Liamuiga, but the 400-acre organic tropical farm with terraced gardens more than makes up for it. The property’s cuisine is some of the best in the West Indies and guests can choose between a variety of places to dine and imbibe, including an oceanfront alfresco restaurant specializing in sustainable seafood (a 10 minute drive from the resort), and a bar that creates exotic cocktails using fruit and herbs grown on the property. Guests are encouraged to interact with the farm. ‘Pick Me’ signs are hung on trees so they know where the ripest fruit is to be plucked for immediate consumption. Rooms from $700; Kittitian Hill; 855-846-3951; bellemontfarm.com. —CH

The first thing that strikes guests when they arrive at this luxury lodge in the world-renowned Hawkes Bay wine region is the dramatic location on a plateau overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The 6,000-acre property, with a Tom Doak-designed golf course, is also a working sheep and cattle farm and the main lodge has a rustic feel with wood beamed ceilings and roaring fireplaces. Each of the 22 guest suites has a balcony to soak up the views and spacious bathrooms with oversized bathtubs. A new vegetable garden close to the restaurant's kitchen allows chefs to create menus based on what is freshest, and they have a plethora of ingredients to choose from: 37 different types of tomato, capsicums, beetroot, sweet corn, eggplant, potatoes, and strawberries. Hens also produce fresh eggs daily. The vast property can be explored via horse trek or four-wheel-drive farm tour. Rooms from $1,100; 446 Clifton Rd.; 64-6/875-1900; capekidnappers.com. —CH

Located at the foot of an active volcano in south-central Mexico, this luxury ranch has a rich culinary history. Originally a coffee plantation, the property reopened in the 1980s, when international financier Sir James Goldsmith acquired it, restored it, and implemented an organic farming system. Today, over 90 percent of the menu served at the Hacienda’s onsite restaurant is sourced from its ranch or the coastal farms at its sister property, Cuixmala; usually, the food is served the same day it is harvested. The ranch also produces about 20 different cheeses, and still grows and roasts its own coffee. Guests can experience this farm-fresh culture firsthand by touring the greenhouses with the property’s chef (and building a salad that is picked and prepared on the spot), or touring the roasting facilities. Dinner is often served in different locations each night, so guests can enjoy dishes (such as mahi-mahi ceviche with grapefruit) in the hotel’s richly-furnished common spaces, including the Club Room (with an oversized fireplace) or the Mirador Terrace (with 360-degree views of the volcano and lush formal gardens). Each of the hotel's 25 rooms and suites has a fireplace, and features authentic Mexican artwork or antiques hand-picked by current owner (and Goldsmith’s daughter) Alix Marcaccini. Rooms from $697; Domicilio Conocido, San Antonio, Comala; 866-516-2611; haciendadesanantonio.com. —Avery Stone