Farm-stay listings increased 71 percent in five years, and luxury hotels took note. From Tennessee to Tuscany, the land is part of the program.
The cooking class at Wildflower Farms in New York’s Hudson Valley begins before anyone enters a kitchen. Guests first walk out to the property’s working farm, and pick the vegetables and herbs that will become the evening’s meal — the lesson, in other words, starts in the ground. The 140-acre Auberge Resorts property in the Catskill foothills was a tree nursery before it became a wellness resort; the farm is now the central organizing logic of the place, and guests are expected to engage with it rather than simply eat from it.
That thinking has grown into a burgeoning luxury farm vacation category. According to AirDNA, farm-stay listings in the United States increased 71 percent between 2019 and 2024, and Airbnb recorded more than one million searches for farm stays in the first quarter of 2025 alone — a 20 percent jump from the same quarter the year before. Allyson Rees, a senior strategist at trend forecasting firm WGSN, told CNN the appeal comes down to “a desire for more authentic experiences… and feeling like your vacation has a bit more of a wellness component, and an impactful component to your mental health.”
Vittoria Careri, marketing manager for The Hospitality Experience, which operates the Umbrian estate Borgo dei Conti, says the concept of luxury now is “old-fashioned.” She says these types of customers are “searching for something more genuine.” What genuine means at $2,000 a night involves some honest reckoning with the word.
Hotels where the farm comes first
At the properties below, the farm is not an experience offered alongside the spa. It is the reason to go.
Wildflower Farms — Gardiner, New York
Auberge Resorts, 140 acres, Hudson Valley. Beekeeping, botanical baking, and cooking classes that begin in the kitchen garden with whatever is ready that day. The property launched a harvest dinner series hosted by culinary figures, including chef Flynn McGarry, with ingredients guests pick earlier in the afternoon. While Auberge always goes the extra mile to make staying indoors irresistible, Wildflower Farms makes going outside an equally easy choice.
Blackberry Farm — Walland, Tennessee
The original version of the model, and still the most complete: 4,200 acres in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, Relais & Châteaux, with a working farm supplying the kitchen with morning-harvested produce, and dairy from the property’s own herd. Foraging walks, fly fishing, and beekeeping run on the rhythm of the land rather than a spa schedule. The 170,000-bottle wine cellar is also worth noting.
Heckfield Place — Hampshire, England
A 400-acre biodynamic estate where the restaurant Marle draws exclusively from what the farm produces each season, and the natural wine program runs from the property’s own cellar. Farming preceded the hotel and continues to take precedence over it; a spa is available for guests who prefer the indoor hours, but the table is the point.
Borgo Pignano — Tuscany, Italy
A 750-acre organic estate in the Val di Cecina, producing olive oil, vegetables, and wine from land cultivated since the 12th century. The kitchen is organized around what the property grows each week; guests can join harvest activities or simply appear at dinner to find out what was ready. A pool and spa make the case for staying longer than planned.
São Lourenço do Barrocal — Monsaraz, Portugal
A working Alentejo farm for centuries before it became a hotel in 2016, the estate still runs livestock, olive trees, and its own wine and oil production. Activities follow the property’s rhythms — cork harvesting in season, guided walks through working vineyards, horse riding across land farmed since the Romans. One of Portugal’s finest dining rooms happens to be on the premises.
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