Sir Rocco Forte was in Sicily on Saturday to attend the ground-breaking ceremony for Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Rocco Forte Hotels’ first resort property, which is due to open in 2007.
Verdura Golf & Spa Resort Hotels is a €129 million hotel and golf resort on the southern coast in a small village near Sciacca, just over an hour’s drive from the international airport in Palermo and 30 kilometres from Agrigento and the Temple Valley.
The development, involving the restoration of several existing buildings on the site together with new construction, which will reflect the history and character of Sicily and the region, will consist of a 200-room ocean-view hotel, two championship golf courses, a hydrotherapy spa, sports facilities and a relatively large real estate development. The architect is Denton Corker Marshall.
The Verdura Golf & Spa Resort will offer a total of 200 bedrooms, including 50 suites, set into the contours of the landscape to minimise visual impact and provide stunning views of the Mediterranean.
The 2000-square-metre Verdura spa complex will include 16 treatment rooms, three hydrotherapy rooms, five thalassotherapy pools, a large swimming pool, changing rooms, a dietetic restaurant and a gym.
In addition to the spa, there will be two 18-hole championship golf courses, plus a nine-hole course, designed by golf course architect Kyle Phillips, who designed the highly acclaimed courses of Kings Barnes near St Andrews and The Grove in Hertfordshire. The golf club will include a restaurant, cafe-bar and retailing in addition to the normal golfing facilities. Guests will also be invited to use the private beach at the hotel.
The conference centre at The Verdura Golf & Spa Resort will accommodate up to 250 people. There will be a total of eight meeting rooms, as well as a cinema and a Business Centre available to all guests. The Verdura Golf & Spa Resort is scheduled to open in 2007.
Kyle Phillips www.kylephillips.com
Verdura Golf Resort www.verduraresort.com
Groundbreaking in Sicily
