Verdura Resort, a Rocco Forte Hotel
When Rocco Forte, the visionary behind the respected London-based hotel brand, decided to build Verdura Resort, a Rocco Forte Hotel along Sicily’s southern coast, he had a dilemma: the stunning Mediterranean landscape was ideal for a luxury property, yet it felt a world away from everything else. For a visit to make sense for guests with a bevy of other vacation options, the resort needed enough onsite distractions to ensure no one ever wanted to leave. By dotting the 560-acre campus with olive trees, spacious accommodations, a top spa and some of the finest golf in Europe, the mission was accomplished.
But it’s not just the lavish links that keep hearts fluttering here. Volleyball games and capoeira classes occur on the private beach. Tennis instructionals with former pros can be organized. Daily swimming sessions happen in the 196-foot pool. Of course, if you want to do nothing at all with your day, you have that option as well. Verdura Resort is where you go to exert as little (or as much) energy as you like. Just as Forte envisioned.
- While the 200-plus rooms and suites provide unique vistas (some point toward the sea, some peek at the golf course and others look onto stretches of greenery), all the units have bedrooms done in earthen colors and bathrooms finished in warm stone that are scented by Irene Forte Skincare products.
- The resort’s accommodations roster features 20 new Rocco Forte Private Villas. The three- and four-bedroom hillside stays include welcome gifts, daily breakfast, complimentary rounds of golf and kart usage. Add a private chef or in-room massage to elevate your Sicilian countryside vacation.
- Even if you don’t hire personal chef service during your visit, your culinary journey at Verdura will be memorable. Four restaurants, highlighted by Amare’s sublime seafood and Zagara’s Mediterranean fare, use ingredients plucked from the onsite garden.
- The Sicily hotel’s organic farm also plays an important role in some of the products used in services at the Irene Forte Spa. The 43,000-square-foot oasis framed by olive trees and orange groves provides 11 treatment rooms, infrared saunas, a thalassotherapy circuit and an indoor lap pool.
- Once you combine the spectacular sea views on the West course with the East’s recently renovated layout, you get a full understanding as to why so many golf aficionados consider Verdura Resort’s bag of offerings (which also includes a nine-hole course and the Verdura Golf Academy) the finest in the region.
- The greens aren’t the only place where you’ll find great athletes. Through Verdura’s unique Academies of the Stars program, guests can also take week-long sessions from the best in arenas such as tennis (Gilles Müller), taekwondo (Erica Nicoli), rugby (Emanuele Leonardi) and padel tennis (Gregorino Rebecchini).
- The luxury hotel wants you to see, touch and taste as much of Sicily as you can. Learn how to prepare authentic pasta dishes during a cooking class. Get up close and personal with the rocky coastline on a yacht voyage. Take a Porsche 718 Boxster for a ride to a medieval hill town. Lace up your boots for a trek around an abandoned castle. Depending on how intense you want to get, there’s an adventure waiting on you.
- With more than a mile of private coastline (part sandy, part pebbly), you can choose to forget about other activities and, instead, concentrate on the piercing blue waters and catching up on any relaxing you’ve been neglecting. With attentive beach service, that’s easy to do.
- Children are more than welcome on this Sicilian holiday. In the rooms, hooded towels, night lamps and a kid-focused turndown service are all available. Verdùland kids club provides cooking classes, video games and even has a baby pool.
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