CHI to operate golf resort hotels in Sicily

CHI Hotels and Resorts has signed a 20-year management agreement with Italian companies Off Side srl and Sicilia Golf Resort srl for the operation of two upscale golf resort hotels in Taormina and in Catania, Sicily.

CHI said the two resorts, still under construction and scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2012, are the Corinthia Taormina Golf Resort and the Wyndham Catania Golf Resort.

Spread over 616,000 square metres in the picturesque Alcantara national park and canyon, within the popular Giardini Naxos area of Taormina, the five-star Corinthia Taormina Golf Resort will feature 130 bedrooms and suites and 158 fully-serviced residential units on four floors, overlooking an international 18-hole golf course and club house. The hotel is situated 1.5 kilometres away from the popular Taormina beaches.

The Sicilia Golf Resort-owned five-star Wyndham Catania Golf Resort has a footprint of over 879,000 square metres and is situated in the municipality of Carlentini, between the city of Catania and Syracuse.

The hotel will have 192 bedrooms and suites and 224 fully-serviced residential units on three floors overlooking an international 18-hole golf course. This hotel is eight kilometres away from Catania international airport.

Corinthia Hotels' portfolio includes the award-winning Corinthia Hotel Budapest in Hungary, Corinthia Hotel Prague in the Czech Republic, Corinthia Hotel St Petersburg in Russia and Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa in Malta. The portfolio also features the Corinthia Hotel St George's Bay in Malta, the superior five-star Corinthia Hotel Tripoli, Libya and the Corinthia Hotel Lisbon in Portugal. The latest additions to the Corinthia Hotels portfolio are the Corinthia Hotel, Whitehall Place, London, due to open in early 2011.