CHI Hotels and Resorts (CHI) said today that it had 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 Catania in Sicily. The two resorts, currently under construction and scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2012, are the Corinthia Taormina Golf Resort and the Wyndham Catania Golf Resort.
Situated on a 616,000 sq metre tract of land 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 ideal for both leisure and corporate travellers and will feature two restaurants, three bars including a juice bar, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a health club and spa and six meeting rooms. The hotel also has parking for 350 cars and is located 1.5 km from the popular Taormina beaches, 35 km from Catania international airport and about the same distance to the city of Messina.
The Sicilia Golf Resort srl owned five-star Wyndham Catania Golf Resort, with a massive footprint of over 879,000 sq metres, is in the municipality of Carlentini, between the city of Catania and the UNESCO designated World Heritage city of 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 also is ideal for business and leisure travelers and its facilities include two restaurants, three bars, a health club and spa, sauna, Jacuzzi and exercise room, indoor and outdoor pools, gift shop, a golf club house and pro shop, a ballroom and two meeting rooms. It is only 8 km away from Catania international airport and 40 km from the city of Syracuse.
"We are excited at the prospect of taking two of our top brands to Italy for the first time" said CHI's chief executive officer and managing director Tony Potter. "With these wonderful projects, we are also adding a new dimension to our operational base - that of including the golf resort business to our already diverse portfolio of hotels. We are a pioneering hotel company with a 45-year track record of operating some of the top award winning luxury hotels in major cities and resorts around the world. We now look forward to repeating our success story in Italy as well" concluded Mr Potter.