Sicily’s Verdura Resort continues to push the boundaries for golfing excellence after receiving a leading international honour from the world’s biggest golf media title for the fourth successive year.
Home of the Rocco Forte Sicilian Open and renowned for offering guests the ultimate luxury golf experience, the exclusive resort was again selected by Golf Digest magazine as a recipient of its prized ‘2019 Editors’ Choice Award for the Best Resorts in Continental Europe’.
Unveiled in the new issue of Golf Digest, the list features an elite collection of top names from the global golf industry, and was compiled after close consultation with a combination of the magazine’s group of international affiliate titles and 1,000-plus golf-course raters.
Max Adler, editor of Golf Digest magazine, said: “Each year with the Golf Digest Editors’ Choice Awards, we seek to identify for our readers ‘The Best Things in Golf,’ with an emphasis on lifestyle properties, products and services. Verdura Resort offers first-rate accommodations with pure links-style golf along the Mediterranean.”
Opened in 2009, Verdura Resort – a Rocco Forte hotel and a member of the European Tour Properties network – is firmly established among Europe’s elite golf resorts, and further enhanced its repuation earlier this month by becoming the first golf venue in Italy to open a European Tour Performance Institute.
Only the third facility of its kind in the world, professionals and amateurs have the unique opportunity to practice, learn and improve under sunny Sicilian skies using tools and techniques developed by the European Tour’s medical and performance specialists.
Antonio Castelo, Golf Director at Verdura Resort, said: “Like all our golfing guests, the resort is always looking at ways that we can improve and this new global accolade recognises all the hard work that has been put in to make Verdura one of the world’s leading golf and lifestyle destinations.
“To be selected by Golf Digest’s panel of experts for the fourth year running is an outstanding achievement. With the opening of the new European Tour Performance Institute and the other work currently taking place at the resort, these are exciting times for the resort and we’re looking forward to showcasing our facilities to an ever-increasing audience in the years ahead.”
Set in 230 hectares of stunning Mediterranean landscape on Sicily’s southern coast, Verdura Resort’s golf facilities include two outstanding 18-hole championship course and a par-three nine-hole executive course – both designed by world-acclaimed architect Kyle Phillips – a double-ended driving range and a first-class academy. One of the 18-hole courses is currently being revamped to offer guests a new and enhanced experience.
Located between Agrigento and the charming fishing town of Sciacca, an 80-minute drive from Trapani and Palermo airports, Verdura Resort features 203 rooms and suites, all with a sea view, including six villas which offer a perfect solution for family holidays, each with its own private swimming pool.
Away from the fairways, the resort offers an extensive array of other luxury sports and lifestyle facilities, while guests also have the opportunity to sample, on and off-site, a taste of the gastronomy, wine, history and culture that has made Sicily famous across the world.
For more information and to book, phone + 39 06 0328 88630 or email reservation.verdura@roccofortehotels.com
ENDS
High-resolution images of Verdura Resort may be downloaded for editorial purposes from Verdura Resort.
For more information on Verdura Resort contact Luke Frary on 01730 711920/ luke@theazaleagroup.com or email Ambra Rollero at arollero@roccofortehotels.com
About Verdura Resort
Since opening in 2009, Verdura Resort, a Rocco Forte hotels resort, (www.roccofortehotels.com) has quickly established itself amongst Europe’s premier contemporary exclusive golf and lifestyle destinations.
The resort is set in 230 hectares of stunning landscape overlooking the Mediterranean with 1.8km of private coastline, and offers golfing guests and families an unparalleled modern five-star experience on the largest island in the Mediterranean. The resort is located on the southern coast of Sicily between Agrigento and the fishing city of Sciacca, an 80-minute drive from Trapani and Palermo airports.
Verdura features 203 rooms, suites and villas all with sea views, and is a paradise for golfers with its outstanding facilities. Players from all over the world come to enjoy the two 18-hole championship courses and nine-hole par-three course. The links-style layouts have all been designed by world-renowned golf architect Kyle Phillips and are built to the highest specifications, while one of the 18-hole courses is currently being revamped to offer guests a new and enhanced experience. A member of the exclusive European Tour Destinations network, Verdura was the host venue for the 2012 Sicilian Open and is home to the European Tour’s Rocco Forte Sicilian Open. The courses are matched by outstanding practice amenities including a double-ended driving range and excellent golf academy and Performance Institute.
Verdura’s other sports facilities include six tennis courts; a 60m two-tiered infinity pool; numerous watersports, one football pitch; a 170sqm fully-equipped gym and a collection of running trails through olive and lemon groves. The resort’s award-winning 4,000sqm spa complex includes 11 treatment rooms, gym, yoga studio, a 25-metre indoor lap pool, four outdoor Thalassotherapy pools, a double-height steam room, male and female saunas and a spa bar for healthy alternatives.
Guests can sample an authentic taste of traditional Sicily with an array of dishes at one of the resort’s four restaurants and five bars – with fresh, organic produce sourced straight from Verdura’s own garden. In addition, visitors can enjoy an array of cultural and culinary experiences where they can discover the secrets of Sicilian cooking, with menus inspired by celebrity chef Fulvio Pierangelini, and taste the many famous wines of the region. There is also plenty to keep the younger members of the family entertained with dedicated kids and teen clubs providing a variety of fun-packed activity programmes throughout the year.
Verdura Resort has received widespread international recognition and won numerous awards since opening. Among its most recent honours, it was ranked top in Italy and sixth in Golf World’s updated list of the ‘Top 100 Golf Resorts in Continental Europe’, second in National Club Golfer magazine’s inaugural list of the ‘Top 100 Golf Resorts in Continental Europe’, and named by Golf Digest as a recipient of an ‘Editors’ Choice Award for Best International Resorts’ in 2016, 2017, 2017 and 2019. In addition, the resort won the title of ‘Italy’s Best Golf Hotel’ at the 2015 World Golf Awards’; retained its place in Golf World’s benchmark ‘Top 100 Courses in Continental Europe 2017/18’ rankings and claimed a ‘Golden Award for Golf’ at the 2015 Voyages & Hôtels Readers Awards. It was also the only Italian resort to be named in Conde Nast Traveller magazine’s list of ‘The 14 Best Family Hotels in the World’ in 2018 and ‘Best Family European Golf Resort‘ by the 2011 Tatler Travel Guide, while it was the recipient of two accolades at the 2015 Spafinder Wellness Travel Awards in the ‘Best for Couples’ and ‘Wow Factor’ categories.
About Rocco Forte Hotels
Established by Sir Rocco Forte and sister, Olga Polizzi in 1996, Rocco Forte Hotels is a collection of 10 individual hotels and resorts. All of the hotels are landmarks, both old and new, occupying magnificent buildings in exceptional locations. Led by a family who has been in hospitality for four generations, the hotels are united by their distinctive approach to service ensuring guests experience the best of the cities and surrounding areas.
Rocco Forte Hotels comprises: Hotel de Russie, Rome; Hotel Savoy, Florence; Verdura Resort, Sicily; The Balmoral, Edinburgh; Brown’s Hotel, London; The Charles Hotel, Munich; Villa Kennedy, Frankfurt; Hotel de Rome, Berlin; Hotel Amigo, Brussels; Hotel Astoria, St Petersburg
Future openings: Rome in 2019, Shanghai in 2019, Puglia in 2019. www.roccofortehotels.com
Media Enquiries: Daniela Moore, Group Communications Manager Rocco Forte Hotels Email: dmoore@roccofortehotels.com