Four Seasons expands Italian footprint with San Domenico Palace

The updated San Domenico Palace in Sicily is to reopen this summer as a Four Seasons Hotel and Spa, following the launch of the brand’s hotels in Milan and Florence.

Located on the isle’s Ionian coast, the San Domenico Palace first opened in 1896 and was built on the site of a 14th-century Dominican convent. It offers guests a choice of 111 bedrooms and suites, some of which benefit from private terraces and plunge pools.

The hotel’s Botanica Spa will provide plant-based treatments inspired by ancient monastic herbal wisdom and local healing traditions. Its interiors have been designed in a sleek and modern aesthetic with a warm colour palette inviting guests to relax and unwind.

Guests also have use of a spacious gym and a clifftop infinity pool overlooking Taormina Bay.

“This is truly a jewel in our crown of historic properties throughout the Mediterranean region,” said Simon Casson, president of hotel operations, EMEA. “San Domenico Palace is a legend in European hospitality and it is our honour to welcome the hotel into our portfolio on its 125th anniversary.”

Returning to his home country from a recent Four Seasons assignment in Dubai, general manager Lorenzo Maraviglia will head the San Domenico Palace team.

A fourth Italian property has also recently been announced under the Four Seasons brand, located on the Adriatic coast of Puglia, near Ostuni. Among the attractions at the new seaside resort will be a state-of-the-art destination spa with a fitness centre, ten treatment rooms, a hammam, a sauna, a swimming pool and  yoga studio.