The Rocco Forte hotel and spa chain has announced plans to double in size by 2023, growing its spa presence in Italy and China during the next two years.
The group is returning to expansion after securing a £60 million equity injection from an Italian state-backed sovereign fund, Fondo Strategico Italiano. The fund’s investment is in exchange for a 23% stake.
The expansion, being heralded as the most ambitious in the chain’s history, will see openings in Rome and Puglia. Hotel de la Ville in Rome and Torre Maizza in Puglia will both open in May 2019, and Villa Igea is planned for Palermo in 2020. The Westbound in Shanghai, China, is set to open in late 2019. Each of the new hotels will include spa projects.
Irene Forte, group project director at Rocco Forte Hotels, says: “It’s about showing that without having a strong spa offering, guests in the luxury international market are more likely to go somewhere else that does.”
As part of the expansion, a new in-house skincare line has been launched. Inspired by the Mediterranean diet, the Irene Forte Skincare collection will be used in the hotel spas but also offered as an in-room amenity line.
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