Hotels – global hotel system

When we talk about economic development we’re normally talking about South America or sub-Saharan Africa. But how about Sicily? In just a couple generations they’ve gone from barely surviving to downright thriving — and among the evidence you’ll find a number of fine hotels, not least of which is Parco Cavalonga, near Ragusa, on the island’s far southern end.

The park in question is a valley whose gentle slopes are covered with the traditional olive trees and low scrubby Sicilian brush. The setting provides a feeling of isolation that’s quite beyond anything you’ll find in more typical Italian environs. And Parco Cavalonga is practically a self-contained village — the Relais Parco Cavalonga contains fifteen stylish hotel rooms, and the eight Residences allow for quite a bit more spreading out.

So it’s a choice between a cozy little in with stylish, subtly contemporary rooms, or a rather more luxurious spell in one of the freestanding houses — to call them cottages, as Parco Cavalonga does, is a bit of an understatement. There’s one infinity pool for the Relais and another for the Residences, and either one is a fine place to spend part of a sunny afternoon; it’s a long way indeed from the Sicily of a few decades ago.