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Luxury Stays
Five-star resorts, villas and boutique hotels for golfers.
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Luxury Stays
The best luxury hotels for golfers in Italy
In 1928 Henry Ford arrived at the Excelsior on the Lido with his golf bag and asked where he could play: Venice did not have a single course. Almost a century later, choosing a luxury hotel for golf in Italy is nearly the opposite exercise, because the options are many and very different.
14 min read
Luxury StaysGolf hotels in Tuscany: Maremma, Argentario and Elba
Italy's only course licensed by PGA National sits in a resort above the Orbetello lagoon, and in 2025 it hosted the Italian Open. Several Tuscan hotels have a course on the doorstep, and one keeps it reserved for members.
6 min read
Luxury StaysThe golf concierge: what to ask before you arrive
In Stresa, according to the hotel, the concierge books green fees at nine affiliated clubs; in Rapallo the Excelsior states that it publishes no dedicated golf services. Before you leave, find out which of the two cases applies to you.
5 min read
Luxury StaysWhere to stay near Milan for a golf trip
At the Golf Hotel in Lainate, a few kilometres from Milan, all 34 rooms are on the same floor: one side looks over the course, the other over the pool. It is one of the ways Milan's clubs solve the night, alongside lodges, residences and grand hotels on the lakes.
7 min read
Luxury StaysGolf hotels in Sardinia: Costa Smeralda, Puntaldia and Is Molas
At Pevero the 16th hole is dedicated to James Bond, who in the 1977 film stayed at the Hotel Cala di Volpe, on the neighbouring bay. In Sardinia six luxury hotels have a course nearby or within the grounds, on very different terms.
7 min read
Luxury StaysGolf resort or city hotel? Pros and cons
Walking from your bed to the first tee, or returning to a city after the round: at La Meridiana in Garlenda the course is a walk away, while from the Excelsior on the Lido it takes about 20 minutes by car, and a free shuttle runs to St Mark's.
5 min read
Luxury StaysLuxury hotels and sustainability
Since 2026, 888 solar panels on the roof have produced about a quarter of the energy of a resort above the Orbetello lagoon. Environmental measures with a figure attached are rare in luxury hotels: here is where to find them.
6 min read
Luxury StaysGolf hotels in Sicily: Verdura and Il Picciolo at the foot of Etna
The last Duke of Verdura was a cousin of the author of The Leopard, and every room in the resort holds a copy of the book. On the other side of the island, at the foot of Etna, the tees of one hole are set into the lava. Two five-star golf hotels, on opposite sides of the island.
6 min read
Luxury StaysGolf hotels in South Tyrol: ten addresses between Merano and the Sciliar
Karl “Schaly” Pichler, an innkeepers’ son, opened nine holes in 1996 in the valley where he was born. Today the course has eighteen, and around Merano there are ten hotels that use it, or its neighbours, as their home course.
8 min read
Luxury StaysCastles and medieval villages turned resorts
A fresco by Pietro Lorenzetti from 1345 stayed hidden under plaster until 1876, in a church a mile from a medieval village in Montalcino. Today the village is a hotel with a golf course: it is the first of eight historic residences for those who play.
9 min read
Luxury StaysThe Riviera's Grand Hotels: Sanremo, Alassio, Rapallo
“I hate rectangular swimming pools. Are lakes and rivers rectangular?” With these words Gio Ponti presented the Royal's seawater pool in Sanremo in 1948. It is one of the Riviera's historic grand hotels, and like the other two, in Alassio and Rapallo, it has a golf course within driving distance.
7 min read
Luxury StaysAdults-only golf hotels in Italy
One, by its own account, runs the home course; one is built on the fairway; one has a 4,500 square metre artificial lake instead of a pool. Five hotels admit adult guests only, but the minimum age ranges from 14 to 16: here is how to choose.
7 min read
Luxury StaysGolf hotels in Apulia: the masserie for golfers
When the Melpignano family turned the Knights of Malta tower at Savelletri into a hotel, the Michelin Guide recounts, it was the first time \"masseria\" described an accommodation business. Today, nearby, there is an 18-hole course with sea views from every hole and a nine-hole course among the olive trees.
7 min read
Luxury StaysDiscreet luxury: the 4-star superior hotels for golfers
Three hotels, two regions and a label that does not apply everywhere: “4-star superior” exists only where a regional law has provided for it. In Merano and in Pula, each hotel solves the golf question in its own way.
7 min read
Luxury StaysHistoric villas turned hotels, with a golf course nearby
A cardinal in 1568, a merchant in 1872, an English poet in 1889: the names behind three historic residences turned hotels, all within reach of a golf course.
7 min read
Luxury StaysSuites overlooking the golf course: where to ask for one in Italy
At Masseria Torre Maizza the largest two-bedroom suite, 117 square metres, has golf courses as the only view the hotel lists. Four Italian hotels state that rooms face the course, and it is worth knowing which.
6 min read
Luxury StaysGolf hotels in Liguria: four addresses between Sanremo and Rapallo
Two sisters, two works at Garlenda: one had the 18 holes built, the other designed La Meridiana beside them in 1978. In Liguria golf is played all year round, and the best hotels for playing are almost all by the sea.
9 min read
Luxury StaysRelais & Châteaux for golfers in Italy: three houses, three ways to play
A Provençal-style house in Garlenda, a late nineteenth-century villa in Franciacorta, a hunting lodge from 1624 above Merano: three Relais & Châteaux with golf on the horizon, and only one course within walking distance.
6 min read
Luxury StaysLuxury masserie in Apulia near golf: three towers and two alternatives
Three towers built to watch the sea, between the 15th and 16th centuries, are now luxury masserie in the Fasano area, and none was built for golfers. Yet today a nine-hole course among the olive trees and an 18-hole course by the sea lie right beside them.
7 min read
Luxury StaysHotels with all-inclusive golf packages: what they really cover
Two green fees per room per night: that is how Verdura builds its Golf Inclusive, while at Terme di Saturnia the second player pays half. Twelve Italian hotels sell golf as part of the stay, but each counts the rounds in its own way.
7 min read
Luxury StaysGolf hotels on Lake Como: Villa d'Este and the Lario clubs
In 2024 Villa d'Este bought back the Montorfano course, which had belonged to the hotel until the late 1970s: a century after Peter Gannon's design, golf on the Lario is once again played at home.
6 min read
Luxury StaysForte Village for golfers: how to play at Is Molas
Forte Village has no golf course, but its reception books tee times, transfers, clubs and buggies at Is Molas: 27 holes and four Italian Opens a short drive away. How golf works in a resort with 21 restaurants.
6 min read
Luxury StaysCosta Smeralda for golfers: Cala di Volpe, Pitrizza and Romazzino
Three hotels, one course, three ways of getting there: Cala di Volpe sells a package with unlimited golf, Romazzino arranges Pevero as an experience with private lessons, Pitrizza merely mentions it. Who sleeps where, and why it matters.
6 min read
Luxury StaysWine resorts with a golf course nearby
After the eighteenth hole at Montalcino, there is a nineteenth: a short par 3, played as match play, with a magnum of Brunello at stake. It is the clearest example of an idea that seven Italian hotels interpret in their own way, among vineyards, family cellars and fairways.
9 min read
Luxury StaysHotels with a course shuttle and golf services
At the Excelsior on the Lido, tee times are booked through Guest Relations and the transfer to Alberoni can be by car, taxi or water taxi. Few luxury hotels genuinely organise your golf for you: here are the ones that do, and how far the service goes.
6 min read