Relais & Châteaux for golfers in Italy: three houses, three ways to play

Relais & Châteaux was born in 1954 from an idea of Marcel and Nelly Tilloy, two music-hall artists who owned La Cardinale, an inn on the right bank of the Rhône. Today, according to Wikipedia, the association has 580 members in 65 countries (figure from April 2023). It is not a brand born for golf, but some of its Italian houses have a course on their horizon.

Three Relais & Châteaux with golf nearby

None of the three houses owns a course: the distance from the tee changes, and so does the way each hotel organises play.

La Meridiana: the course on foot

The Golf Club Garlenda, in the Lerrone Valley, and La Meridiana came into being a few years apart at the hands of two sisters: Teresa de Berto Galleani had the 18 holes built, while Luisa Berto de Segre designed the Provençal-style house in 1978, which joined Relais & Châteaux that same year. Since 1983 it has been run by Edmondo Segre. The name comes from the nearby Castello del Carretto, known as the "sundial" castle.

The course, which opened in 1964, is a par 72 of 6,085 metres designed by the Englishmen John Morrison and John Harris. According to the hotel's website, consulted in October 2026, guests pay 60 euros for 18 holes on weekdays and 80 at weekends; there is a pass for five consecutive days and a nine-hole green fee after 3:30 pm. The reception books tee times, lessons and rentals. On 17 and 18 October 2026 the house hosts the Trofeo Relais & Châteaux.

At table, Rosmarino, under chef Roberto Conti, works with olive oil, Taggiasca olives and violet asparagus from Albenga; the cellar holds more than 2,000 labels. There is no spa, but there is a swimming pool heated to 27 °C, a private gym and a massage room. The gourmet restaurant is reserved for adults: families with children under ten dine at the Bistrot next door.

L'Albereta: the 27 holes of Franciacorta

L'Albereta occupies a Neo-Renaissance villa from the late nineteenth century, turned into a hotel by Carmen Moretti and opened on 23 September 1993 with nine rooms; today there are 53. The Franciacorta Golf Club, which lists it among its partner hotels, was founded in 1984 on an abandoned clay quarry, on the initiative of Vittorio Moretti and eighteen other founding members.

The course is a 27-hole layout by Pete Dye and Marco Croze, inaugurated in July 1986: three nine-hole loops named after the local wines, Brut, Satèn and Rosé, the last of which opened in 2009. The published price list, undated, gives for 18 holes 60 euros on weekdays and 85 at weekends from 1 November to 28 February, and 80 and 105 from March to October. The hotel publishes no golf packages and no green fee conditions.

The spa is the reason many people come: the Chenot Espace covers 2,000 m² and, according to the hotel, is the only Italian destination chosen by Henri Chenot for his method, with programmes of 3 to 7 days. Those who want a change of course have nine layouts within 100 kilometres, says the hotel.

Castel Fragsburg: Passiria and Lana half an hour away

The hunting lodge of 1624 above Merano has belonged since 1954 to the Ortner family, now in its third and fourth generations with Alexander Ortner and his children. Castel Fragsburg has 20 suites in a park of 50,000 m² and a Michelin star, the restaurant Prezioso, open Tuesday to Saturday with a single tasting menu. On the official website, in October 2026, the Deluxe Double Room starts at 490 euros per room, breakfast included.

The hotel has no course and offers no golf packages. As points of reference it names the Golf Club Passeier.Meran, 18 holes, and the Golf Club Lana, 9 holes, both about half an hour by car; for a longer day it suggests Petersberg, about an hour away. Passeier.Meran is a par 71 of 5,791 metres designed by Wilfried Moroder: a handicap card or authorisation from the course is required, and the published price list, undated, gives 106 euros for 18 holes. Lana, nine holes par 35 among the orchards, has a 2026 green fee of 90 euros for 18 holes and 50 for nine, with a 20% discount for guests of the founding and partner hotels.

When to go

At Garlenda and in Franciacorta you can play all year round, although at Garlenda the club is closed on non-holiday Mondays from November to March. For Merano the hotel points out that the mild climate of the basin lengthens the golf season; the South Tyrolean clubs, however, have their own calendars, which should be checked.

Curiosities

• Vertical tastings since 1978. On the wine list at La Meridiana are all the vintages of Sassicaia and Solaia from 1978, the year the hotel was born.
• A Ligurian Amen Corner. The 11th hole at Garlenda is named after the most feared stretch at Augusta.
• A childhood dream. Carmen Moretti, the golf club recounts, as a child toured the world's Relais & Châteaux with her father, guidebook under her arm.
• Pluto the ibex. He lived in the garden of Castel Fragsburg and his effigy still watches over the façade.