As I make my way through a forest of pine and eucalyptus trees towards grassy dunes and a vast sandy beach, I look out at a horizonless sea. There is no other sign of life except the eagles and peregrine falcons soaring above me.
It’s the kind of wild, untouched beauty you’d expect to see in South Africa or Australia. But here we are in Sicily, the southern Italian island better known for its crazy, busy cities, clinking jewelry and cocktails the color of the lava that sputters sporadically from Mount Etna. But the summer crowds have disappeared and tranquility has returned to the island, even though I am on the coast, just an hour south of the capital Palermo.
Until recently, there were few beautiful places to stay in this region, located between the towns of Sciacca and Agrigento and largely made up of windswept fishing villages and industrial ports. That changed last year, with the opening of Adler Sicilia.
The resort sits discreetly on a hillside above an eight-kilometre beach, on the edge of the Torre Salsa nature reserve, a haven for nesting sea turtles and migratory birds including purple herons, honey buzzards, peregrine falcons and flamingos.
Guests are encouraged to make the most of this precious wallet, with organized tours through the reserve and into the hinterland on e-bikes. Or, like me, you can take the easy option and grab one of the hotel’s beach bags – containing a towel, sunbed mattress and water – and walk to the beach.
On her visit to Sicily, Fiona McIntosh explores the colorful fishing port of Sciacca (pictured), with its narrow, colorful streets, fish restaurants and ceramic shops
As the Adler Group is known for its luxurious Alpine spa hotels, the same Germanic precision has been applied to the design of the extraordinary spa at its Sicilian outpost. All stone and wood and super high-tech, it’s such a vast, stunning playground of wellness that you’re not sure where to start.
Should I laze by the indoor/outdoor pool or go up and down in the pool? Would you like to take a yoga or pilates class, or book one of the 40 different massages in the labyrinth of treatment rooms? Want to end the day lying down in a sauna, a steam bath scented with Sicilian herbs or in the bubbling thalasso pool with a sea view?
Once you’ve finished filling your wellness bags, you might make it to the restaurant just in time for the all-inclusive buffet, a description that rather undermines the bacchanalian vision that greets you every evening. On Seafood Night, for example, pieces of raw Sicilian tuna, red shrimp, langoustines, mussels, oysters and sea urchins were laid out so beautifully on their ice-cold bottom that it looked like a work of art.
Fiona is staying at the Adler Sicilia, which she says is “such a vast, overwhelming playground of wellness that you don’t quite know where to start.”
Adler Sicilia is located on the edge of the Torre Salsa nature reserve (above), where visitors can spot birds such as purple herons, honey buzzards, peregrine falcons and flamingos
Beautiful nature: Torre Salsa Nature Reserve is a refuge for nesting sea turtles (stock photo)
Outside the hotel the environment is full of delights. Half an hour’s drive to the east is Agrigento and the Valley Of The Temples archaeological park, a collection of ancient Greek temples said to be the best preserved examples of their kind in the world. An hour’s drive west, near the town of Menfi, is the Planeta Ulmo wine estate, where you can book a tasting and lunch.
Also worth a visit is the fishing port of Sciacca, with its narrow, colorful streets, fish restaurants and ceramic shops.
After a few days exploring the coast, I took a 90-minute journey inland, through orange and olive groves, past quiet hill towns and abandoned farms to the agricultural heart of Sicily.
At the end of a bumpy, unpaved road, surrounded by hills covered with wheat fields and wildflowers, lies the Susafa estate, which was once one of many masserias – farming communities – that had fallen into disrepair. Then, in the early 2000s, Manfredi Rizzuto and his family began a renovation project to restore the cluster of farm buildings and turn the estate into a unique hotel.
In the Sicilian dialect, Susafa means ‘it can be done’, and that has been taken by the family as a sort of mission statement to return the estate to its self-sustaining roots.
Ancient: Above are the ruins of the Temple of Juno in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento
Wheat and grains from the surrounding fields are used to make bread and pasta (you can join a class to learn how to make them). Cherries, apricots, oranges and strawberries grown on the farm are used in jams and pies. Lamb, chicken and beef from the estate feature on the evening menu with fresh broad beans, carrots and courgettes picked from the garden that day.
But while there’s a back-to-nature philosophy here, there’s nothing basic about the accommodation. It may look weathered from the outside, but inside Susafa has all the style, charm and comfort of a chic Milanese hotel, from the huge beds and rain showers to an infinity pool in the gardens and the beautiful, vaulted old granary. where you can dine by candlelight with lamb, stuffed ravioli and platters of local cheeses.
From the roof terrace lounge you have uninterrupted views of rolling hills, wooded valleys – and nothing else.
Palermo may only be 90 minutes away, but it might as well be a different country.