- Project comprises a boutique hotel, country houses, restaurants and a golf course
- Ecological agriculture on the site and energy self-sufficiency are main sustainability goals
- Project aims to preserve the unique landscape: the construction footprint is limited to only 0.003% of the whole grounds
TUI Resorts & Hotels, a subsidiary of TUI AG, Europe’s leading tourism group, has started the construction of the first phase of the Castelfalfi Resort in Tuscany. Construction work is now beginning at the end of a development and licensing phase which took several years.
Phase 1 of the project will comprise a boutique hotel, country houses and apartments being built on the eleven square kilometre grounds. These buildings will be in the proximity of an 18-hole golf course, which was already completed on the grounds last autumn.
The provisional investment total, including the cost of acquiring the land and the existing properties in 2007, adds up to €250m and is included in the medium-term investment plan for TUI Hotels & Resorts. Two further hotels are to be built in Phase 2. Once the entire project is complete, the construction footprint will cover only 0.003% of the existing 11 square kilometre grounds.
“With this project we are embarking on a new chapter in the history of TUI Hotels & Resorts. We are developing an extensive resort which will be unique for the Tuscany region. Aspects of sustainability and the preservation and restoration of this unique landscape are our top priorities,” said Dr. Michael Frenzel, CEO of TUI AG.
In 2007, TUI AG purchased an entire village in the heart of Tuscany. Tenuta di Castelfalfi belongs to the district of Montaione, and is situated in the centre of the magical triangle of Florence, Siena and Pisa. At the time of the purchase, only 2 inhabitants lived in the village. Over the years, the 26 village farms had fallen into disrepair. The area is typical of the hilly, wild Tuscan landscape with olive groves, vineyards, cypresses and pinewood. The valley lies in the shadow of mount Borgo, with its 11th century citadel, a small church and a handful of abandoned houses.
New elements are now being introduced into this centuries-old cultural landscape of Tuscany. Karl J. Pojer, TUI AG board member with responsibility for TUI Hotels & Resorts said: “The local administration here has managed to resist numerous temptations over the years. This has meant that ‘construction crimes’ have largely been avoided in this region. Many of the views are as they were 150 years ago. It is our intention to keep Castelfalfi in the same condition while offering a contemporary hotel concept aimed at specific target groups which can not be found anywhere else in Tuscany. We will be using our many years of experience to carefully develop this region.”
60 per cent of energy requirements will be generated locally in a local biomass processing power station. The entire water supply will be drawn from the site’s own spring. The water supply and waste-water disposal system makes provision for biological processing and multiple water usage. Castelfalfi’s agriculture is being preserved. The grapes in the 30-hectare vineyards will be processed in the site’s own pressing plant, and each year the olives from the 9000 trees will be turned into several thousand litres of olive oil. The environmental management of the resort will be undertaken on the basis of the DIN EN ISO 14001 standard and on the basis of the extended environmental and sustainability standard required for TUI’s own “EcoResort” in-house quality seal. Overall the project should create some 250 jobs within the region.
The construction work on the boutique hotel has already begun. The 32-room hotel is being created within the walls of an old tobacco factory and is to be opened as Castelfalfi’s first hotel in the middle of 2012. The village’s medieval citadel is being converted into a restaurant. There is another restaurant planned in an old, newly renovated pizzeria. The rest of the Borgo is being renovated, creating around 50 units which are to be sold off as holiday properties. “Village life will re-emerge” says TUI Hotels’ boss Pojer. The concept for the 26 derelict farms envisages that they will be converted into exclusive country houses. The first villa which will act as a showpiece will be renovated shortly. All real estate will be marketed internationally, in the UK by Knight Frank, the luxury real estate agency.
An 18-hole golf course (the so-called “Mountain Course”) has already been opened under the Borgo, having been completed in September 2010. This year will see the addition of a further 9 holes (the so-called “Lake Course”). The existing course is already regarded by experts as the finest new golf course in Italy and is open to club members, future guests and visitors alike.
