2015: a Year With Plenty Of Surprises In Store!

How come Forte Village, repeatedly voted ‘World’s Leading Resort’, is so successful? What’s the secret?

‘A restless desire to constantly improve’, says Lorenzo Giannuzzi, who has been the Managing Director of the Forte Village Resort in Santa Margherita di Pula, a jewel in the crown of world hospitality, for over 18 years.

You could say – to borrow a football metaphor – that Giannuzzi isn’t just the captain of the multi-award-winning Italian team that runs the resort; he’s also its playmaker. Thanks to his tactical genius, overall view of the game and accurate passes, he has made the Santa Margherita di Pula Village Resort a benchmark for the international luxury hotel industry.

So we asked him whether there are any new plans in the pipeline to consolidate this resort’s standards of excellence.

‘Our main mission is to pamper our clients and win their loyalty, offering them a wide and impeccable range of services and activities that meet their every need. That’s why Forte Village launched a sweeping renovation and redevelopment programme a few years ago. What we’re talking about is an extremely complex project costing around €30 million which will be completed by 2016.’

The many improvements already underway will affect every aspect of the resort.

Let’s start by going over the services designed for the resort’s younger guests. There’s a new, genuine and spectacular Children’s City, now boasting an Arts&Crafts area for developing new, entertaining games and educational activities. That’s in addition to the renewal of the resort’s exclusive partnership with Mattel, which will continue to surround little girls with the magical world of Barbie™ and little boys with the latest Hot Wheels™ creations. All of its younger guests will be guaranteed transport from one part of the resort to another on board its delightful Thomas the Tank Engine™ train.

Guests will be able to reach the rooms at the Bouganville Hotel along completely redesigned paths and avenues. Its new ‘deluxe’-class rooms are spacious and bright, boasting a large bathroom and a veranda that leads to a private garden.

The luxurious Castello Hotel is also in line for a thorough renovation programme which will include restyling the lobby, function rooms, swimming pool, guest rooms and Presidential Suite and the creation of a new Imperial Suite.

The construction of new, bigger villas – each boasting its own private pool – will be the finishing touch. These villas are designed for clients looking for an exclusive, luxury holiday.

Forte Village will not disappoint lovers of haute cuisine, as it will offer them a range to suit all tastes. The new Fish Market and Pasta House restaurants, offering enticing fish dishes, will be located in a fabulous two-storey building featuring a spectacular terrace overlooking the sea. In the meantime, a new Italian Patisserie will seduce the sweet-toothed among us with traditional Mediterranean masterpieces by Sicilian chef Bonfissuto.

Forte Village is strengthening its close links with the world of Michelin-starred chefs with the arrival of two new masters of international cuisine.

Emanuele Scarello, a two-star Michelin chef, will be responsible for developing a menu featuring Italian dishes typical of the new ‘Trattoria Italiana’ school.

Alfons Schuhbeck, a German chef with more than one Michelin star to his name, will offer his extraordinary and inimitable culinary expertise – acquired over 30 years spent crossing the globe with his medical team in search of the most incredible, delicious and wholesome ‘Spice for Life’ spices – in the seaside gourmet restaurant. A skilful use of such spices not only adds flavour and harmony to recipes; it makes them true allies in the fight against ill health. Their use will also enhance the selection of dishes available on the Spa’s menus, which will boost the efficacy of its Detox, Weight Loss and Energy programmes. What’s more, anyone wishing to buy these precious ingredients will be able to do so in the Spice Shop.

Whilst on the subject of health and fitness, even Forte Village’s Thalassotherapy pools will be completely overhauled and, thanks to a see-through canopy, will be open to guests even in winter.

This wave of new developments will also reach the resort’s sports facilities, as the renovation programme not only includes structural improvements to the tennis club with Pat Cash, basketball and volleyball courts and football pitches with the Chelsea school; it will also involve the addition of new sports disciplines, such as Forte Village’s brand-new Killerspin Academy (table tennis).

And in the hope of highlighting the sea’s myriad shades of blue, Forte Village has come up with an entirely new design for the beach, perfectly combining comfort and nature.

What more can we say… The only place that could possibly beat Forte Village is Paradise!