ADLER Sicilia – a resort built inside a nature reserve

On Sicily's south-western coast, where pine woods fall toward six kilometres of protected sand, ADLER Sicilia sits inside the Torre Salsa Nature Reserve rather than merely beside it, built across 760 hectares of dune, scrub and empty beach. The resort opened in July 2022, the first seaside address of the Sanoner family's ADLER group, whose story began in 1810 when Joseph Anton Sanoner bought a tavern at auction in Ortisei, in the Dolomites, and became the first host of the ADLER. Its 90 suites sit in low, single-storey buildings that follow the contours of the hillside, so that gardens and native vegetation remain the strongest presence on the site. Walls of unbaked Sicilian clay regulate humidity, and locally sourced cedar lines the interiors. Thirty kilometres away, the Valley of the Temples has drawn travellers for centuries. The MICHELIN Guide gives ADLER Sicilia Two Keys.

01The house

ADLER Sicilia's history begins far from the Mediterranean. In 1810, Joseph Anton Sanoner, newly orphaned among eleven brothers and sisters, bought an osteria at auction in Ortisei and became the ADLER's first owner. More than two centuries later, his descendants brought the name south, opening a resort on the Agrigento coast in July 2022 after what locals describe as a long gestation, and now employing around 140 staff, almost all of them from the area.

The building follows a simple rule: nothing should rise above the horizon. Low, single-storey volumes step down the hillside so that the view is not interrupted by the architecture. Walls are rendered in unbaked Sicilian clay, which regulates humidity through the summer months, while cedar wood brought in from local forests lines ceilings and panelling throughout. A rooftop terrace, reached past a living plant wall, doubles as an informal gallery hung with work by Sicilian artists.

02Rooms and suites

All 90 rooms are suites. Junior Suites measure 55 square metres, each with a sitting area and glass doors that slide open onto a private terrace overlooking the estate or the sea. Family Suites extend to 75 square metres and split into two separate bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, built for parties travelling with children. Beds are made up German-style, with two individual duvets rather than one shared cover, a quiet nod to the ADLER group's Alto Adige roots. Every suite carries a minibar, a kettle for tea and coffee, a smart TV and a bathroom fitted with a walk-in, rain-head shower.

Insider tip

Open year-round; beach reached on foot through pine woods or by electric shuttle; Palermo airport around 150km away.

03Where to eat

The resort runs two restaurants. An osteria opens through the warmer months for lighter, informal meals, while the main restaurant serves a gourmet dinner menu with the sea in view. A third, more casual counter serves coffee throughout the day for guests who prefer not to leave the pools. A good share of what reaches the table starts in the resort's own garden, which grows twenty-five varieties of vegetables and heritage produce, while the remaining seafood is bought fresh from the local market. On the half-board buffet, guests find red Sicilian prawns and salt-crusted sea bass, the kind of ingredients other kitchens might save for a tasting menu.

04The bar

The bar opens onto a wide terrace above the sea, its interiors matched some evenings by live music drifting out over the pools. It is the obvious place to start the evening, or to close it, with the lights of the Torre Salsa reserve fading into the dark.

05Spa and wellbeing

The wellness area covers 3,200 square metres, with thirteen treatment rooms facing the sea, heated pools, a Finnish sauna, a steam bath and a rooftop thalasso pool. An ancient olive tree anchors the spa's design, with pools and treatment rooms unfolding loosely around it. Within the grounds sit a freshwater infinity pool poised at the edge of the coastline, a saltwater hydromassage pool, a dedicated Thalasso pool and a 25-metre pool for daily laps. Three independent Swedish saunas extend the circuit further, and relaxation rooms fitted with waterbeds, set apart in an adults-only area, complete it.

06The neighbourhood

Torre Salsa's own beach lies below the hotel, reachable on foot through pine woods or by the resort's shuttle, and stays uncrowded even in August. The Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved testaments to Hellenistic civilisation, is thirty kilometres away. The white marl cliffs of Scala dei Turchi lie around twenty-three kilometres along the coast, and the town of Agrigento itself about thirty-seven.

07Making the most of a stay

A complimentary programme runs through the week: yoga and fitness sessions, guided hiking and e-biking tours, and beach walks timed to dawn and sunset. Electric carts run guests down to the private beach in minutes for those who would rather not walk. Twice a week, the resort opens its own systems to guests on a sustainability tour, showing how the water and energy that run the property are produced and reused. A golf course lies around twenty-five kilometres away for an afternoon off the grounds.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.