Donnafugata Golf Resort & SPA
Donnafugata represents one of the most structured options for travelers wanting to experi...
Donnafugata represents one of the most structured options for travelers wanting to experience Sicily through golf without giving up the convenience of a resort. In the island's southeast, the property has built an international formula: multiple courses, hospitality, services and the ability to make golf the center of a stay lasting several days. Sicily's luminous, open landscape gives the experience real character and helps distinguish Donnafugata from more standardized resort models. The courses provide enough variety to keep regular players engaged, while the hospitality dimension makes the whole proposition suitable for couples and leisure guests as well. Its true value emerges when used as a base for exploring Ragusa, Sicilian baroque culture and the more refined side of the southeast. This is not a destination of nostalgia or old club tradition, but a modern platform for a well-built Mediterranean golf holiday.
Ha più senso su un soggiorno di almeno due notti: Donnafugata cresce molto quando alterni gioco, relax e scoperta del territorio circostante.
A complete golf resort formula to explore Southeastern Sicily
More courses and good international vocation
Less club atmosphere than large historic clubs
More resort-centered experience than culturally golfistic
Donnafugata represents one of the most structured options for travelers wanting to experience Sicily through golf without giving up the convenience of a resort. In the island's southeast, the property has built an international formula: multiple courses, hospitality, services and the ability to make golf the center of a stay lasting several days. Sicily's luminous, open landscape gives the experience real character and helps distinguish Donnafugata from more standardized resort models. The courses provide enough variety to keep regular players engaged, while the hospitality dimension makes the whole proposition suitable for couples and leisure guests as well. Its true value emerges when used as a base for exploring Ragusa, Sicilian baroque culture and the more refined side of the southeast. This is not a destination of nostalgia or old club tradition, but a modern platform for a well-built Mediterranean golf holiday.
On the technical side, the course is a coastal layout of 36 holes playing to a par of 144 with a slope rating of 136. The design was created by Gary Player. Visitor ratings underline the point: exceptional course quality, positioned in the premium tier.
The best time to visit Donnafugata Golf Resort & SPA is March, April, May, October, November, with the club remaining open throughout the year. Among its most appreciated strengths: A complete golf resort formula to explore Southeastern Sicily; More courses and good international vocation.
The facilities include putting green, driving range, restaurant, pro shop, cart rental, caddy on request. Donnafugata Golf Resort & Spa (5-star hotel) makes it possible to turn the visit into a full golf stay on the property.
The nearest airport is Catania Fontanarossa (CTA), approximately 1h 40 min by car.
What is the best time to play?+
Donnafugata Golf Resort & SPA is open year-round. The recommended months for optimal conditions are March, April, May, October, November.
Is a handicap certificate required?+
Donnafugata Golf Resort & SPA does not specify a mandatory minimum handicap for visiting players. We recommend contacting the club to confirm their current policy.
How do I get to the club?+
The nearest airport is Catania Fontanarossa (CTA), approximately 1h 40 min by car. Car rental is recommended for maximum flexibility.
Is there on-site accommodation?+
Yes, Donnafugata Golf Resort & Spa (5 stars) is located on the property, allowing guests to enjoy a complete golf stay without travelling elsewhere.
How many holes does the course have, and how challenging is it?+
The course has 36 holes playing to a par of 144 with a slope rating of 136. It is a demanding course best suited to experienced players.
Exclusive Experiences
Secrets found in no guidebook, curated by our concierge.
Castello di Donnafugata: il Labirinto dei Visconti
Donnafugata Castle is a 19th-century Neo-Gothic palace with 122 rooms and a limestone maze in the park that no map correctly solves. Baron Corrado Arezzo de Spuches built it in 1840 adding Gothic towers to the original Baroque building: the interior mixes architectural periods in a delirious and intentional way.
“Caretaker Salvatore Tumino knows the maze solution but never reveals it: he accompanies private visitors at 7:00 AM before opening and waits at the entrance timing them. The record is 23 minutes. The maze seen from above the tower is as incomprehensible as a mandala.”
COS: Cerasuolo di Vittoria Verticale
COS at Vittoria is the winery that invented natural Italian winemaking: Giusto Occhipinti and Titta Cilia have vinified the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG — Sicily's only DOCG — in Georgian terracotta amphorae since 1980. The Pithos Rosso and Cerasuolo Classico are internationally-structured wines that continue growing in bottle after 20 years.
“Giusto Occhipinti organises comparative amphora vs steel tastings of the same wine from the same year: the difference is so striking that even conventional sommeliers are left speechless. Bring a prejudice about natural wine — you will leave changed.”
Cioccolato di Modica: l'Ultimo Laboratorio Azteco
Modica Chocolate is Europe's survival of the Aztec cold-processing technique: without added cocoa butter or lecithin, the result is a granular paste of impossible aromatic intensity. The Bonajuto laboratory of 1880 — Italy's oldest — opens private production viewing at 6:00 AM before the shop opens.
“Master chocolatier Franco Ruta prepares the Ceylon cinnamon chocolate with a 70-30 cocoa-sugar ratio that is the original Aztec blend brought to Sicily by the Spanish Viceroys in the 1500s. It is not available in shops: it is the family's private version.”
Locanda Don Serafino — Il Ristorante nella Roccia
Carved into the ancient rock caves beneath the baroque palaces of Ragusa Ibla, this Michelin-starred restaurant transforms Iblaean cuisine into something unexpected — not nostalgia, but inquiry. Chef Giuseppe Causarano works with local producers with the same care a vigneron tends his vines. The tuff stone absorbs all sound, and the dining room becomes a place outside of time.
“Book the table in the deepest cave — that's where dinner stops being a meal and becomes a private conversation with Sicily.”
Kamarina — L'Ultima Colonia Greca sul Mare
Founded by the Syracusans in 598 BC and destroyed three times before final abandonment, Kamarina is one of those places that returns the weight of time without becoming a museum piece. The remains of the Temple of Athena emerge from the earth a few steps from the shoreline, with the same Mediterranean backdrop the first Greek colonists would have seen.
“The small attached museum holds lead anchors and amphorae from ancient shipwrecks — finds that tell the story of Mediterranean trade with more force than any book.”
Vendicari — Lo Stagno dei Fenicotteri
Five kilometers of untouched coastline where pink flamingos wade through medieval salt pans beside the ruins of an Arab tuna fishery. In autumn, migrating cranes use these waters as a resting point — standing still at the edge of the lagoon at dusk is one of those experiences that puts everything else in perspective.
“Enter from the gap near the Saracen tower to the north to avoid morning crowds, and bring binoculars — not a telephoto lens.”
Eremo della Giubiliana — Il Ritiro dei Sensi
A 15th-century hermitage converted into a secluded luxury retreat among the olive groves of the Iblean plateau, where spa treatments draw on herbs grown in the ancient kitchen garden. The limestone walls hold the cool in summer and warmth in winter, creating a contemplative atmosphere few Sicilian properties can match. A monastic interlude with nothing ascetic about it.
“Book the dawn massage in the outdoor courtyard — the silence of the Iblean hinterland at that hour is priceless.”
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