Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to La Foresteria Planeta, Menfi, Sicily
Facts in brief
Location The hotel is 10-minutes' drive to La Solette beach
Annual opening 1 March to 7 November
Closest airport Palermo Airport
Distance from airport The hotel is just over 60-minutes' drive from Palermo Airport
Hotel facilities and services
Restaurant with dining and garden rooms, Infinity Pool, Media Lounge, Vineyards, Wine Room and Tastings, Fitness and Wellness Area with Turkish Bath, Private Beach, Beach club access (June to September), Reserved Parking, Poolside Bar, Bicycle Rental, Guided Tours, Babysitting, Various Cooking Classes, Olive Oil Tasting during harvest season.
Complimentary
Wi-Fi, Use of fitness area, pool area and club on the beach with sun bed and umbrella (June-September).
Chargeable watersports
Sailing and Fishing can be accessed through nearby partner sports clubs.
Land sports
Access to partner sports clubs offering golf, tennis and horseback riding. Bicycle hire available at hotel.
Out and about nearby
Sicily is an island rich in history and culture. Though popular with tourists in the summer months, it has retained its original character and charm. While staying at La Foresteria Planeta, we would recommend making day excursions to cities such as Sciacca on the seafront, famous for its unique ceramics. Caltabellotta is an enchanting ancient village that sits at 900m above sea level. The Selinunte Archaeological Park is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Mediterranean, with ruins dating back to the 7th century, when the Greeks marked the most western point of their territory. The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, however, is Sicily's most well-known ancient site, with many temples still very well preserved. The ancient methods of construction can still be seen in the structures, as well as the development in their design. The Island of Mozia is a tiny, inhabited island off the coast of Marsala that was once an important and formidable city. Today, it can be reached by boat. For peaceful, rural walks observing wildlife and the beautiful natural landscape, visit the Nature Reserve of the Belice River, of the Nature Reserve of the Torre Salsa.
Sports nearby
Golf, Tennis, Horse-riding, Fishing, Sailing, Flying, and Nature Trails, all of which can be organised through the hotel.
I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Dependence room for 5 nights
From about
£990
Holiday Code EXH46003
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to La Foresteria Planeta, Menfi, Sicily
The Planeta family have been instrumental in developing modern Sicilian wine and their estates produce consistently top quality white and red wines. On the Planeta Estate on the southern coast of Sicily, La Foresteria is a boutique resort that combines nature and relaxation with the impeccable flavours and aromas of the island. A surprisingly modern building, perched on a gentle hill laden with vines, La Foresteria is intimate in size and therefore remains in-keeping with the natural beauty of the Sicilian landscape. Its pale peach exterior walls are interrupted by sheltered terraces and patios and creeping plants. Inside, guests will be struck by the distinct homely feel of the hotel. Unique antique pieces of furniture add extra character to the public rooms, where guests are brought together in a real sense of community. In the evenings, dine on the atmospherically-lit terrace, on traditional Sicilian cuisine creatively put together by Chef Angelo Pumilia, served on white-clothed tables next to wrought iron chairs. While you eat, look out across the fragrant gardens of lavender and vibrant flowers, and the flourishing vineyards beyond. A variety of cooking classes are available at the hotel, including patisserie, pasta, and a historic look into Sicilian cooking. A class specially dedicated to the wines of the Planeta Estate will introduce you to their particular flavours and show you how best to use them in your food. Alternatively, enjoy a wine-tasting session in the tasting room, accompanied by the Personal Wine Trainer. Explore the six terroirs of the Planeta wines, or blind-taste some of the more modern and vintage wines. Perhaps complete your wine experience with a tour of Planeta's first winery, in a 16th century farmhouse beside Lake Arancio. At the edge of the hotel grounds is an infinity pool, surrounded by parasols and loungers, which also looks over the vineyards below. The poolside bar serves refreshing cocktails and snacks throughout the day. For a change of scenery, head down to the hotel's private beach, where guests have access to the beach club of the Porto Palo di Menfi, a 20 Blue Flag beach. Guestrooms at La Foresteria have a very simple, refreshing style, with wrought iron bedsteads, intricately patterned bed throws, classical furnishings, and cool tiled floors. All rooms have their own terrace with breath-taking rural views. Stay at La Foresteria Planeta for an experience of complete immersion into Sicilian culture and flavour. Your visit will be rich in history, exquisite wines, and impeccable food.
Room descriptions
La Foresteria Planeta has 14 rooms with terrace, air-conditioning, heating system, satellite television, telephone, iPod speakers, coffee machine, safe, hairdryer, beach and pool towels, minibar, and WiFi.
I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Dependence room for 5 nights
From about
£990
Holiday Code EXH46003
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to La Foresteria Planeta, Menfi, Sicily
The journey and how you get there
For a holiday to La Foresteria Planeta Estate in Sicily, our clients usually fly to Palermo airport. From the airport, we recommend a private car transfer which we would include in our holiday price, or we recommend that you use a hire-car for the duration of your holiday, especially if you want to tour the region. If you are staying at this hotel as part of a tailor-made touring holiday, we would include a hire-car for the itinerary.
Additional information
Children: Up to 2 additional children can be accommodated in the Rooms with view and Junior Suites. Baby cots are available upon request. Babysitting is also available.
Special offers
Call to make your booking and save an extra £50 per adult Call us instead of emailing us when you are thinking of booking a holiday and save an extra £50 per adult (in addition to any special offers that might be available). We want to talk to you to discuss your requirements and a phone call is usually the best way for you to define what you want enabling us to respond more accurately. We want to talk to you and you save an extra £50 per adult.
I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a Dependence room for 5 nights
From about
£990
Holiday Code EXH46003
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury bespoke holidays and tours to La Foresteria Planeta, Menfi, Sicily
About Sicily
An Expressions tailor-made holiday in Sicily allows visitors to discover a unique and captivating island. The rich tapestry of Mediterranean history can be witnessed on the southerly island of Sicily, fascinating not only for its amazing blend of cultures including Greek, Arab, Byzantine and Norman and its architectural treasures which reflect these influences but also for its breath-taking scenery of coast, parched mountains and fertile groves of almonds, oranges, lemons and olives. The people are proud and independent, reserved but sincere and helpful. Traditions thrive to an extent that the atmosphere of Sicily is unrecognisable in the context of other parts of Italy further north. The towns and villages are contrasting with picture postcard scenes of mediaeval labyrinthine alleyways adorned by wrought-iron balconies and baskets of flowers or severe dilapidation punctuated by grand Baroque or austere Norman cathedrals and churches. Additionally, there are of course some of the most important sites of the ancient Greek world such as the temples at Agrigento, the theatre at Taormina and numerous relics at Siracusa, reputedly one of the most beautiful cities of the Greek world. High above the island looms Mount Etna, one of the largest volcanoes in the world and an awe-inspiring sight. Off the north coast of Sicily, the beautiful Aeolian Islands offer escape and remoteness, natural scenery and a startling light, a sleepy way of life and romantic isolation. A holiday in Sicily appeals for those who want typical rest and relaxation with cultural activities at hand, and for those who want to be more adventurous and experience more of this captivating island.
Highlights of Sicily
An ascent of Mount Etna, partly by car and then further on foot (guides available) through the luxuriant vegetation which includes oranges and lemons, bougainvillaea and poinsettias and then higher up the groves of walnuts, cherries, almonds, pistachios and vines. Palermo is known for its street markets, especially Vucciria and Ballaro, where traders and hawkers, pickpockets and shoppers converge amongst narrow streets and stalls of wares. See the traditional costumes and dialect of Piana degli Albanesi, where Albanians settled in the 15th Century. Revel in the splendid site of Taormina above the sea with views to Etna. Local crafts include cork, ceramics, honey, embroidery, raffia. Enjoy the calm and remoteness of the Aeolian Islands with their clear waters, beautiful scenery and peaceful way of life. Enjoy the gardens of the Villa Giulia in Palermo and the Public Gardens in Taormina.
Cultural highlights of Sicily
Palermo contains some of the greatest Arab-Norman buildings in existence - San Giovanni degli Eremiti, the Palazzo Reale with its striking Cappella Palatina and La Martorana. Monreale outside Palermo is the greatest work of Norman architecture in Sicily and contains beautiful 12th and 13th Century mosaics and cloisters. The Doric temples of the 5th Century BC in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. Cefalu has the `Portrait of a Man` by Antonello da Messina, dating from 1465 in its Museo Mandralisca.
Festivals in Sicily
Many Sicilian local festivals are linked to Saints’ Days. A few of the most well-known festivals generally include Carnival celebrations in Taormina and Acireale. Easter is celebrated especially in Trapani, Marsala and Piana degli Albanesi. Messina celebrates Ferragosto on the 15th August with a firework display over the Straits. The Sagra del Mandorlo in Fiore takes place in Agrigento in the first and second weeks of February to celebrate the almond blossom. Taormina Arte is a summer festival of music, cinema, ballet and theatre, held in the Greek theatre. The Palio dei Normanni takes place in Piazza Armeria in August.
Gastronomy in Sicily
The gastronomy of Sicily, like much of the culture of the island, has been heavily influenced by its history. Cuscus is a Sicilian version of couscous, and marzipan features heavily in sweets. Local produce includes citrus fruits, almonds, capers, olives, peppers and fish. Local specialities include Maccheroni con le sarde (pasta with sardines, fennel, raisins, pine nuts and saffron), Pesce spada (grilled sword fish), 'alla Siciliana' with capers, red peppers and herbs. Cassata is a popular dessert made with ricotta, candied fruit and pistachios and Cannoli are almond biscuits stuffed with ricotta. Sicily produces a variety of red and white wines including Corvo di Salaparuta and Etna, Marsala and Malvasia.
