TUI to convert Tuscan village into holiday resort

TUI has begun to build a resort in Tuscany with a boutique hotel, country houses and apartments.

The Castelfalfi Resort will be close to an 18-hole golf course, which was developed last autumn.

The resort is being constructed by TUI's subsidiary TUI Resorts and Hotels and will cost a total of around €250 million.

Two further hotels are to be built in phase two of the development.

"With this project we are embarking on a new chapter in the history of TUI Hotels and Resorts," said Dr. Michael Frenzel, CEO of TUI AG.

"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,"

In 2007, TUI AG purchased an entire village, Tenuta di Castelfalfi, in the heart of Tuscany.

Over the years, the 26 village farms had fallen into disrepair so that at the time of the purchase only two inhabitants lived in the village.

TUI said it intended 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".

With permission from Travelmole