· Location: Ragusa province, Sicily, Italy
Costa Ragusa resort Sicily reshapes the Ragusa coastline
Costa Ragusa resort Sicily is rising on 90 hectares of reclaimed coastline between Ragusa and the Mediterranean Sea, on the former Club Med Kamarina site. According to the 2023 joint announcement by Arrow Global Italia and Mangia's Hotels & Resorts (press release filed with the Ragusa municipality on 12 July 2023 and summarised in the provincial planning register, protocol no. 8743/2023), the masterplan divides into a five star Ragusa luxury resort with 105 rooms and suites and a separate Ragusa borgo style village with 434 branded residences, creating a dual concept that targets both couples and extended families. This new borgo resort model in Sicily contrasts with the palatial conversions in Noto or Palermo, offering scale, distinct living areas and a more integrated surrounding landscape of olive groves and dunes.
The Costa Ragusa development is led by Arrow Global Italia as investor and Mangia's Hotels & Resorts as operator, with a total investment reported at about 130 million euros and 384 new jobs in the official project press release and supporting planning documents filed with the Ragusa authorities (piano di lottizzazione Costa Ragusa, adopted 28 September 2023 and currently recorded as “in corso di autorizzazione” in the municipal database). These materials describe the scheme as a "luxury resort development" whose objectives are to "enhance luxury tourism in Sicily", "create employment opportunities", and "promote local culture and heritage"; these goals align with the province’s push for year round tourism. Recruitment is being channelled through Gi Group and the Mangia's Academy, which signals a structured pipeline of qualified équipe for front office, spa wellness, food and beverage, and the kids club.
Unlike a converted palazzo in Ragusa Ibla, this costa facing site allows the architects to orient every resort building around light, natural ventilation and direct sea views. Low rise wings are being designed with natural materials such as local stone and timber, while cross breezes and shaded verandas shape the atmosphere in shared living areas and private terraces. For couples comparing Costa Ragusa resort Sicily with a city stay, it will complement rather than replace an elegant urban base in eastern Sicily, such as the refined hotels featured in this guide to where to stay in Catania for an elegant city escape, which the developer positions as a natural twin centre option.
From borgo village to resort suites: how Costa Ragusa is designed to be lived
The heart of the project is the borgo at Costa Ragusa, a contemporary Ragusa borgo that borrows the spatial language of traditional Sicilian villages without copying their façades. Around a central piazza, the borgo resort will cluster residences, family friendly rooms and suites and shaded living areas, giving guests a sense of authentic community rather than a corridor hotel. This part of Costa Ragusa resort Sicily is clearly designed for longer stays, with more space, kitchen corners in some units and a kids club that allows parents to reclaim moments of quiet by the pools or at the beach club.
By contrast, the five star resort wing of Costa Ragusa leans into a more refined, adults oriented atmosphere, with suites that open onto private gardens or terraces facing the Mediterranean Sea. Here the design brief focuses on natural materials, generous bathrooms and carefully framed views, creating an intimate resort experience for couples who want the coast Sicily setting without sacrificing privacy. Public living areas will include a wellness center with full spa wellness circuit, quiet lounges and a bar that invites guests to linger between a round of golf and an evening culinary journey in the signature restaurant.
This dual structure reflects a wider shift in Sicilian luxury hospitality, where integrated destinations now sit alongside historic conversions such as Palazzo Castelluccio in Noto or the Rocco Forte properties in Verdura and Palermo. While palaces offer layered history and urban density, Costa Ragusa offers horizontal space, direct access to the sea and a surrounding landscape that can absorb peak season crowds more gracefully. For readers tracking the island’s investment wave, the scale of this costa project fits into the broader question of whether Sicilian hotel stock can match its ambition, a topic analysed in depth in this report on 135 million euros for Sicilian tourism, which local officials frequently cite when discussing the resort.
Golf, gastronomy and year round living on Sicily’s southeast coast
Costa Ragusa resort Sicily also anchors a wider leisure ecosystem on the southeastern coast, thanks to the adjacent Donnafugata Golf Resort’s 36 hole complex. The parkland and links style courses, originally opened in 2009 and closed in 2020, are scheduled to relaunch under Portuguese operator Details Golf, as reported in regional business coverage of the concession agreement, positioning the costa as a serious Mediterranean golf destination. For couples, this means the option to combine a spa wellness retreat, beach club afternoons and championship golf without leaving the same natural coastal enclave.
Beyond the fairways, the project’s culinary journey is expected to lean heavily on Ragusa’s agricultural hinterland, from olive groves and vineyards to the fishing ports along the coast Sicily. Restaurants and bars are being designed as distinct living spaces rather than generic dining rooms, with terraces that create atmosphere through sea breezes, filtered light and views of the surrounding landscape. This approach aligns with the island’s broader move toward enotourism and terroir driven menus, a trend mapped in detail in the analysis of the new Sicilian wine route and why enotourism is the island’s next luxury frontier, which investors reference when framing Costa Ragusa’s gastronomic strategy.
Location remains one of Costa Ragusa’s strongest cards, sitting within easy driving distance of the baroque towns of Ragusa, Modica and Scicli, and within reach of Val di Noto’s UNESCO listed architecture. Guests can alternate authentic urban experiences in these historic centres with natural living by the Mediterranean Sea, returning each evening to a resort that invites guests into a calmer rhythm. For travellers planning a wider itinerary across Sicily, Costa Ragusa offers a coastal base that complements inland wine estates and city hotels, turning a simple stay into a layered experience of the island’s southeast and encouraging longer, more sustainable trips.