A company founded after losing one
Rocco Forte Hotels exists because the family lost its first hotel company. Sir Rocco Forte and his sister Olga Polizzi founded the current business in 1996, immediately after Granada's hostile takeover of the Forte Group, and had to buy the Forte trademark back in 2001.
The family retains control at 51 per cent; Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund acquired the remaining 49 per cent in December 2023, in a deal valuing the business at £1.4 billion. Olga Polizzi still personally leads the design of new properties, which is not something the large groups can say.
Twelve hotels, seven of them in Italy
The portfolio is small and deliberately concentrated: Hotel de Russie and Hotel de la Ville in Rome, Hotel Savoy in Florence, The Carlton in Milan, Villa Igiea in Palermo, Verdura Resort in Sicily and Masseria Torre Maizza in Puglia, alongside Brown's Hotel in London, The Balmoral in Edinburgh, Hotel Amigo in Brussels, The Charles Hotel in Munich and Hotel Astoria in St Petersburg.
The Carlton Milan opened in November 2025. Four more Italian properties are announced for 2027, in Sardinia, Naples, Noto and Puglia. Rocco Forte's management of Hotel de Rome in Berlin ended in October 2025, so that hotel is no longer part of the group.
The clearest exclusivity rule of any program we hold
Rocco Forte Friends, the brand's own guest program, is not points-based and has no tiers. It carries a guaranteed 2pm checkout and discounts on dining and spa, and the brand states plainly that it may not be combined with Knights, with Virtuoso or with a card program's benefits.
Where a guest holds several memberships, the hotel applies one program per stay, the one worth the most. We do that comparison before booking rather than leaving it to the front desk, and there are stays where Friends is the right answer.
Practical notes
The spa discount does not apply at Hotel Savoy, Hotel Amigo or Hotel Astoria, two of which have no spa. The credit is set higher for suites, for the Rocco Forte Houses and for the private villas in Sicily, and on suites it generally requires more than one night.
Knights rates match the direct rate with no premium. Start an enquiry or send a booking you already hold.