Meliá is opening a five-star hotel in Lerici

A large five-star hotel under the Meliá Collection brand is to be built in Lerici, in the Venere area. The project focuses on a derelict site due for redevelopment, where construction of a hotel had begun years ago but was subsequently halted. The complex will cover approximately 4,000 square metres, dedicated to high-end guest rooms and hotel facilities, alongside luxury residential properties. According to a press release, the size and location of the development will place it amongst the largest five-star hotels in Liguria. It is scheduled to open within the next 24 months.

The value of the investment has not been disclosed but, according to market rumours, it is worth a total of over 60 million euros. The project (approved by Lerici Town Council in December 2025 and covered by a town planning agreement dated February 2026) is backed by CLH Invest (a company specialising in the development of complex property assets and also in the management of non-performing loans within the sector) and the Alfano Group (a construction firm with over 50 years’ experience). The two companies, through their subsidiary Gilda, have signed a framework agreement with the Soges Group for the construction and future management of the new hotel in Lerici, which will operate, as mentioned, under the Meliá Collection brand – the flagship brand for the five-star segment of the Spanish group Meliá Hotels International (which also operates a hotel in Genoa, in Liguria).

“We will create,” says Giacomo Erba, director of Gilda, “a development built to international property standards, which responds to the most established trend in the market: the integration of first-class hotel accommodation, high-quality services and a residential component. It is a mixed-use property development model with a high international profile, which takes on added significance in Lerici: that of an environmental and landscape restoration project, alongside urban regeneration of the very highest standard. Località Venere is one of the most spectacular spots in the Gulf of the Poets and deserves a project capable of fully restoring its value, whilst at the same time enhancing the quality and appeal of the entire area.”

Andrea Galardi, CEO of the Soges Group, emphasises that the project is “intended to enhance one of the most iconic destinations in Italian tourism”. Under the agreement, Gilda will build the hotel in accordance with the standards required by the Meliá brand. Once the works are complete, a 19-year lease will be signed, renewable for a further nine years; meanwhile, Soges will manage the property under a licence agreement with Meliá Hotels International, which will allow the use of the Meliá Collection brand for the entire duration of the management arrangement.