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Discover the energy of Mount Etna, experience the hospitality of a 19th century mansion

Boutique and design hotel with Michelin star 2024 restaurant

A boutique hotel on the slopes of Etna

Imagine a landscape flourishing with vitality and authenticity. People who are lucky enough to live on this island experience this every day. Mount Etna, the sea, the natural landscapes, the historic sites, all these views will always make your heart skip a beat! The beauty of Sicily’s unparalleled historic heritage is animated by the authenticity of its inhabitants.
Here you will find Shalai, in the heart of the old town of Linguaglossa, on the slopes of Mount Etna, near Catania.
Shalai is a boutique hotel with 13 exquisite rooms and suites, which hosts a Michelin 2024 restaurant headed by chef Giovanni Santoro, and a refined SPA and wellness area.
It used to be a noble mansion in the 1800s, and is now owned and administered by the Pennisi family. The cousins, Luciano Pennisi, Leonardo Pennisi, Maria Concetta Pennisi and Rosario Pennisi, have inherited the family’s philosophy: “These places are like a magnet, they attract and envelop you in their magic. We will be waiting to welcome you, between the Mountain on one side and the sea on the other, to offer you the warmth of Sicily!”
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Unique and exclusive offers

Proposals dedicated only by booking from the website

Discover the energy of Etna, experience the hospitality of a Historic Palace, today a design boutique hotel with a Michelin-star restaurant and private SPA. Get ready to live an experience of pure hospitality and elegance with Shalai. We have prepared exclusive benefits with special offers and packages, which vary in every season of the year. Sicily, in fact, is also unique in terms of temperatures. In the middle of autumn we still breathe summer, in summer we enjoy the mild climate of the high altitudes, in spring nature is a triumph of vitality and in winter there is all the magic of the snow-capped peak of Etna. Get inspired...
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Rooms and suites

Refined hospitality on Mount Etna

Shalai is located in a historic mansion built in the 1800s as a stately residence for a noble family. Today, it’s a boutique hotel with a contemporary twist, designed by the architects Lucia Papa and Paola Mariotto. The mansion is located in the heart of the mountain town of Linguaglossa, immersed in a maze of little alleys. Walking into the mansion, you are already offered breath-taking views and details that reveal its ‘noble’ history, such as the bar at the entrance, plated with the original 19th century tiles. Walking up to the first floor you will find a beautiful frescoed parlour. Some of the rooms have equally refined frescoed ceilings. Each room is unique and offers a different and enchanting ambience. Each room is a chapter in a story, written by the Pennisi Family’s unwavering will to offer their guests a harmonious place where time is charmed to take a different, slower pace.

Shalai restaurant

A Michelin star 2024 Restaurant on Mount Etna

This is the secret behind our cuisine. Each dish is carefully studied and prepared to tell a story of Sicily and its history, traditions, innovation, poetry and humanity, through a rigorous selection in the ingredients, and the deep connection with this land on the slopes of Mount Etna. These are just a few of the traits that can describe Shalai’s cuisine, headed by Chef Giovanni Santoro, at the Michelin star 2024 restaurant that is also set in the 19th century mansion, along with the boutique hotel, here at the heart of Linguaglossa. This deep connection between the land and the culinary products it can offer, especially with the volcanic soil of this ‘Great Mountain’ (in Sicilian ‘A Muntagna) will make your heart skip a beat. Mount Etna, being so close to the seaside, offers a unique combination of perspectives that is beautifully interpreted and rendered in the culture of the people who inhabit the area. This spirit is captured in Santoro’s cuisine, and his dishes have a strong and heartfelt character, guided by the landscapes. Each dish expresses this strong identity, but also a veil of mystery that can only be detected on a second taste. Every ingredient is studied carefully, each combination is the result of many attempts and developments. The final result is never overbearing; Chef Giovanni Santoro is a master in offering a balanced yet intense experience that will strike the heart as well as the palate.

Shalai SPA

SPA and wellness centre on Mount Etna

Elegant, inviting, cosy and intimate. These are some of the words that can describe the wellness centre here in Shalai. You can access the SPA through a lovely courtyard; its elegant ambience and professional staff will accompany you to a higher level of well-being. In addition to treatments, guests have access to a large Jacuzzi, sauna and Turkish bath. The SPA has highly qualified staff, and a special room to relax with a cup of herbal tea or a juice. The wellness centre in Shalai offers such an invigorating experience that it will be easy to lose track of time in these spaces, immersed in history, with a refined and a romantic soul and welcoming staff. You can choose the best treatments for you from the menu.

Experience Shalai

Timeless experiences in Sicily

Shalai is an elegant historic mansion located in Linguaglossa, a town on the slopes of Mount Etna. In the winter, guests have the opportunity to see the magnificent peaks of Mount Etna under a mantle of snow, and in the spring and summer they get a chance to feel the warm Sicilian sun on their skin. Although it is often seen as a winter resort, Shalai is also close to the beaches of Fiumefreddo, a perfect setting for a summer experience. Tasteful and welcoming, in tune with the Sicilian people, this boutique hotel’s restaurant offers a rich and varied breakfast and lunch, aperitif and starred dinner. Here guests can sip a drink in the indoor garden, or take the time to read a book in the ballroom, where they can contemplate the exquisitely frescoed ceilings, or pick their favourite treatment at the SPA. Shalai is a microcosm dedicated to your enjoyment!

Discover local attractions

The energy of Mount Etna

Mount Etna is not only the largest active volcano in Europe. It is also the archetypal symbol of Sicily’s untamed, ancient nature and history. It is no accident that Etna is a woman’s name; for the inhabitants of its slopes, it is simply 'A Muntagna (The Mountain).
Exclusive offers
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discover

Boutique Hotel
with Michelin star 2024
restaurant

Pennisi S.r.l.
P. IVA: 05269930870
CIR 19087021A400322

Photo Credits:
Stefano Butturini
Paola Licciardello

address

Via Guglielmo
Marconi, 25 95015
Linguaglossa - CT

For the purposes of the disclosure pursuant to former Article 1 paragraph 125 of Law 124/2017, it is specified that grants and subsidies received in the year 2021 are published in the National Register of State Aid.
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boutique hotel and Michelin star restaurant on Mount Etna
Choose your accommodation
Book a room or a suite: intimacy, contemporaneity and well-being become the perfect synthesis of your holiday on Etna at Shalai.
Shalai Restaurant
Treat yourself to a gastronomic experience in our Michelin-starred restaurant.
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Exclusive Offers

Discover the proposals and exclusive packages for those book from our website. Get ready to experience pure hospitality in a charming boutique hotel with restaurant and SPA on Mount Etna.

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