There's a new luxury brand at Marriott International. The company has formed a joint venture with Lefay, and the partners plan to grow the Italian wellness brand worldwide.
Lefay currently operates two wellness eco-resorts in Italy: one at Lake Garda and another in the Dolomites, and has three additional properties in the pipeline for Tuscany, southern Italy and the Swiss Alps.
Each property focuses on the brand's proprietary "Lefay Spa Method," which combines scientific research with holistic wellness traditions. Guests can book individual treatments or multiday structured wellness programs, which integrate movement, nutrition and preventative health.
Lefay was founded in 2006 by Domenico Alcide and Liliana Leali. The Leali family will retain ownership of the brand's hotel real estate in Italy.
Lefay's existing and future resorts will operate under long-term hotel management agreements with the new joint venture. Lefay's existing brand and intellectual property assets will also be folded into the new entity.
Marriott said it plans to work with the family to "grow the brand around the world, leveraging Marriott's powerful development capabilities."
The Lefay brand will sit within Marriott's Luxury Group, alongside Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, Edition, W, JW Marriott and The Luxury Collection.