w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u 4140 w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u

Designer Hotels

Highfashion hotels

FORGET IT BAGS, SHOES AND FROCKS; STAYING AT ONE OF THE FABULOUS HOTELSDESIGNED BY A FAMOUS FASHION DESIGNER IS HIGH ON THE HOT-LIST RIGHT NOW

REPORTS STYLE WRITER JANE GIFFORD.

With the imminent opening of theArmani Hotel Dubai, GiorgioArmani joins the swelling ranks ofhigh-profile designers-turned-

lifestyle brands who have added luxury hotelsto their portfolios. This bourgeoning trendmeans that it’s now possible for fashionistas,and anyone interested in design, to check inand live the lifestyle of their most loved labels.

With the smooth running of the hotels takencare of by hospitality specialist partners, thefocus is squarely on style and leveragingestablished reputations. Branching out intohotel design seems to makes sense, too, as amarketing tool. It is, after all, an opportunity toshowcase the whole brand, products andlifestyle included, to a revolving door of peoplewho may not yet have succumbed to the allureof the fashion, jewellery and homeaccoutrements on offer.

ArmaniFor his venture, Giorgio Armani partnered withDubai-based developer Emaar Properties and thechic160-room Armani Hotel, located over ninefloors of Burj Dubai, the tallest skyscraper in theworld today, will be the first of several propertiesin the works to open. Other locations plannedfor Armani Hotels & Resorts in the next severalyears include Milan, Marrakech and New York.Armani’s intention is for guests at thesenamesake establishments to be treated with thesame attentive service they would receive in hisown home. All the rooms and public spaces willbe decorated with custom-designed Armani/Casafurnishings and with the presence of a signatureArmani nightclub, chocolatier, spa and of course,the designer’s eponymous fashion boutiques onthe premises, there will be plenty ofopportunities to indulge, play, and dress, theArmani way.

Images L to R:The new ArmaniHotel Dubai

42 w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u

Designer Hotels

VersaceGiorgio Armani is a new arrival onthe catwalk-to-hotelier scenecompared to Donatella Versace whohung her family’s shingle on agrandiose 270-room property onAustralia’s Gold Coast almost adecade ago. The Palazzo Versace,with its ornate columns, goldstatuary and vivid textiles, distinctlyreflects the label’s glitzy-glamourstyle. Now, years later, another evenmore opulent Palazzo Versace isnearing completion in Dubai.

44 w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u

Designer Hotels

MissoniCutting-edge festival-goers might be interestedto learn that the heart of the EdinburghFestival’s home town in Scotland is the locationof the first Hotel Missoni, a collaborationbetween the hip Italian fashion and homefurnishings label known for its iconic zigzagand stripe patterns, and Brussels-basedhospitality experts, the Rezidor Hotel Group.Creative director Rosita Missoni’s stamp isunmistakable throughout the mostly black andwhite interiors which feature an array of itemsfrom the Missoni home collection, from bathtowels to glassware and fine china, along with abespoke fragrance and hand-picked pieces offurniture by the likes of Marcel Wanders and,with a nod to the hotel’s Scottish location,Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Future Missonihotels are slated for Kuwait, Cape Town, Braziland Oman.

w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u 4746 w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u

Designer Hotels

BvlgariItalian jeweler Bvlgari has also expanded intothe realm of hospitality. A few years ago, thecentury-old company joined forces with LuxuryGroup, a division of Marriott International thatalso manages The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company,to launch an exclusive collection ofcontemporary properties under the umbrella ofBvlgari Hotels & Resorts. Bvlgari Milano, an18th-century building transformed byrenowned Italian architectural firm AntonioCitterio and Partners into a sophisticated,luxurious and thoroughly modern 52-roomurban retreat, has become a popular hangoutfor high-flyers during Milan Fashion Weeks.Open too, is the joint venture’s spectacular cliff-top oasis overlooking the ocean in Bali,designed by the same architects.

Bvlgari Hotel Bali

Bvlgari Hotel Bali Bvlgari Milano Bvlgari Hotel Milano

Bvlgari Hotel Milano

w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u 4948 w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u

Designer Hotels

FerragamoOther designers have taken a more subtleapproach to expanding into the hotel industry.The Ferragamos of shoe-making and luxuryleather goods fame, for example, decided todiversify their business a while ago, and have,since 1995, opened a succession of six elegantlyappointed lodgings in Florence and one in Romeunder the umbrella of Lungarno Hotels. Despitethe official name, people tend to refer to thecompany’s Florence hotels as “the Ferragamohotels.” Inside these boutique properties, theaesthetic is elegant, comfortable andsophisticated, with references to the shoes andaccessories the family is known for.

... the aesthetic iselegant, comfortable

and sophisticated, with references to

the shoes andaccessories the family

is known for.

Images L to R:Portrait Suites.

Ralph Lauren (The Pineapple House)A few years ago, Ralph Lauren revampedocean front rooms in the Pineapple Houseat the legendary Round Hill Hotel and Villasin Jamaica, where he is a part owner. Thelook he chose to complement the colonialarchitecture – a crisp white palette withsplashes of tropical colour and four-postermosquito-netted beds, slip-covered chaisesand other furnishings from the RalphLauren Home Design Studio – is straightfrom the evocative pages of the designer’ssummer catalogs – good news for anyonewho wishes they could dive into thephotographs.

w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u 5150 w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u

Designer Hotels

52 w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u

Designer Hotels

w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u 53

Oscar de la Renta (Tortuga Bay Hotel)Oscar de la Renta, a long-time favourite ofAmerican First Ladies and society doyennes,has also seriously dabbled in the business ofhotel design. In the late 1990s he became apartner in the development of the PuntaCana Resort & Club in an unspoilt remotecoastal region of the Dominican Republicand was the creative force behind the designof the resort’s exclusive Tortuga Bay Hotel.The interiors of the hotel’s 15 charmingvillas are elegantly simple - typical de laRenta, who also designed the furnishings sothat most of them could be made locallyfrom materials at hand.

The interiors of thehotel’s 15 charmingvillas are elegantly

simple - typical de laRenta - who also

designed thefurnishings.

54 w w w . l u x u r y t r a v e l m a g . c o m . a u

Designer Hotels

Philip Treacy (g Hotel Galway)Among others, even milliner-turned-furniture designer Philip Treacy is in on theact. In 2005 he signed on as the designdirector for Monogram Hotels’ flagshipproperty in Ireland, the g Hotel Galway. Theinteriors there display the wild creativeflourishes and eccentricities he usuallyapplies to hats, as worn by the lateinternational style icon and Treacy museIsabella Blow and other important Britishladies, to great effect.

While expanding into hotel design seemslike the height of fashion right now, onecan’t help wondering how long it mighttake for these properties to suffer thedreaded fate of falling out of fashion.