An oasis of well-being and beauty in historic Milan, the QC Termimilano is a day spa close to the Porta Romana in an Art Nouveau building that once belonged to the Milanese tramway company.

An old tram has been converted into a sauna

With an enchanted garden, an herbarium and a vegetable garden there is also a cognitive path and an experiential barefoot walk. The garden is surrounded by the 16th-century Spanish walls of Porta Romana and an old ATM tram has been converted into a sauna. On the lawn guests can relax on comfortable designer beds, while small wrought iron tables with white tablecloths are placed in delightful corners in which to enjoy special blends of tea.

Open again after a 12-month closure

"Our aim has always been to do things that please people, offering beauty and quality of life in an accessible way," explains Andrea Quadrio Curzio, CEO, and founder of the group. The QC Terme opens again after a 12-month closure, because “it was not possible to avail ourselves of smart-working. The thermal tourism sector was devastated by the pandemic, and it has not been easy to start over.”

Openings planned for Salsomaggiore and Lake Garda

Now the spa model that was launched in Bormio has been brought into a metropolitan context, and many new projects are underway. While the search for ideal locations around the world continues, and after the opening of the Governors Island headquarters in New York, the next developments in Italy will be Terme Berzieri in Salsomaggiore and Palazzo Arzaga sul Garda. And the group is also looking at new locations in Arizona, the Rocky Mountains and Chicago.

Best Western’s Oasi Sure Hotel Collection, just by a few steps from the historic centre of Levanto, is a boutique hotel 350 metres from the beach. With 14 rooms, each with different colours and design, the rooms on the ground floor have direct access to the garden. Levanto is a coastal town in the Liguria region, just an hour by car or train from Genoa. It has an old medieval centre and one of the longest sandy beaches in the area, and is just half an hour by car or 15 minutes by train from the Cinque Terre. 

A range of exciting experiences 

In their rooms guests will find a smartphone with unlimited international calls, a smart TV with apps including Netflix and Spotify, concierge service, bike rentals, beach equipment and guided tours. And with a range of experiences including cooking classes, a walk with an aperitif, yoga in the garden, wine tastings in the vineyard and many other activities to chiose from there are endless exciting things to do. 

A hotel with a strong personality

The food & beverage is equally exciting with organic breakfasts featuring local products, and with à la carte lunches and dinners in the restaurant which is 200 metres from the hotel and specializes in fish.  “Being part of a network such as Bwh Hotel Group Italia we have the opportunity to reach out to new markets. Our hotel has a strong personality and is in a well-known and very attractive location,” says hotel manager Silvia Moggia.  

Feltre, the "Venice of the Dolomites," which is close to Belluno in the Veneto region, will welcome its new Archaeological Museum at the end of April. 

The new facility will feature artefacts from Roman Feltria, a municipium with jurisdiction over the Alpine valleys between Belluno and Trento, and one of the most important ancient centres on the Venetian mainland's upper reaches.

A journey from the museum through the city

This new-generation museum, the work of the Municipality of Feltre in collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendency, will exhibit many unique finds and tell a fascinating story, on a journey that begins inside the museum and winds its way along the city’s major Roman and earlier Rhaetian monuments. Each exhibit has an in-depth digital analysis, connected to a web archive accessed via QR Code directly on the visitor's smartphone. The interactive exhibition path also has other multimedia devices such as video projectors, speaker systems and monitors.

Statuary and refined ornaments

A spectacular parade of Ionic-Italic capitals in soft stone from Vicenza welcomes visitors to the new museum. The adjoining room is dedicated to small statuary and refined ornaments that belonged to wealthy local residences between the 1st century B.C. and 2nd century A.D. Visitors can also see the monumental Greek marble statue of Aesculapius which was discovered during excavations in the cathedral's churchyard in 1974. Next to it is a votive altar to Anna Perenna, the ancient Roman goddess.

Artefacts from ancient burial areas

There is no shortage of artefacts from remote burial areas, such as those found in urban cemeteries, from personal ornaments to coins and furnishings in terracotta, blown glass, and metal. The tomb of Aeronia Maxima, discovered in Sovramonte in the 1950s, is quite unique, consisting of a tuffaceous urn containing incinerated bones and an inscription.  

After the rebranding project that started in 2021 The Place Firenze garnered international attention for the intimate and sophisticated redesign of its public areas, and now 2022 brings the unveiling of its restyled suites and rooms. Brainchild of architect Luigi Fragola the new look for the rooms and suites has been inspired by the materials and colours of the extraordinary Piazza Santa Maria Novella.

Antique floors and 8k video screens 

Now bright and airy, these master rooms ooze comfort and an exclusive Florentine intimacy. They have antique floors in reclaimed wood mounted in large geometric tiles, and fine handcrafted leather writing desks that underline the sense of home. Like the ornamental and comfortable sofas in soft shades of greenm they underline the unmistakable style of The Place Firenze. 8K video screens disappear into the furniture, and the sound systems have just the right contemporary tech-touch.

An elegant home away from home

In a world of hospitality that has profoundly changed in recent years, The Place Firenze aims to not only be a place to stay, but an elegant home away from home. Somewhere to entertain and meet friends or business partners, from which to enjoy the splendid view of the square from The Terrace outdoor area, or enjoy an evening with a signature aperitif and impeccable Italian cuisine.  With Chef Asso Migliore in The Kitchen & The Bar the cuisine is based on a careful search for ingredients and local suppliers, in full compliance with the-farm-to-table philosophy.

“We put guests at the centre of our universe”

“Over time and along the way, hospitality has become an industry,” says general manager Claudio Meli. "This is not us; we are not that kind of ​​hospitality. We are an artisan shop. Humanism was born in Florence, placing man at the centre of the universe. We put guests at the centre of our universe. For me, this is the essence of The Place Firenze.”

The Place Firenze
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The Hilton group is back in the Emilia Romagna region with the Garden Inn Bologna North. The property, currently the Green Park Hotel, is in Quarto Inferiore, a small town about 2.5 kilometres from Fico Eataly World. It is a 4-star business hotel with 132 rooms, a conference center, restaurant and large outdoor areas.

Apparently the affiliation is the result of a 19-year franchise agreement between Piazza Hotels & Residences (Phr), which has been managing the hotel since January 2021, and the Hilton Group.

The Garden Inn will have a new gym and revamped rooms

The Green Park will be rebranded Garden Inn from March 2023, after a complete revamp thanks to a Capex investment of about €1.6 million, corresponding to a value per room of around €11-12,000. The relaunch project also includes the enhancement of the F&B outlets which will be totally renovated, as well as the construction of a gym, and a complete refurbishment for the rooms.

Villa La Massa near Florence reopens, welcoming gests to an oasis of tranquility and elegance. This hamlet comprised of six units with a total of 51 rooms, is surrounded by ten hectares of parkland overlooking the Chianti hills and is only eight kilometres from Florence.

During the winter closure period, Villa La Massa was given a refurbishment that included the restyling of some Villa Nobile rooms and a complete renovation of the gym. Guests can reserve the entire property or individual buildings exclusively for their stay, allowing them to enjoy a unique experience in the Tuscan countryside.

The Arno Spa has many facilities 

The Arno Spa, which includes a Turkish bath, sauna, Roman tub with whirlpool and sensory showers, as well as two treatment and massage cabins, is made for total relaxation. There is also a heated outdoor swimming pool with views of the Tuscan hills, a gym, an exercise and yoga area, jogging paths, and bicycles for the more active. 

Mediterranean and Tuscan favourites in the restaurants

The exclusive Il Verrocchio restaurant, with a splendid terrace overlooking the Arno river, has refined traditional Italian and Mediterranean menus with a gourmet twist created by Chef Stefano Ballarino. The l'Oliveto bistrot with its laidback atmosphere beside the pool offers a selection of traditional Tuscan dishes featuring fresh and summer flavours.

A live music festival will run all summer 

This year L'Oliveto Summer Lounge live music event will be held every Wednesday from June to September, featuring a gourmet pizza menu paired with a selection of matching cocktails, fine Tuscan and Italian wines, spirits, and beers. Chef Stefano Ballarino together with chefs from some of Italy’s most prestigious hotels will create exclusive dinners, each featuring a tasting menu

Tennis, yoga and a motor rally

The Tennis Clinic, with tennis lessons at the Match Ball Firenze Country Club is scheduled for Easter and summer, and yoga classes, are also among the many recreational and sports activities planned this year. The Romantic Journey Through Italy is an experiential journey from Lake Como to Florence staying at Villa d'Este and Villa La Massa. And from 7 to 9 October Villa La Massa will host VLM Excellence Supercars Firenze, a fantastic event featuring supercars produced since 1990.

Palazzo Garzoni is an ultra-luxe Almae Collection property making its debut on 1 April with just four apartments and hotel services overlooking the Grand Canal, between the Rio di Ca' Garzoni and the Fondaco Marcello, opposite Palazzo Pisani Moretta in Venice. 

The apartments have magnificent halls and large rooms  

The Gothic-style palace, purchased in 2019 by a French lover of art and Italy, has been completely renovated, and the four apartments have magnificent halls and large rooms, while the apartment on the main floor also has a library. All this is enhanced by Carrara marble, original wall frescoes and door jambs carved by Venetian master craftsmen.

‘Luxury tourism has withstood the crisis’

"Despite the difficulties under the lockdowns and restrictions of various kinds, the luxury market has withstood the crisis and it is the segment on which to focus to relaunch tourism,” says Anne Cecile Quey, director of the Almae Collection. "Venice, with its evocative views, history and heritage of unique beauty, has always been a destination for high-level tourism, for visitors with high spending power who generate wealth for the destination and the surrounding areas.”

Plans for Ibiza and Cognac and a new Veneto property 

The Almae Collection’s future plans include the opening in 2023 of a hotel in Cognac as well as projects in Ibiza, Spain, and another property in the Veneto region: the Palladian Villa Emo in Fanzolo di Vedelago, currently undergoing redevelopment and scheduled to open in 2024 or 2025.