The new Passalacqua Hotel is a super-luxury property on the shores of Lake Como. Designed by Paolo, Antonella and Valentina De Santis, former owners of the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, it opened its doors at the beginning of June after a lengthy restoration. 

The former home of Vincenzo Bellini 

Built in Moltrasio on Lake Como, on land originally owned by Pope Innocent XI, Villa Passalacqua was designed at the end of the 18th century, and became a meeting place for VIPs of the day, including Napoleon Bonaparte and Winston Churchill. In 1829 Vincenzo Bellini made it his home, and it is here that he composed two of his most famous operas: Norma and La Sonnambula.

Suites with frescoes, exposed beams and damask walls

Today the Passalacqua has reopened with 24 suites in three different buildings. The main residence, the Villa, has 12 suites that celebrate the opulence of Italian history with original frescoes, stuccowork and decorations. The eight suites in the Palazz are homely and refined, with centuries-old exposed beams and hand-painted damask walls.

Barbara Sturm treatments in the Spa

Just a few steps from the water, the Casa al Lago is ideal for exclusive use and has four suites, each with a private garden and lake views. The Palazz also houses the spa, which has a range of exclusive Barbara Sturm treatments, two massage rooms, an oriental-inspired relaxation area, and a wet area in the underground tunnel.

A swimming pool and solarium 

A 20-metre swimming pool was built during the renovations on the historic gardens. The solarium surrounding it and the lounge area created within the ancient Winter Garden were designed in collaboration with Jj Martin and are a meditative area and the perfect setting for morning yoga sessions.

Traditional cuisine from Chef Mauro Verza

There is also a gym in the olive grove, a clay tennis court with panoramic lake views and an outdoor cinema. Guests can also set sail from the pier on two of the family’s boats. The culinary offer, inspired by the simplest Italian traditions and based on fresh ingredients from the garden, is from Executive Chef Mauro Verza who has 25 years of experience helming kitchens for some of the most prestigious families in Milan.

In the annual Pambianco rankings Voihotels stays on top, but many changes have been wrought by the pandemic. In addition to having a significant impact on accounts it totally upset the balance of the Italian hotel industry. 

A changing picture year on year 

The ranking of Italian hotel groups was so deeply influenced by the crisis, that what emerged was a completely different and changing picture year on year. It happened in 2020 and it happened again in 2021. According to the Pambianco analysis, the top ten Italian hotel groups closed last year with an overall turnover that was 38% lower than in 2019: certainly not a positive picture, albeit a clear improvement compared to the -65% of 2020.

Alpitour’s Voihotels comes out top

In terms of ranking the only certainty seems to be Voihotels, the hotel brand of the Alpitour group, which maintained its top position with a total of €81 million (-25% compared to 2019). In second place is Starhotels with €75 million. In third place, Sardegna Resorts the hotel company of Smeralda Holding, which manages the most important properties on Sardinia’s fabled Costa Smeralda, which posted €73 million (-17% on 2019).

Losses for all groups

In fourth place is Bluserena (based in Italy, the company is now controlled by the Spanish fund Azora, ed), with €69 million (-13%), followed by the Una Group (€67 million; -48%), by Hotelturist (The Resorts: €62 million; -35%) and Aeroviaggi (Mangia's: €59 million; -32%). In eighth place is Delphina (€50 million; -31%), in ninth Blu Hotels (€45 million; -31%) and finally in tenth place is Villa d’Este (€35 million; -36%).

 

The new Wellness Sanctuary spa in the 5-star Fontanelle Estate Country Resort, thanks to a major renovation completed last March, is on the Bolfo family's country resort in the heart of the Chianti Classico region.

 

The complex also includes the Villa il Mandorlo and the Vallepicciola Winery.

The new spa is a true holistic centre, inspired by Asian wellbeing rituals while enhancing the officinal tradition and healing elements typical of Tuscany and Chianti, which include programmes with clays and Volterra’s salt.

Customized wellness pacakges

The new wellness centre complements the 5-star resort as an effective tool for physical and mental regeneration, with the wellness experience aiming to be innovative and contemporary. Guests can enjoy the customized packages that include sessions on meditation paths, in the swimming pools, yoga lessons and forest immersions in the surrounding natural environs. 

A range of healing techniques

The Club House also has a range of healing techniques from energy balancing to reiki, to craniosacral therapy. All under the guidance of wellness manager, Maria Kalogeraki, and wellness curator, Isabella Matrundola.

Ca' del Moro Wine Retreat, for luxury rural wine-themed holidays, is in an ancient hamlet and part of the La Collina dei Ciliegi winery on the sloping hills of the Valpantena valley, half an hour from Verona. 

The old stables and barn have been turned into six contemporary suites, named for the fine wines produced on the estate. Styled in white and grey tones, the suites have old wooden-beamed ceilings, linen fabrics and well-appointed heated stone bathrooms.

Wine parings and local delicacies

The restaurant – on the large outdoor terrace throughout the summer but not only, as this part of Italy can get wonderfully sunny and surprisingly mild days at any time of year – has seasonal menus of local specialties including cured meats, pork, beef, pigeon, and local cheeses. And the Chef’s expertly and imaginatively created wine pairings feature some of the Veneto region’s greatest wines. 

Wine weekends and guided bike and walking tours

Wine lovers will not want to miss an Amarone Weekend dedicated to one of Italy’s supreme wines, with two nights in a suite, a Collezione Classica tasting menu and time to discover the valley on horseback. The property also organizes guided excursions on e-bike and on walking trails through woodlands, meadows and vineyards, reaching the valley’s higher slopes towards the Lessini preAlps, where the prized red marble of Verona is quarried. 

Glamping, but also shopping and music

For guests who prefer to sleep in close symbiosis with nature there is a luxury glamping tent (more are on the way) with a double bed, a bathroom and views over the vineyards and the valley. This is a glamorous way for nature lovers to blend eco-friendly holidays with sophisticated comfort, and for those who need a top-up of culture and retail adrenalin Verona is just down the road.  This handsome old town has lively shopping streets and the ancient Roman Arena amphitheatre with one of the world’s gretest summer opera festivals. It also packs in the crowds - it can hold 22,000 spectators – for mega concerts with big bands and celebrity performers.  

There was optimism at Milan’s Hospitality Forum 2022 with global real estate investments in the hotel industry set to more than double in 2021 compared to 2020, approaching €70 billion.

This is the global figure from the 2022 report on the hotel real estate market, presented at the Hospitality Forum organized by Castello Sgr and Scenari Immobiliari. In Europe the hotel property market closed 2021 with a turnover of €21.2 billion, and is expected to rise to €26.6 billion in 2022. This trend is also confirmed in Italy with a 2021 turnover of 2.5 billion euro, which is estimated to rise in 2022 to 3.1 billion.

“Flexibility and versatility will be the drivers for 2022”

"In 2021 we glimpsed a recovery, - said Francesca Zirnstein, general manager of Scenari Immobiliari. - Now flexibility and versatility will be the drivers for 2022 and the next two years. Increased overnight stays, the growth of the bleisure segment and of short holidays all lead to optimism. On the negative side there are possible new waves of contagion, rising inflation, energy costs and labour shortages. The dynamics are disturbed, but the economic segment and the real estate assets possess intrinsic characteristics to sustain the recovery.”

Expectations for the current year are positive

Giampiero Schiavo, CEO of Castello Sgr, said the tourism and hotel market in Europe and Italy shows great vitality.

“We operators have a duty to accompany the recovery, responding to the new needs of travellers, and offering them a more valuable experience. We have to work on deseasonalization and promoting all of Italy rather than just its major cities and most iconic sites.”

A significant growth in revenues of 25% is expected for 2022, in line with 2018, but only in 2024 will the market exceed 2019 results. Expectations for the current year are therefore positive, with Europe’s real estate turnover closing with an increase of just under 30%.

 

Garda Bubbles and Geo Cupole geodesic tents are the novelties for the 2022 season at the Rocca Camping Village on Lake Garda.

These exclusive accommodations combine the most popular features of camping life (essential situations, shared spaces, freedom) with larger sizes, higher standards of service and special settings.

Communicating transparent bubbles

The Garda Bubbles are shaped like three communicating and transparent bubbles, for a night under the stars without the inconvenience of sleeping outdoors. Immersed in nature, but without having to forego a double room with a four-poster bed, they are complemented by a living area and a designer bathroom. The outdoor terrace has a heated whirlpool bath, guaranteeing total privacy.

Cool in summer and warm in winter

Geodesic domes, on the other hand, are hemispherical,making the most of the potential of two geometric shapes: the triangle and the sphere. They are stable and durable, so much so that they are the housing solutions of choice for missions in extreme locations, such as Antarctica or the desert. The very shape of the tent guarantees a series of comforts. First of all it allows optimal air circulation, creating an ideal microclimate in every season, which means cool in summer and warm in winter. 

Falling asleep looking up at a starry summer sky

The space also appears multiplied thanks to the absence of pillars. The large window makes it possible to fall asleep looking up at a starry summer sky and to wake up with the lake at your fingertips. On the eastern shore of Lake Garda, the tent for two also features a heated whirlpool. Both the Bubbles and the Tents are without kitchens.

Villa Luisa in Fiuggi is ideal for tranquility and wellness, and for anyone seeking to take time to rediscover that quality of life to which the body and mind aspire.  

Villa Luisa is the new entry for Palazzo Fiuggi, formerly the Grand Hotel Palazzo della Fonte (now controlled by the same owners as the Forte Village. Ed), and can be reserved exclusively to enjoy the wellness and remise en forme programmes in complete privacy.

Historical charm

Built at the same time as the Palace in the early 20th century, in Art Nouveau style, recent renovations have enhanced the property, adding a spa and a gym where visitors can be monitored by the Palazzo's medical staff and participate in remise en forme programmes. And just a few steps away we find the 6,000 square metres of the Palace's spa. Villa Luisa is set in a private park of 1,800 square metres, and on its five floors has preserved its historical charm while introducing tasteful modern design.

Exquisite solid wood furnishings

The spa has a sauna, Turkish bath, and showers, as well as a treatment room with double beds and a relaxation area with a private garden. There is also a gym with a yoga room and training equipment. The dining room, which seats 20, and a sophisticated lounge, with fireplaces and exquisite solid wood furnishings, are both located on the first floor and the outdoor terrace has a pergola. 

Chic furniture in the Presidential Suite 

Two double bedrooms and one twin bedroom with bathrooms are on the second and third floors. The Presidential Suite is on the fourth floor, and has a master bedroom with a double bathroom, a walk-in closet with a secret vault, a second walk-in closet, a large living room with a chic mix of furniture, a fireplace, and a panoramic terrace with views of the green hills that surround the city of Fiuggi.

The Student Hotel in Rome is to host the Accademia Italiana design campus, in a new partnership between the hybrid hospitality brand The Student Hotel and Ad Education.

The Accademia will move its headquarters in 2023 into the first campus entirely dedicated to design in Italy, in the buildings of Rome’s former customs house.

Students to be involved in the project

The historic building in the capital’s San Lorenzo neighbourhood was built in the 1930s and will see the old customs offices transformed into classrooms and campus spaces, which will also be open to associations, committees, and other artistic and cultural groups. The collaboration will develop by directly involving students studying photography, interior, product and fashion design and jewellery.

“The campus will have 396 rooms”

“I am very happy with this new partnership - says chief real estate officer & executive board member of TSH, Rienk Oosterhof -. The students of the Accademia's photography, interior and product design, fashion design and jewellery design courses will collaborate in the creation of the first campus in Italy in this field. It will have 396 rooms." 

The project should be completed by 2024

After two hotels in Florence (one is under construction) and one in Bologna, TSH is aiming to complete this latest project by 2024. In addition to the rooms, the hybrid structure will include common areas open to the community, spaces for sports and co-working, meetings and events rooms and a public park

Life Resorts' Unico brand has added the Sicilian Marina Holiday, with forty-two rooms and suites built in elegant Sicilian style, in the architectural style of the historic village about half an hour from Palermo, all a few steps from the sea.

The property has a panoramic terrace, two restaurants and bars, a swimming pool, a spa and a Jacuzzi suite. 

“We will soon be adding new destinations”

"We have added a new quality resort to our Italian collection, to which will soon be adding new destinations - explains the CEO and founder of the Life Resorts Group, Enzo Carella. - The gourmet restaurants which overlook panoramic terraces will offer fine dining experiences to guests from all over the world.” 

The resort is aimed at young adults

Life Resorts, in collaboration with the property, has made an ambitious multi-year investment aimed at developing further themed areas to boost the resort's appeal to a young adults target. The Unico Marina Holiday Resort & Spa is an affiliation management project. "We started this partnership with the idea of offering a product that can compete on international markets and in the events segment," adds Salvatore Palazzolo, owner of the Sicilian property.

B&B Hotels with 60 properties in Italy by the end of 2022 is focusing on premium rooms which are on upper floors, thus providing the best views, while many of them also feature panoramic terraces.

BB Hotels Florence Hotel Pitti Palace al Ponte Vecchio

Opulent and spacious rooms

Let’s take the B&B Hotel Firenze Pitti Palace at Florence’s Ponte Vecchio, which is situated just 100 metres from Palazzo Pitti, and has 360-degree views over the city. The Firenze Laurus al Duomo, also in the heart of the Tuscan city, has opulent and spacious rooms with parquet flooring and light hues. 

Quality meeting spaces

Other top choices are the Affi Lago di Garda, which won first place in the Italian Mission Awards 2022 category for Best Meeting Space, and the Cherasco Langhe, which has 84 modern, opulent, and superior rooms in a property that is a benchmark for Piedmont’s congress tourism. 

BB Hotel Sottomarina Chiocchia

Chioggia is a mini Venice 

The Chioggia Airone, a sun and beach hotel situated in the Veneto city of Chioggia which is a miniature version of Venice, and which the New York Times named one of the top three Italian cities to visit in 2022, is another example of the group's new hospitality philosophy. While in Palermo the Quattro Canti ,and in Cortina the Passo Tre Croci Cortina, both have the most intriguing wine and cuisine menus and are not to be missed.