BVLGARI HOTEL &
SPA in MILAN
Photo : DR

SLIDESHOW

BULGARI OPENS ITS FIRST HOTEL IN MILAN

The glamorous Hotel

The first Bulgari hotel has opened in Milan in Via Privata Fratelli Gabba 7b, marking the entrance of the Bulgari Group – one of the major players in the luxury business – into the hospitality sector.

The three key elements that distinguish the hotel are its unique location, its contemporary design, and the variety of services all of which have been crafted with the same attention to quality that has always distinguished Bulgari creations. The Bulgari Hotel has been built in one of the most prestigious Milanese locations that is rich in cultural heritage and close to luxury shopping attractions. It is located in the beautiful Brera district and set in the centre of a 4000m2 private garden next to the Botanical Gardens. Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga and La Scala Theatre are just steps away. The position and the design of the Bulgari Hotel make it a true oasis of tranquillity. An area for meditation within the garden and the bright and welcoming spa add to the aura of well-being.

Designed by architects Antonio Citterio and Partners, the hotel features rare and precious materials which create new combinations of surfaces and surprising chromatic harmonies: black Zimbabwe marble in the public spaces, Vicenza stone and Turkish Aphyon in the Spa, solid teak, durmast and oak in the rooms and suites. All spaces feature contemporary Italian furniture and details designed by Citterio.

The hotel is comprised of 58 rooms and suites, most with garden views and some with meditation corners. Impeccable standards of service are tailored for each guest and delivered by more than 100 employees under the direction of General Manager Attilio Marro. The restaurant, the bar with terrace and lounge in the garden, private dining room, cigar room and the spa have also been planned with the local Milanese residents in mind and are destined to become a local, social destination. A 12-seat meeting room is available for meetings and private gatherings. All guests will have access to the valet parking service.

Francesco Trapani, Chief Executive Officer of the Bulgari Group, commented: “We are very pleased to inaugurate this first hotel of the Bulgari Hotels &Resorts project in this extraordinary location in the centre of Milan. It represents perfectly our vision of contemporary luxury in the hospitality sector. We believe that this magnificent hotel is further underlining the innovative spirit and prestige of Bulgari all over the world.”

The Bulgari Hotel in Milan is managed by Bulgari Hotels & Resorts utilizing new service and operational standards developed in collaboration with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

Prices: 560-750 € per room, 1500 € for the executive suites and 3500 € for the Bulgari suite.

Reservations: +39.02.805.805.1

Email milano@bulgarihotels.com - Website: www.bulgarihotels.com

THE DESIGN

At the heart of the project for the Hotel Bulgari there’s the research into the delicate balance between rigorous design of the space and the richness of atmospheres, obtained through the use of heavy, solid materials such as black marble from Zimbabwe and bronze. The building situated in Via Gabba, dating from the 1950s, combined with the smart design of the street built up over the past thirty years, was revisited so as to highlight its graphical composition. The façade in white marble, intended to express refinement and lightness in contrast with the massive design of the neighbouring stone buildings, becomes a sort of abstract field where windows – enriched by eaves in black granite and frames in dyed oak – stand out, as well as the 18th century part of the façade, restored and exhibited.

For those who approach the building, the garden can be glimpsed through a wall of vegetation. The narrow and high windows of the lobby look over the entrance court as well as a very tall sliding door sheltered by a massive cantilever roof in bronze. Mirrored window-panes reflect the set-designed garden while transparent panes reveal the majestic sequence of the interiors which are almost five metres high. The use of black granite and Burmese teak wood create an elegant, though informal environment that is perfectly in line with the garden, an extension on the interiors, thanks to the transparency of the façade in bronze and glass. The blackness of the granite prevails and gives the areas a monumental character. In the lounge with a fireplace, contemporary works of art are exhibited on a quarterly basis by the famous gallery Massimo De Carlo.

Situated at the end of an internal or external itinerary through the garden, the restaurant area is surprising for its unusual association with a lenticular ceiling suspended over a large oval balcony in black resin giving on the terrace and the garden. In the Spa too, you can find a wide range of materials. Here the golden stone from Vicenza, laid in irregular patterns, the green glass-panes and, not least, the breathtaking tub with gold and emerald mosaic, while maintaining a contemporary and rigorous design, suggest an atmosphere of oriental indolence to the areas for well-being.

In the passageways the white and black colours of communal areas are repeated, from graphite-dyed oak and upholstered fabrics on the walls to the doors of the rooms: they look like proper entrance doors, thick and heavy, able to offer their guests an environment which is acoustically insulated and absolutely private, with a view on the garden in a silence which is almost unreal in Milan’s city centre.

The pale colour of bleached oak prevails in the chromatic range of the rooms, combined with the warm and natural hues of fabrics; the dark bathroom, opening onto the bedroom in the area where the black granite bathtub is located, highlights by contrast the fair paleness of the bed area and stands out against the warm colour of the Navona travertine stone of the basin and shower. Coming with an entrance and a closet, all the rooms are organised in a sequence of spaces, from the entrance to the most intimate areas of the bathroom looking on the garden.

At the top floor, the Bulgari suite can be described as the most open and simultaneously the most difficult to access area in the building. An almost three-meter deep gallery protects a completely transparent façade and creates an open space on the garden, with a spectacular view of the town. The idea of an urban villa is strengthened by the use of teak in flooring which, continuing in the gallery, mixes the inside and the outside. The sitting-room is dominated by the presence of a monumental Brera stone fireplace, while the bathroom, with its bathtub obtained from a single block of Bihara stone from Turkey, recalls the open bathrooms in oriental resorts.

Careful design has been applied to every single detail. Hotel Bulgari is indeed an example of total design, in which every single element has been expressly studied and implemented: from the door handles to the whole façade, from every single piece of furniture to desk accessories, from architecture to glasses and fabrics. The result is an extraordinarily consistent design that makes this environment precise and coherent. All that you can see or touch is part of a global concept which is based on the absolute care of technical details and perfectly integrates the form and substance of the service provided in a more general attitude of absolute, integral and uncompromised quality.

Antonio Citterio

THE GARDEN

The project for redeveloping the garden in Via Fratelli Gabba offered an opportunity to recover and highlight one of the few historical gardens in town.

The garden of Hotel Bulgari used to be the vegetable garden of a monastery, divided into small plots, before it became a welcoming and worldly garden-sitting room in the 19th century, a period which was followed by its progressively and inexorably running wild.

In the current restyling project, the Milanese-Lombard character of this place was underlined, evoking in a contemporary key the great number of gardens of historical villas that have strongly contributed to design the local landscape.

Hence the choice of trees and shrubs which are typical of historical parks and gardens - some of which are already present in this garden - arranged so as to create a succession of open-air rooms following a single itinerary. Evergreen climbing plants cover the helix-shaped pergola that leads to an underground car park; a flower-bed dominated by a sumptuous beech with purple leaves and a clump of chamaerops and roses opens up right in front of the reception area. The access path to the restaurant is decorated by climbing roses, champaerops and box-tree topiaries.

In front of the restaurant there are four slight terracing areas: three of these are planted with grass and follow the original curves of the land. The first one, with its black pebbles, features twenty-five tree-shaped laurels planted in large pots. The second one has a lawn shadowed by pre-existing ancient horse-chestnuts. The third offers five “sitting rooms” under the shadow of umbrella-shaped plane trees with white wisteria climbing around their trunks. The fourth consists of shrubs of camellias plus trees with magnolias and cornus. All these varieties are characterised by particularly beautiful spring blossoms and autumn colours.

The itinerary through the garden continues in a meditation room surrounded by a tall red beech hedge, at the heart of which lies a parterre of black lilies of the valley.

A path winds through a clump of hydrangeas between annual and perennial blossoms in the shade of Bordeaux red-crimson and black. As to the stones selected, slate and black pebbles were chosen to maintain the natural character of the garden. The decorative elements for borders, banisters and finishes are in anthracite-painted iron.

Sophie Agata Ambroise

THE RESTAURANT

The search for excellence that characterizes the Bulgari Hotel is the inspirational motive for the cuisine created by the chef Elio Sironi, who finds the luxurious but informal environment of the restaurant an ideal stage for his work. The basic elements of superior quality, refined techniques and creativity are the fundamental ingredients of his cuisine.

Italian tradition, based on strong flavours and on the consistency of the dishes, inspires the Bulgari Hotel Restaurant to offer original interpretations of these classics with a contemporary twist. The menu is characterized by harmony and contrasts, by whimsy and by a constant aesthetic research of colours and volumes. Different proposals, linked to the different moments of the day, to the climate and to the season, are articulated in fresh, prompt and light lunches and in more elaborated dishes for dinner. Meals are available either at the tables set with handmade dishes and Bulgari flatware or more casually at the Bar all overlooking the beautiful gardens.

Traditional Italian plates are embellished with new ingredients gathered with particularly attention so that the classical “salsa verde” (green sauce) finds a new inflexion through the addition of avocado and vanilla flavoured oil or salad enriched with gorgonzola and roasted peaches or the classical saffron that colours typical Italian risotto becomes exalted with vin brule’.

Breakfast includes a variety of choices: from the sumptuous Bulgari breakfast with a selection of juices and jams, eggs with Iranian caviar, champagne and lobster to very fresh Mediterranean breakfast based on olive oil, tomatoes and fresh fruit carpaccio. Also there is not a lack of international cuisine with several American and Japanese choices available.

The appetizers and cocktails, inspired by classical Italian tastes and colours, are whimsical and diverse with additions such as Martini Feng Shuei in which a smooth stone is dipped.

A menu of eleven dishes, fresh in taste and colour, has been created for the lounge and the garden available such as a Club Sandwich, caviar, and a classical caprese or pate’ of Mortara. Room service is available 24-hours a day and includes seven dishes on the Children’s Menu.

The choice of wine, many of which come by the glass, are chosen from Italian regions such as Campania, Sardinia and Sicily. Among the bar offering is also a cultivated selection of champagne and sparkling wine and fine spirits from some elite labels like rum from Saint James from Antilles, dated 1885, for €960 per glass.

All year around, the chef’s fresh spices garden, placed in a corner of the vast estate, assures the cuisine of the Bulgari Hotel in Milan all the freshness and colours of the season.

THE SPA

The Spa at the Bulgari Hotel has been conceived as an urban shelter for the mind and the soul. The elegant architecture offers a unique setting for the search of equilibrium and harmony while the contemporary design creates fascinating contrasts to the ancient philosophies of well-being that underlie the modern treatments of today.

The main hall is dominated by a long swimming pool tiled with a shining gold and emerald mosaic with the minimalist Hamam at the end. The Hamam represents a shelter of private and precious well-being and is entirely surrounded by glass of the same green as the pool and furnished with Aphyon stone seating. The Spa overlooks an open air lounge through a bright glass window.

To slow down the hectic rhythm of the city, to regain our lost inner equilibrium, to gift our bodies pleasant moments of well-being and relaxation were the objectives that led specialists from Espa to create exclusive treatments and products with pure and completely natural ingredients such as essential oils and plant extracts.

The treatments arise from different sources of inspiration from massage techniques from Bali and Hawaii to antic oriental rituals including aromatherapy, ayurveda, shiatsu and reflexology.

Among the proposed treatments the most exclusive is the rebalancing of the “chakra” – in the ayurvedic philosophy it represents the seven centres of human energy- through hot volcanic stones, and the refined Balinese massage which begins with a welcome ritual and continues with a massage that starts from the abdomen with warm oil.

Finally, for those willing to immerge themselves in the oasis of well-being and harmony, and regenerate body and soul, the Bulgari Spa offers four different “Day Rituals”: Harmony, Indulgence, Escape and Serenity- with varied lengths from two to five hours. Included in each “Day Ritual” is a menu specifically studied and presented in fine Japanese boxes.

SERVICES

Services offered at the Bulgari Hotel in Milan are conceived to satisfy even the most demanding customer. The outcome is a menu of services that not only make the stay as comfortable as possible but also offer a series of activities to explore the city and the surroundings. The choice of services is defined at the moment the reservation is made to assure the careful planning of details for every stay.

Services and Activities

Complimentary Packing and Unpacking

Complimentary Sony Playstation 2 with Games and DVD

Personal Trainer

Personal Shopper

Image Consulting, Hair and Makeup by Monica Coppola

Luxury car rental (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley, Maserati, Cadillac)

Private Tour of “secret” Villas and Museums in Milan

Lago di Como in Seaplane

Lago Maggiore in Helicopter

Discover Italy’s finest escapes (private plane, limousine, yacht)

Private tour of gourmet food and wine producers of Northern Italy

Rally Driving School in Monza

Golf & Country Club

Bulgari Last Minute Shopping Menu

NUMBERS

Building time 4 years

People involved 400

Marbles 300 tons

Textiles 4.000 mq

Mosaic tiles 150.000

CURIOSITIES

The first framework of the garden of the Bulgari Hotel dates back to at least the 1300s. It is mentioned for the first time in Piero de Crescenza’s treatise of 1305’s, De Ruralium Commodorum.

Marbles were used in double the quantity generally used in a hotel of the same category. The fireplace made of Zimbawe black granite in the lounge room alone weighs 15 tons.

A sensorial dvd, created by Felice Limosani and edited by Antonio Monfreda, is available in each room. Conceived to create an immediate chill-out by turning the television screen into a living picture, the video is characterized by a perfect combination of sounds and images which takes the client into a coloured world of sensations and memories.

In the lounge, a small library with publications on the town of Milan is at the client’s disposal.

In the lounge, artwork from contemporary artists will be exhibited on a quarterly basis. At the opening guests will be able to admire works by John Armleder, Rudolf Stingel, Piotr Uklanski and Sam Samore.

For further information :

Bvlgari Press Office : BVLGARI SA – Pascale Truffaut – Tel. 022 319 06 60 (/-61 direct) – Fax 022/317 70 75

pascale.truffaut@bulgari.com