Bulgari Hotel: 20 years of Italian style from Milan to Tokyo, Rome to Bali

It seems like yesterday and yet 20 years have passed since Bulgari's adventure in the world of hôtellerie began with its first hotel in Milan in 2004. Today, after the latest opening in Rome, there are nine gems in the worldwide Bulgari Hotels & Resorts collection, which includes properties in Milan, London, Paris, Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai, Bali and Tokyo. Next steps will be the Bulgari Ranfushi in the Maldives in 2025 and Miami in 2026. In 2025 a still top-secret destination in the Mediterranean could come as a surprise. While in America the scouting continues and on the radar are Los Angeles and New York.

Landing in the world of hotellerie is a project that at Bulgari comes from far away. "In reality, the idea of hotels was born even before 2004 when the Bulgari Maison, having emerged from a small dimension, wanted to satisfy the desire of clients to have a luxury experience that was not limited to jewellery, but broader - underlines Silvio Ursini, executive vice president of Bulgari and head of the Bulgari Hotels& Resorts division - in this we were pioneers. When we announced the project at first we did not like it and there was great scepticism. I remember that at the time, when we were listed on the stock exchange, the stock lost 6 per cent'. As Ursini explains, in reality, from the very beginning the philosophy to which they have always remained faithful has aimed at conveying an idea of Italian aesthetics rooted in the Bulgari brand, but in a contemporary key. "We have never thought of a large chain, but always of a collection of hotels with excellent service, recognisable design and authentic, star-studded Italian cuisine, starting from extraordinary locations in terms of address, building, physical space. Just as a great jewel starts from a great precious stone, so we chose our hotels starting from unique locations. And to do this we did not settle for the many proposals we received. That is why, having started out with the idea of building ten hotels in ten years, we have now built nine in 20. One example is Rome, where we would have liked to open much sooner, but only when the Piazza Augusto proposal arrived did we realise that it was what we had been looking for for some time".

Already with the first Bulgari Hotel, the partnership with the studio of Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel was born. Over the years, a vision of making that recalls the work of the Renaissance workshops of yesteryear has been refined, with the aim of blending the elegance, craftsmanship, joie de vivre and sensuality of Bulgari and Italy with some typical elements of the host country. One of the biggest bets was in Dubai, where the Bulgari Hotel & Resort was developed on a totally virgin artificial island. Today there is a hotel, a marina with an adjoining harbour and residences, and another large property complex is being developed there, also by Bulgari (Il Faro). The returns on investment have been interesting even though, as is well known, all Bulgari hotels are brand licences. The exceptions are Rome and Milan, where Bulgari, while not owning the properties, is a shareholder in the company that manages the hotels. "There is a local partner that has bought the property and owns the business in which we have a licence agreement, the brand and a whole series of design, construction and fit standards that the partner must respect; we earn on the royalties," Ursini emphasises. "Currently the contribution of the hotel segment, thanks to royalties, is positive and growing, but it is decidedly limited compared to the economics of the brand. What instead is the real contribution is brand recognition thanks to the hotels (today 9, soon to be 12), true Bulgari embassies in the world where we host our clients, but above all where we export our idea of luxury to the world and where we work to guarantee an impeccable and sincere Italian hospitality experience". This is highly appreciated by customers: loyalty is high, so much so that in cities like London and Paris it exceeds 50 per cent. 2017 also saw the launch of the other successful partnership with Michelin-starred chef Niko Romito, who now signs all the restaurants in the resorts. The aim also in taste is to guarantee a similar experience in all the group's resorts, inspired by the great Italian tradition together with the mastery of Niko Romito.