After an interesting year of openings throughout Italy, 2025 also promises exciting new entries that add value to high-end hospitality. It’s now established that a hotel is no longer just a place to sleep at night and have breakfast in the morning, but a place of conviviality and sociality, an expression of the typical hospitality of its destination in terms of style, taste, and location. Whether staying for a short or long time, it’s the traveler’s residence, a place where one wants to feel at home. With this idea, we have selected the most anticipated openings, some of which are converted historic structures, while others are revolutionary transformations of historic hotels into contemporary projects.
1
Auberge Collegio alle Querce, Florence
It takes just a few minutes by car between Florence’s city center and the countryside. Some of the city’s most beautiful hotels prefer the hill, close to everything but more tranquil. This will be true for the Collegio alle Querce, born in a former school building and marking the debut of Auberge Resorts Collection in Italy. The restoration of the 16th-century building was entrusted to the Spanish studio Esteva i Esteva; the interiors are by ArchFlorence, and the four-level gardens were redesigned by landscape architect Francesca Watson. Together they created a project promising sober refinement, between the recovery of original frescoes and contemporary elements in the 83 rooms (17 are suites), restaurants, and spa. In the oak park that gives the hotel its name, the chapel for ceremonies and a private theater will also be operational again. It’s the perfect place to enjoy the spectacle of the city and Brunelleschi’s dome, immersed in the green and poetry of the Tuscan countryside.
2
Pensione America, Forte dei Marmi
Opened in 1929, it was the first hotel in Forte dei Marmi, already carrying decades of tourism history as a holiday residence. The late 19th-century liberty villa was already a seaside vacation outpost when only nobles and the entrepreneurial bourgeoisie could afford it. It was closed and abandoned a decade ago, seeking new perspectives. In 2021, the old pension was purchased by the Maestrelli family, already owners of other establishments in Forte, Florence, and Venice, and above all, fond frequenters of the destination – in short, their beloved place. Pensione America has always been in their memories, they’ve seen and visited it countless times, and bringing it back to new splendor is more a mission than mere business. It opens in April as a five-star hotel – the first Pension to boast such a rating – with 18 junior suites and suites, private terraces, hand-painted majolica floors, bamboo furniture, and the atmosphere of a contemporary and reborn vacation as seen in recent times in Forte dei Marmi. WEBSITE
3
Orient-Express La Minerva, Rome
The return of the Orient-Express brand, absent from the high-end hospitality scene for some years, starts again in Rome with the reopening of the historic La Minerva hotel, in the Jubilee year. The 17th-century Palazzo Fonseca, which became a hotel in 1811, has been updated by architect Hugo Toro, drawing inspiration from Art Deco style and the artistic and cultural heritage of the capital for its 93 rooms. “La Minerva is a project that returns a historic stage to the city and relaunches the Orient-Express brand, a symbol of the art of travel since 1883, starting from Italy,” says General Manager Giampaolo Ottazzi, who for years directed the legendary Cipriani in Venice. The new hotel will once again become a meeting place, at the bar, pastry shop, wine bar, speakeasy, or the panoramic rooftop restaurant La Voliera. The entrance, just steps from the Pantheon, is theatrical, with Roman columns and the statue of the goddess Minerva by Rinaldo Rinaldi, a student of Canova, in the background of the portico. WEBSITE
4
W Florence
The W Florence, like all properties of Marriott’s most unconventional brand, aims to inject vibrancy, joy, and contemporary flair into the heart of the city. Near Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo, it features 119 rooms including 15 suites and a Penthouse with a terrace overlooking Brunelleschi’s dome, a lounge with live music and DJ sets (during aperitivo hours), and a rooftop garden. Here too, you’ll find a young, gender-fluid staff from all corners of the world.
5
Ancora, Cortina
Paradoxically, Renzo Rosso, the Venetian entrepreneur behind Diesel and other lifestyle brands, opened his first hotel in Miami twenty years ago (The Pelican, in South Beach). Now he’s ready to launch a new project in Cortina d’Ampezzo, in his home region, where he has already owned the historic Ancora hotel for some years. Inaugurated in 1826, it was the first hotel in the town that would become the world-famous Dolomites resort. The name remains the same, but when it reopens in mid-2025, it will be a completely new five-star hotel, with the innovative management of the Egnazia group, the management company of Aldo Melpignano and Borgo Egnazia, which already manages the delightful Hotel de Len in Cortina. The project, curated by English architect Vicky Charles (design director of Soho House for over twenty years), will speak of mountains in an eclectic and warm way and will be another small step in modernizing the Queen of the Dolomites. Recommended to secure a full immersion during the 2026 ski championships. WEBSITE
6
Aman Rosa Alpina, Dolomites
Another evergreen of Italian high-end hospitality changes its look. The historic Rosa Alpina, one of those addresses that made the international success of Alta Badia and the Dolomites in general, reopens in summer under the Aman brand. This is not just a typical management change. Hugo Pizzinini, fourth-generation owner, made an audacious choice by selling about half of the hotel to the international group and practically rebuilding it from the foundations to meet the new brand’s standards. Larger rooms (51, down from 52), contemporary design by Jean-Michel Gathy of the Danniston studio (who also designed Aman New York), with the ambition to elevate Alta Badia’s already excellent hospitality to a higher level. After two years without the mythical hotel, expectations are high for the spa, which promises to be “greatly expanded”, for the kitchen we previously knew at 3 Michelin stars, and for experiences in general. We await it with great curiosity, with the certainty that the Grill and Chalet Zeno remain as they were. WEBSITE
7
Belmond Villa Beatrice, Portofino
This is not the Splendido with rooms on the mountain, nor the Splendido Mare on Italy’s most chic piazzetta. Villa Beatrice, a new entry for the Belmond group in Portofino’s mystical gulf, is a standalone reality with a different hospitality concept. A villa for intimate vacations (hosting a maximum of 10 people), with the comforts of an ultra-luxury hotel (and we mean this seriously, in an era where the word luxury is overused, the true luxury seeks new definitions) and designed by the designer of the moment, Martin Brudnizki.
8
Vista Ostuni, Puglia
The first Vista was born in a Venetian-style palace on Lake Como, the second in Verona with a panoramic roof, the third opens in Ostuni with windows facing the olive grove and the white city’s houses. With this addition, one can begin to speak of a true new Italian five-star luxury collection. The Vista group, a branch of Lario Hotels owned by the Passera family, was born from a project by Bianca Passera with her beloved nephew Luigi. Together they created a concept inspired by the “room with a view” that every well-informed traveler aspires to, applying it to the entire structure, starting from the perfect location. Everything else follows naturally – the art of hospitality has been at home for over a century – as well as good taste and good intentions. In addition to being a five-star luxury category, they are part of the Benefit Society, with projects to promote the territories in which they operate and enhance the people they work with by offering training and professional growth opportunities. In the new Ostuni address, the interiors are Mediterranean thanks to the interpretation of architect Roberto Murgia, who has enhanced the colors, light of the south, and the green of the surrounding olive trees. The cuisine will be handled by Andrea Berton, a Michelin-starred chef, and most importantly, a perfect fit. WEBSITE
9
Vetera, Matera
The Bellevue Syrene 1820 Hotel in Sorrento announces the opening of the Vetera Hotel, a new five-star Relais & Châteaux property in the historic center of Matera. Opening on March 15, the hotel will be an “albergo diffuso” with 23 rooms, a spa carved into the stone, and ancient cisterns repurposed as meditative spaces. Its relaxation area will offer views of the iconic Sassi of Matera, while the panoramic terrace restaurant will feature a cuisine inspired by local flavours. The Bellevue Group, the holding company controlled by the Russo/Attanasio family, which, in the hospitality sector, in addition to the soon-to-open Vetera, also owns the Hotel Bellevue Syrene and Capo Santa Fortunata in Sorrento, as well as the business hotel Morfeo in Milan.
10
The Carlton, Rocco Forte, Milan – Autumn 2025
On Via Senato, the old Carlton Baglioni was precisely the type of address dear to Milanese, who would go there even just to eat toast with mineral water (the dietary diligence of Milanese gentlemen is well-known) at the Baretto and socialize. Then one day it closed, and the news spread by word of mouth. Polito sold a milestone of Milanese hospitality to Rocco Forte, on the borders of the fashion district. Work has begun, and now it’s almost ready to return, with interiors by Paolo Moschino together with Olga Polizzi, Sir Rocco Forte’s sister. We trust in this English (but also somewhat Italian) brand where conviviality is at home, and where a plate of tomato spaghetti will never be missing, Pieranglini style! WEBSITE
11
Hotel Gabrielli, Venice – Summer 2025
The storied Hotel Gabrielli has reopened as a five-star retreat under Starhotels Group, following a meticulous restoration that brings new polish to one of Venice’s most iconic palazzi. Set along the Riva degli Schiavoni, just steps from Piazza San Marco, the 14th-century building now balances its historic grandeur with contemporary Venetian elegance. Inside, chandeliers rebuilt by local artisans cast a warm glow over sumptuous interiors, while the façade’s distinctive Quadrifora windows — now fully restored — frame views across the San Marco lagoon and San Giorgio Maggiore. But the real surprise lies beyond: a vast 600-square-metre private garden, one of the largest in Venice, where magnolias and centuries-old olive trees shade antique marble tubs and hidden corners designed for languid afternoons. Together, these details make the Gabrielli not just a place to stay, but a Venetian icon reborn — at once steeped in history and refreshingly modern.
