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NOTA BENE destination review ISSUE NINE
Portofino
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Portofino
It takes a certain chutzpah to change your
name from Portus Delphini, “port of
dolphins”, the appellation Pliny gave it a
couple of millennia ago – to Portofino, literally
“refined port”. But if anywhere counts as a
“refined port”, it is surely this little Italian
town, arranged around a natural harbour of
such improbable, such perfect natural beauty,
you almost have to pinch yourself to convince
yourself it’s for real.
Everything about it is gloriously photogenic
and utterly, quintessentially Italian. Take the
pastel-painted fisherman’s houses that line the
quay (not that fishermen live in them any
longer; real estate prices in Portofino are
among the highest in the world) and surround
the exquisite cobbled Piazzetta, whose official
name – though no one uses it – is actually
Piazza Martiri dell’Olivetta. Marvel at the
ancient yellow church of San Giorgio; the
craggy but verdant promontory, Monte di
Portofino, which rises 610m from the water to
protect the harbour; the deep azure of the sky;
the sapphire (tinged with emerald) of the sea;
the limpid, glittering light… Even the salt air
smells good, its brininess shot through with the
scent of pine and juniper, olive and orange, that
cloak the Parco Regionale, as the promontory
has been designated since 1935, when it and
the village became a conservation area, so
guaranteeing they would never be spoiled.
For this haunt of the beau monde is no
ordinary village. Just look at the shops.
There’s Armani up in the village, and over
there Zegna (who sponsors the local regatta)
on the Piazzetta. Dolce & Gabbana have
a branch here, as have Brioni, Cartier, Céline,
Ferragamo, Gucci, Hermès, Missoni, Louis
Vuitton … There may be fisherman unloading
from their boats on the quayside, but the
chances are their vessels are yachts, their catch
is bound for their villa kitchens, and their
fisherman’s jumper came from the branch of
Loro Piana on the Piazzetta, or perhaps Malo,
the other local cashmere specialist. As salt-ofthe-earth seadogs, they are no more authentic
than the trompe l’oeil façades of some of the
harbourfront houses. The weatherbeaten
lacemakers with their gnarled, if supremely
skilled and dextrous, hands and widows’
weeds are likelier to be the real thing, but you
know they’re here principally for the tourists.
But even if Portofino has become
predominantly a resort, it retains a feeling of
authenticity, and the absence of in-your-face
development means it still feels much as it
must have done in the 1960s and 70s when the
rich and beautiful people began to flock here
and made it their own.
A 40-minute drive south from Genoa, on
Italy’s Riviera di Levante, Portofino has
attracted discerning holiday-makers since the
English discovered it at the end of the 19th
century, when the British consul in Genoa,
Montague Yeats Brown, purchased the castle
on the headland above the port, renaming it
Castello Brown (it’s worth trekking up to for
the sublime views, but there’s not a lot to see
inside). Then in 1901, Signor Ruggiero
Valentini transformed the Villa Barratta,
NOTA BENE destination review Portofino
Everything about it is gloriously photogenic
and utterly, quintessentially Italian.Take the
pastel-painted fisherman’s houses that line
the quay.
a former monastery, into the Grand Hotel
Splendid (note the anglicised name; it was an
edict issued by Mussolini that compelled them
to italicise it to Splendido), and as the hotel
puts it, “the most famous and noble families
in Europe and the cream of the international
jet-set”, began to flock here. Even entire film
crews, for Joseph L Mankewitz’s torrid 1954
Oscar winner The Barefoot Contessa, staring
Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart, was
partially shot here. (Miss Gardner has a suite
named after her at the Splendido Mare.)
Garbo came in a yacht, and when she’d had
it with being alone, would come ashore for
cocktails at the Café Excelsior (more of a
museum piece now than somewhere we’d
actually recommend). Bardot came in her
bikini. Even Di ’n’ Dodi (oh, all right then, in
the interests of forelock-tugging respect, Mr
Al-Fayed junior and Diana, Princess of Wales)
came to cavort for the paparazzi, shortly
before their deaths in August 1997.
Whether their vessels are the simple wooden
fishing boats known as gozzi or the handsome
masted sailing boats called rive, all polished
brass and uniformed crew, yachties have the
best of Portofino. It’s a fabulous harbour to
sail into, and the only alterative method of
arrival involves taking the autostrada to
nearby Rapallo, from which the clogged road
snakes, via Santa Margherita Ligure, down to
the town. Not a journey to take in a hurry,
and pray there aren’t too many tourist trips to
contend with. But that’s not to say there aren’t
diversions for landlubbers too. We would,
however, stress that unless you have a villa,
Portofino is too small a place for a long
holiday, more a base for a long weekend or
short break, or something to combine with
a few days in Florence (perhaps at the Hotel
Splendido’s sister establishment, Villa San
Michele), for Tuscany, even for that matter
Rome really aren’t so far.
Still, for those who do have time to kill here,
there are wonderful hilly walks around Monte
di Portofino, with carefully placed belvederes
from which to pause and admire the panoramas
before you. On a clear day, you should be able to
see not just Liguria’s impressive coastline, but as
far as Elba and even, if the light is right, Corsica.
Alternatively there are exquisite neighbouring
villages to visit. San Fruttuoso, a two-hour walk
or 30-minute boat trip, is a tiny ancient hamlet
set into the base of the cliffs that run north of
Portofino, with a striking Byzantine abbey, a
church, a Genovese watchtower, a small pebble
beach and two excellent, if very simple, places
to eat: Albergo de Giorgio on the rocks, where
the spaghetti ai frutti di mare is all it should be
(just be warned that there are no toilets), and
Da Laura over the beach.
If you crave a day on the beach, there’s
Parraggi, half a mile or so away in the
other direction, with it’s old-fashioned
but quintessentially Italian lido. Its shingle
shore and long jetty are nothing special
in themselves, but you can rent cabinas,
deckchairs and sunloungers here, there’s
somewhere for lunch (Carillo), and it’s
a good place to swim – perhaps the only
3
In any case, because so many visitors are
out on the water all day, things tend to start
late here.
place you can swim properly from – for the
preponderance of yachts and constant boat
traffic put seabathing in Portfino itself out of
the question.
Between Parraggi and Santa Margherita,
and accessible via an elevated woodland
footpath, there’s also Capo Nord, a tiny place
with a restaurant, bar and 16 loungers for
hire. The setting is idyllic, the water clear and
agreeably clean, but the food was a major
disappointment and the prices far too high.
Most hotel guests in Portofino probably
opt to stay put, to lounge on the Hotel
Splendido’s terraces, or by its pool; to wander
the winding streets that rise from the Piazzetta;
to shop; and people-watch from the cafés.
Unfortunately, you get a lot of cruiseship
trippers bent on doing this too (even the great
orange behemoth that is easyCruise calls once a
week from Wednesday to Thursday, from mid
May till the end of October), and at those
times, the town and its shops can feel overrun.
All of which mean that morning and evening
are the times when Portofino is at its loveliest.
In any case, because so many visitors are out on
the water all day, things tend to start late here.
The shops are open well into the evening, and
in summer the passeggiata doesn’t really get
going till after 9pm. Not that there’s much in
the way of nightlife; people party privately in
their villas rather than publicly in clubs.
It’s a magical place to wake up in – rise very
early and you may even catch the sun rise
golden from the glassy sea. And even though
we wouldn’t normally want to be aware of
deliveries to the restaurants and the shops,
here it reinforces the sense that this is a
working town, a place where people live and
go about their daily lives, a community with
character and its own distinctive charm, not
merely a picture-perfect (though it’s that too)
construct for visitors.
By evening, however, when the crowds have
abated and the whole place is calm again and
you’re sitting over an aperitivo by the quay,
watching the little boats bob as the light fades,
it’s lovelier still. “Never have I felt such a sense
of peace and fulfillment,” Maupassant wrote of
Portofino, a place he described as “a little village
stretching like a crescent moon around a quiet
harbour” when he visited it in 1889. It may be
busier these days than it was, no longer a fishing
port and not quite as he would recognise it. But
the peace and charm are very much intact.
When to go
Portofino ought to be lovely much of the year,
but the truth is it isn’t. We’d suggest avoiding
the high season from mid-July to the end of
August (when you may also be bothered by
wasps). The crowds swell unbearably, and the
weather veers between scorching heat and
intolerable humidity. We’d also avoid the early
spring (the hotels tend to open mid-March)
and late autumn, when the temperature can
be uncomfortably cool and damp. Late May
and June, and September to October are
therefore preferable, though bear in mind
that the weather is less reliable than it is in,
say, St Tropez.
Hotels
lemon trees, cypresses and palms. The vista,
at risk of repeating ourselves, is stupendous.
How can the hotel possibly compete with such
beauty? In truth, it can’t. You just have to
make allowances. Even the hotel’s own
publicity acknowledges that: “It is not a
grand hotel in the conventional sense, it has
none of the sumptuous fantasy of the Ritz
and it doesn’t pretend to be a setting for
elaborate social rituals. Instead” – get this –
“it is quietly democratic.” Even though an
Executive Junior Suite will set you back
€2,062 a night during the summer season,
excluding 10 per cent tax.
That said, it feels grand enough. The public
rooms, though small, aspire to an appropriate
splendour what with their gilt consoles, pier
glasses and oriental rugs. And if the manager,
Ermes De Megni, or Fausto Allegri- formerly
Hotel Splendido
the concierge but now “guest relations
First impressions first: here is a hotel that
ambassador-” are about, the welcome will be
lives up to its name, well, splendidly. Set high
warm. Signor Allegri, in particular, is a contact
on a hillside above the town, it looks every
inch the grand hotel. With its long, four-storey worth cultivating – you’ll recognise him from
his silver locks – not least for his richly
pale-pink stucco façade and colonnaded
entertaining conversation and anecdotes.
veranda, it scarcely recalls the Benedictine
He has been with the hotel since 1962, and
monastery it once was. But then the Baron
well remembers, for instance, the day Barbara
Barratta who, charmed by its sunny aspect
Hutton arrived with a hundred pieces of
and sea views, acquired it in the 19th-century
went to some lengths to convert into a summer luggage. He’s a stickler for detail, the sort
of person who would have arranged, when
palace for his family.
and where possible, for rooms either side of
One arrives up a steep narrow lane that
a suite to be kept empty in order to minimise
leads from the coast road and curves its
disturbance. (Though we must observe that
way to the crown of the hill through four
acres of glorious gardens of oleander, lavender, such consideration betrays something of
a lack of confidence in the soundproofing.)
bougainvillaea, olive groves, orange and
As far as most visitors are concerned,
there is only one hotel in Portofino, and
that is the Hotel Splendido, part of the
Orient-Express group since 1995. Their
admiration for the place won’t necessarily
guarantee they get its name right. (As NB
readers surely know, the stress is on the first
syllable: call it the Splen-deedo and you’re
giving yourself away as a monoglot.)
Of course, there’s also its little sister, the
Splendido Mare – more than an annexe, but
not much more. But there are others you
might countenance, depending on
circumstance (if, for example, you’re here with
your yacht and need further berths on land for
extras in your party): the Hotel San Giorgio,
Hotel Nazionale or Hotel Eden, for example.
7
Pool at Hotel Splendido.
NOTA BENE destination review Portofino HOTELS
The vista, at risk of repeating ourselves, is
stupendous. How can the hotel possibly
compete with such beauty? In truth, it can’t.
You just have to make allowances.
Upstairs in the main building, the décor
is light, fresh, traditional and very Italian,
with pale pink Florentine plaster and white
moulding on the walls; subtle damasks or
chintzes on the beds and about the windows;
and more stenciling and dhurries on the white
or parquet floors. The balcony furniture is
styish, if uncomfortable, dark green wrought
iron. No two rooms are identical, but each
has an entrance lobby, a walk-in closet with
enough hanging space and drawers sufficient
for a short stay, but not a long one. And the
cabinetwork in the bathrooms is cherrywood.
All in all, there’s not much to dislike bar those
horrible mirrored cubes at the foot of the bed
from which the television rises. We’re still
flummoxed by Orient-Express’s fondness
for these hideous, space-swallowing things.
Haven’t they heard of flat-screens?
As to specific guestrooms, we ought to point
out first of all, that the building having started
life as a monastery means some of them are, if
not quite cell-like, then certainly on the small
side. For this reason, we wouldn’t recommend
the Superior Junior Suites. Go instead for a
Deluxe (€2050.40 inc tax, halfboard in high
season). Those on the first floor are the most
attractive for they also have large terraces.
Take Room 101 (cast from your mind
memories of George Orwell’s 1984 and the
sinister connotations the number conjures),
on the corner closest to the swimming pool
with a wonderful view. Or 110, in the centre,
though bear in mind that it overlooks the
restaurant terrace (and we find there is
nothing so irritating as being woken by
the chink of crockery as breakfast is
lain nocturnally).
On the second floor, we like 226, an
Exclusive Suite (€3,157 in season) which is
centrally positioned and has a good view
from its two wisteria-clad terraces, one with
sunbeds, the other with a table and chairs.
And 229, a ground-floor Junior Suite and the
favourite of Maurizio Saccani, the managing
director, who oversees this and all OrientExpress’s properties in Italy- the Caruso,
the Cipriani and Villa San Michele. But our
absolute favourite in this category is 471
on fourth floor, with its lovely balcony and
verandas. The bedroom is smaller than those
in other comparable suites, but the size of the
bathroom goes some way to compensate, as
does the dual-aspect outlook from its twin
terraces. (The sound-proofing, though, is poor;
whenever the bell rang for 471, we thought it
was ours.)
We’d also consider 241 even though it’s in
the garden annexe. We usually try to avoid
annexes but this one is rather charming, next
to the main building overlooking the terraces
that descend to the pool, so this Deluxe Junior
Suite has direct access to the grounds, unlike
the full suite immediately above it. Be warned,
however, that Deluxe Junior Suites 234 to
237 look over the tennis courts, which rather
spoils them under the circumstances. Unless
the thwack of ball on racquet or of holiday
athletes reaching to volley and grunting at the
strain is music to your ears, of course.
9
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11
Best of all, though, we like 222 on the third
floor, the new refurbished two-bedroom
Presidential Suite, though compared with most
units bearing that title – the new one at the
InterContinental Hong Kong extends over an
astonishing 7,000 sq ft for instance – it’s on
the small side. Still size isn’t everything, and at
least here there’s space for two sets of French
windows in the sitting room that lead onto the
terrace. And its pale-pink rather rococo décor,
lit by chandeliers, is light and attractive. It
loses points, however, for not having a
window in its pale marble bathroom. Not
quite good enough, given that it costs €5,182
in high season.
Overall, rooms on the first floor tend to
be larger and more old-fashioned (kept that
way, we suspect, to appeal to returning guests
who don’t like change, but we found some
of them dowdy, the rooms not the guests,
though now we come to mention it…). Those
on the fourth floor have the best views, but
tend to be small. The second floor is therefore
a good compromise.
So far, so good. But though we broadly liked
the rooms, at least those that have been lately
refurbished, we weren’t entirely impressed
with certain areas of service. Maybe it’s
because we’re not instantly recognisable – the
hotel is tiresomely in thrall to the roll call of
celebrities who’ve stayed here over the years
from Princess Grace of Monaco and Perry
Como in 1957 (not à deux, you understand) to
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton a decade
later and Franklin D Roosevelt 10 years later
still. Its Golden Book is packed with names,
the latest additions to which (for 2006)
numbered Nancy Reagan, Steven Spielberg,
Michael Caine, Paul Hogan, Denzel
Washington, Anastacia – and, of course, us.
Not that they know who our reviewers are.
For a start, the housekeeping is inconsistent.
The towels and robes are all very plush and
plentiful, as are the unguents – Bulgari and
Penhaligon’s in the Junior Suites – and the
bedlinen perfectly lovely. But why were our
clothes thrown back into the wardrobe:
neither carefully folded, nor left where they
were? And couldn’t they do something about
the cooking smells that waft upwards? Or –
especially in view of prices – make turndown
a little more special? (If you’re going to
combine a holiday with a stay at Villa
Feltrinelli – where the turndown is surely the
best there is – be sure to stay here first.)
The service by the oval seawater swimming
pool could be improved as well. There is no
friendly welcome as you arrive. Dirty ashtrays
are left to fester far too long, as are used
towels. No one will help you move your
sunlounger so it faces the sun or is in shade.
No one replaces your towels while you’re at
lunch. Of course, Daniela, who’s in charge
here, and her assistant, Andrea, are always on
hand to fetch you drinks (oh, the eternal profit
motive), but in a hotel of this stature, that isn’t
good enough.
Still, while we’re on the subject of the pool,
for weather permitting you will surely want
to use it, we’d suggest that unless you can get
Top: Hotel Splendido bathroom, room 229.
Bottom: Fausto Allegri in Hotel Splendido lobby.
13
Portofino harbour.
But far from a sophisticated place for a
nightcap, it can get boisterous in the evenings,
when guests and visitors get up to dance.
the first two of the front row of the poolside
loungers, you opt for those on one of the
terraces above the pool rather than right
alongside it. For some reason, they seem to
be less popular than the poolside ones, though
the view is better and they catch the breeze.
It’s a bit of a schlep to the water, but a small
trade off. And at least, at 25m by 8m, it’s a
pool long enough to do laps in. If you’re more
of a gym bunny, there’s a small room of fitness
machines, one wall of it glazed so you can
marvel at nature and the sea as you pound the
treadmill. And a newish Asian-inspired Health
and Wellness Centre offering the usual
Thalasso and hot-stone sort of treatments.
There are two restaurants, one by the pool
for lunch, and the more formal Terrazza,
which serves lunch and dinner. Again, it’s
essential to make yourselves known to Carlo
Lazzera, the head of food and beverage, and
Giuliano Piscina, the maître d’, if you’re to
receive anything but lacklustre service. As the
hotel insists on halfboard, you’re to some
extent obliged to eat in occasionally. Avoid the
poolside buffet, we say. It’s mediocre, and at
times they won’t be at all obliging if you try
and order from the carte. The pizzas are a
better bet. La Terrazza has a formal polished
parquet interior, and a nicer terrace where
most of the action takes place in the warmer
months. The food favours fish and local
Ligurian dishes, and is good enough if not
always memorable. But we did get the
impression that lunch here is a must for those
flocking into Portofino from the cruiseships
and for weekend trippers. There’s a sense that
they want to attract all the business they can,
and if the property were truly exclusive, this
wouldn’t be the case. Though we’ll concede
that it’s better to have a restaurant that’s busy
and has an atmosphere than one that’s hushed
and silent.
And while we’re on the subject of food,
don’t bother with the breakfast buffet – the
selection of breads was only average, and we
hate the monogrammed butter. Have room
service on your terrace. Presentation and
quality appear higher.
Finally, there’s the bar, which Antonio
Beccalli has presided over since 1970. He’s
affable, knowledgeable and clearly loves his
work. But far from a sophisticated place for
a nightcap, it can get boisterous in the
evenings, when guests and visitors get up to
dance to, or worse sing along with, the ghastly
electric piano placed here to entertain us. Call
us what you will, but for us it lowers the tone.
Yet it is apparently hugely popular. On its
website, the hotel posts a quote in which
Beccalli describes his bar: “A refined
atmosphere, a favourite haunt for famous
celebrities. I remember having served Robert
De Niro, Meg Ryan, Madonna, Bono, Demi
Moore, Bill Gates, Naomi Campbell and Alain
Delon. The most extrovert of them all is Rod
Stewart who spends some time with us here
every year. He is a real spellbinder. After a
good dinner he loves to sing and dance with
his group. He really gets things going.” Which,
for better or worse, pretty much sums it up.
15
It’s characterful, it’s charming, it’s glamorous
(how could it fail to be with such a history
and a guest book).
So what do we really think? In many
respects, Hotel Splendido is a gem of a hotel –
a classic, iconic Italian resort – in a place of
outstanding beauty. It’s characterful, it’s
charming, it’s glamorous (how could it fail to
be with such a history and a guest book). We
love the look of it, its position, the walk down
many, many steps along a winding path
through the gardens into town. (There’s a
shuttle to bring you up again if your lungs
aren’t up to it.) We were impressed by some of
the senior staff. And within reason we couldn’t
fault its chief concierge, Salvatore, and his
assistant Luca.
But for all that, it isn’t quite as good as it
thinks it is, or as its prices suggest it ought to
be. For that matter, it isn’t even as good as its
sister property, Villa San Michele in Fiesole
(see NB Florence). It’s as though they’ve
become too accustomed to their reputation, to
having a very high-percentage occupancy and
so many repeat guests, a lot of them Americans
who discovered it doing their own version of
the Grand Tour. And they consequently get
away with a lot of things a place in a less idyllic
location would not. If you manage to attract
the attention of someone very senior in the
staff hierarchy, then they’ll pull the stops out
and make the effort. But otherwise it doesn’t
feel quite like the absolutely top-notch
international luxury establishment it positions
itself as, and you should resign yourself to
occasionally erratic service.
Splendido Mare
Two years after its acquisition of the 65-room
Hotel Splendido, Orient-Express invested in
a tranche of the Hotel Nazionale down by the
quayside on the Piazzetta and created the
smaller, less expensive, less formal, younger-atheart Hotel Splendido Mare.
The result is a hotel that feels almost like a
private house. Most of its 16 rooms and suites
have balconies or terraces and views of the
water and Piazzetta, making it a perfect place
for people-watching and for observing the
hustle and bustle of daily life. And if sailing is
your reason for being here, then this is an ideal
place to stay.
In terms of décor, its rooms are not so very
different from the newer ones at the Splendido.
The Harbour View Junior Suites with balconies
(€1,441 in high season) have similar whitepainted faux-Rococo furniture, pale parquet,
and employ the same pale pastels. They’re
similarly short on space (even the Junior Suites
never exceed 40 sq m/430 sq ft).
As far as our favourites go, 532 is a
characterful split-level Suite (€1,898) with a
sitting room that opens out on to a terrace
overlooking the harbour – the most perfect
place to linger over a breakfast of fresh orange
juice, espresso and those terrific Italian
croissants, as you watch the town come to life.
Steps down from the sitting room lead to a
large bathroom/dressing room with a walk-in
shower and separate WC, and further steps
leads to the bedroom overlooking the harbour.
There’s also a guest cloakroom off the lobby.
Top: Splendido Mare.
Bottom: Splendido Mare, Ava Gardner Suite.
17
But if you’re not bothered about a view (which
one might say was the whole point of Portofino)
… then it’s an option well worth considering.
But the ultimate choice is the top-floor Ava
Gardner Suite (€2,139), with its substantial
56 sq m/603 sq ft roof terrace partially shaded
by a large potted lemon tree decorated with
boxes planted with cyclamens. The sitting
room has a huge picture-window overlooking
the harbour, and there are views of Monte di
Portofino and Castello Brown from not just
the bedroom, but the bed itself.
Rooms aside, the Splendido Mare has
nothing in the way of facilities bar the Chuflay
Restaurant and Bar, a classic Riviera terrace
establishment (you half expect the young Alain
Delon to walk in at any moment, dressed as he
was in the Italian Riviera classic Plein Soleil).
It’s open all day and does a decent line in
insalata di mare alla ligure, salads and local
fish, and at least the piano here is a real grand,
but there are other, better places on the
quayside, even though we liked it more than
either of the Splendido’s restaurants.
Guests, however, do have access to all the
facilities at the Splendido itself, and a
scheduled shuttle to convey them thither. (You
trip down the hill in about 10 minutes, but it’s
a steep walk up.)
Incidentally, we also found standards of
housekeeping rather higher at the Mare. And
even though there’s no one with the seniority
or legendary status of Fausto Allegri or
Antonio Beccalli, overall the staff, if our
experience was typical, tend to be a little
friendlier, more informal, and seemingly
more helpful.
But it’s not without a few downsides: the
soundproofing could be improved (or guests
could be discouraged from bringing unruly
children; another compelling reason to come
in termtime), as could the ventiliation, because
again cooking smells were wont to pervade
the air.
And for these reasons – and the fact that it’s
less secluded, the harbourside views, though
really good, are less astonishing than the
panorama from the main hotel, and it’s
scarcely better value- we’d suggest that unless
you have reasons of your own for being by the
water, or in the thick of things, you might as
well stay up the hill where the views are better
and the atmosphere more restful.
Hotel San Giorgio
Franca Sozzani, the editor-in-chief of Italian
Vogue, recently praised this hotel in the
Financial Times: “A small and very stylish
hotel, a lovely mix of modern and classic, with
bare polished floors and cool white linen.”
Located in a row of fine ochre and Etruscan
red townhouses on Via del Fondaco, two
minutes’ walk from the Piazzetta, San Giorgio
has 18 recently refurbished rooms, simply but
stylishly decorated using a predominantly
yellow palette, with handsome white-painted
furniture and wood floors. Those on the top
floor (€480 including breakfast in high
season), up under the eaves with French
windows that open onto a very narrow
parapet-like outside space, are particularly
attractive. Our favourite is junior suite 81 as
it has a partial view of the sea and a balcony.
Top: Hotel San Giorgio.
Bottom: Hotel San Giorgio bedroom.
21
There may be a sense that in some areas,
it’s resting on its laurels, but it deserves its
legendary status. It does exude glamour,
magic and a sense of la dolce vita.
The other junior suite on this floor – room
80 – looks towards the mountains but does
not have a balcony. The 1st floor junior suite
is spacious and has the largest balcony in
the hotel but overlooks the parking area.
Rooms here also benefit from flatscreen
televisions, which after the mirrored cubes
at the Splendido, suddenly seem the last
word in modernity.
There isn’t a restaurant, though you are no
distance from a myriad of options, but there
is a breakfast room and the hotel offers 24hour room service.
It isn’t a fully NB-standard hotel, but with
a rack rate that starts at €260 for a perfectly
attractive standard double, you would hardly
expect it to be. But if you’re not bothered
about a view (which one might say was the
whole point of Portofino); don’t mind not
having access to a swimming pool or dedicated
car park (though the helpful staff will help you
find somewhere legal to leave your wheels); or
are coming in on a boat and want to put a few
people up on land, then it’s an option well
worth considering.
Hotel Nazionale
The hotel out of a wing of which the
Splendido Mare was formed, this is held by
Signora Sozzani to have the best views – over
the harbour towards the promontory – in
Portofino. We’re not denying they’re lovely,
but we can’t think of anything positive to say
about this admittedly modest, unpretentious
option. It may, for any historians among you,
be as long-established as the Splendido
(a fisherman named Silvio Gazzolo established
it around 1900 as an osteria in order to
provide those travelling on the horse-drawn
mail coaches a bed for the night and
a decent meal). But it’s honestly not
somewhere NB readers would even feel
comfortable accommodating their bodyguards
and under-nannies.
Hotel Eden
An unexceptional three-star set back from the
Piazzetta with nothing to offer the Nota Bene
subscriber, not even if everywhere else is full.
Conclusion
So there you have it: a comprehensive guide
to the hotels of Portofino. And where would
we choose to stay? Well, in a villa if we had
the choice. Or better still on a yacht. The
difficulty with the former option is the scarcity
of houses in the area that are available for
rent, but as and when we find a reputable
agent, we’ll let you know.
Pending that discovery, however, we’d
choose, despite its shortcomings, to return to
the Splendido. There may be a sense that in
some areas, it’s resting on its laurels, but it
deserves its legendary status. It does exude
glamour, magic and a sense of la dolce vita.
And above all, it looks over Portofino.
Albergo de Giorgio, San Fruttuoso.
23
Top: O Magazin.
Bottom: Da Laura, San Fruttuoso.
NOTA BENE destination review Portofino RESTAURANTS
Restaurants
“If I were to be told that I could eat dishes
from only one of Italy’s 20 regions,” wrote
the great Milanese cookery writer Anna del
Conte in her excellent book The Classic Food
of Northern Italy, “I would unhesitatingly
choose Liguria.” She goes on to rhapsodise
about its complexities and aromas, how such
marvellous tastes can be conjured from such
humble ingredients. It’s a cucina conditioned
by its geography. It’s too mountainous for
arable or pastoral land, but fish is plentiful
and olive trees thrive, as do pines, which
makes Liguria the land of pesto (usually served
with trenette). It’s also the home of focaccia.
And they’re keen on potatoes, braised with
garlic and oil and known as patate al’Albina.
Other dishes worth keeping an eye out for are
il ciuppin, a chunky fish soup and its smoother
cousin, il brodino.
Ligurian wines are less immediately alluring.
The most ubiquitous is Pigata, named after the
grape from which it’s made- straw-coloured,
peachy and floral, but not one of our
favourites. Otherwise the popular local grape
for white wines is Vermentino. Reds tend to
favour Rossese or Dolcetto, though a good
light red such as Terrizzo Colli di Luni Rosso
Riserva from Castelnuova Magra di Liguria
is principally Sangiovese combined with
Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo and Merlot.
The restaurants listed here are, we believe,
charming and well priced. Most are so busy,
that booking a table is absolutely essential.
O Magazin
Of all the restaurants on the quayside, this
is our favourite, located by the bottom of
the steps from the Splendido, the furthest
waterfront eatery from the Piazzetta. Its
candle-lit tables are set out by the harbour,
and the setting and ambience could hardly
be lovelier. The local Ligurian food is
excellent too, especially the orata (gilt-head
bream) cooked with potatoes, black olives
and olive oil. The desserts are also wonderful,
especially the nougat semifreddo, though none
of the ice creams and home-made cakes have
so far disappointed. Only the winelist is
unexceptional: go for something local. One
caveat: the service can be a little brusque,
especially on a Thursday when Puny is closed,
and they are at their busiest.
Concordia
The best cooking in town, in our opinion, is
to be found at this little, very simple familyrun trattoria, even though its location on a
sidestreet at the back of the village, close to
the police station, makes it feel a little off the
beaten track. The fish glistens with freshness,
the risotto ai frutti di mare is superb and we’d
hazard that the panna cotta here is the best in
the world.
Unfortunately il padrone died recently,
leaving his son, Stefano, in charge in the
kitchen and daughter Manuela (tall and
bespectacled) in charge of the front of house.
You’ll encounter their mother, Giorgina, also
in the kitchen, and her brother Gian. In other
25
NOTA BENE destination review Portofino RESTAURANTS
This is the sort of place where they’ll remember
your preferred table from year to year, and
keep in mind any dietary requirements or
special requests you might once have had.
words it’s still a family affair, even if it’s lost
the ebullient personality it had before. Not
that the fine cooking seems compromised,
however. Closed Tuesdays.
Puny
With its location right in the centre of the
Piazzetta, the most celebrated restaurant in
Portofino and the one with the highest celeb
count owes its popularity to its octogenarian
proprietor, Luigi Miroli, and his charming
wife. This is the sort of place where they’ll
remember your preferred table from year to
year, and somehow keep in mind any dietary
requirements or special requests you might
once have communicated to them. The food,
therefore, is hardly the point, not that it’s an
afterthought, though some of the dishes tend
to the hearty and heavy. Fish cooked in a salt
crust is a speciality, as is their memorable
spaghetti alle vongole, which comes –
unusually for Liguria – with chopped tomato
in the sauce. Calamare cooked with rosemary,
lemon and cubes of potato is good too. Don’t
bother with dessert (in any case you probably
won’t have room), and remember to take lots
of cash because they don’t take credit cards.
Closed Thursdays, presumably to rest up for
the always frenetic weekends.
Chufflay
The Splendido Mare’s quayside restaurant
has an attractive terrace and an inventive
evening menu featuring a slightly more
elaborate take on Ligurian standards:
clam soup with pine nuts, black olives and
marjoram (an omnipresent herb in this
region), pennette with fresh anchovies,
Ligurian ravioli in a walnut sauce, as well
as a good array of fish from the gulf – sea
bass, swordfish, John Dory etc – grilled and
served with cherry tomatoes, capers and herbs.
But for all that, it can feel less authentic than
the competition.
Taverna del Marinaio
A harbourside restaurant on the Piazzetta with
tables and chairs set out on the cobblestones,
this is always bustling and lively. Though its
views are sublime, it’s a lot less celebrated than
Puny, even though the cooking is just as good,
even possibly better. Not that it’s elaborate.
Go for the freshest fish, simply prepared. The
ever-popular orata is invariably a good choice.
Closed Tuesdays.
Da U Batti
In a narrow street leading up from the
Piazzetta, Batti is justly famous for its scampi
– which many believe is the best you’ll find in
Italy. The secret, apparently, is that they cook
it in meat stock.
Da U Mariu
Chef-patronne Frederica serves delicious
Ligurian home cooking, and fans include
Franca Sozzani. Not dissimilar from Taverna
del Marinaio or any of the harbourside
restaurants. Open Monday to Friday.
Luigi Miroli at Puny.
27
NOTA BENE destination review Portofino SHOPS & GALLERIES
Shops & Galleries
Delfino
A little touristy for our tastes thanks to its
location right by the ferry stop on the harbour
(the opposite side to O Magazine and
Taverna del Marinaio), but its fish cooked
on a hot stone is justly celebrated. Delfino
does not make it into our top 3, or even top
5 for that matter.
Pitosforo
A romantic elevated candle-lit restaurant for
those who, unlike us, do not mind sitting
inside. Notwithstanding, there are pretty
views through the first floor windows.
Typically Portofino in its ambience and menu,
yet somehow Pitosforo has lots a lot of its
former appeal. However, its desserts are
sensational. It is not one that we generally
would recommend purely because we prefer
to stay with our favourites which are Puny,
Concordia, O Magazin, followed by Taverna
del Marinaio and U Mariu.
The best place for an aperitif is Bar Mariuccia
on the Piazzetta.
If you’re unlucky with the weather, shopping
is the obvious activity, though it’s lovely to
browse of a warm evening too. Boutiques
usually stay open until 8:00p.m. We haven’t
listed the big-name designer brands mentioned
earlier. They need no introduction from us,
and in any case their familiar fascias are hard
to miss.
We should mention however that Christian
Dior opens its first store in the resort in the
Spring of 2007, Valentino is also looking for
a suitable location and Dolce & Gabbana
plan to open a second property soon.
There are three shopping streets you need
to know about: Piazza M. Olivetta, via Roma
and Calata Marconi. Here you will find the
designer stores alongside some well-stocked,
lesser known boutiques.
Azzurro
Excellent range of linen shirts, trousers and
belts in neutral and ice-cream colours. Ylona
Den Blancen designs and makes all the
merchandise herself, including bespoke
clothing for her faithful clientele.
Canale
Classy comestibles and famous for its range
of authentic Ligurian focaccias, this baker on
Via Roma is where discerning yachties come
to buy their picnics.
Top: Gentry Portofino.
Bottom: Tender.
29
It is her edit of the collection which is impressive
and her merchandising in this small space just
behind the Splendido Mare.
Cusi
A well designed branch of the justly celebrated
Milanese jeweller and watch stockist just off
the Piazzetta on Calata Marconi. Beautiful
jewels, with particular emphasis on gold
and precious stones.
Damiani
Ever since the Milanese master goldsmith
Enrico Grassi Damiani set up in 1924, the
family’s name has been synonymous with
lunette-effect diamond settings.
Gentry Portofino
A beautiful little shop with an attractive line
in shirts, jackets and cashmere sweaters.
The designs are quite classic, made for men
and women of varying ages.
GFE
One of the town’s most tempting jewellers.
Stocks an unusual range of semi-precious
pieces by numerous Italian designers.
Malo
Loro Piana’s chief rival when it comes to
alluring cashmere, with a good selection of
classic and contemporary designs for men
and women. Beautiful quality and wonderful
colour palette.
Mingo
Franca Sozzani loves their leather flip flops
and other sandals: “Like most people I leave
my high heels in Milan,” she says.
Orizzonte
A really beautifully laid out double unit,
stocked with very skilfully merchandised home
and tableware. Its stylish linens, blankets and
scarves are especially covetable too.
Panerai
A branch of the high-precision Florentine
watchmaker (now part of the Richemont
Group), whose instruments are used by
the Italian Navy. Bold, distinguished,
contemporary designs, mainly for men.
Spinnaker
Not a ships’ chandler as its name suggests, but
an excellent source of modish handbags, shoes
and belts. Miu Miu, Prada and Brunello
Cucinelli are among many of the well-known
and lesser known designers stocked here.
Tender
Arguably the finest and most well edited
designer boutique for women in the Med.
Owner Fiorella Pavanni has great taste and
stocks Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen,
Lanvin, Alaia, Jill Sander and other small
Italian and Japanese designers. It is her edit
of the collection which is impressive and her
merchandising in this small space just behind
the Splendido Mare.
on the rocks with its tiny kitchen and simple
yet delicious food, but Da Laura is lovely too,
not least for its position right on the beach
close to the cloister arches and the ever-soslightly superior cooking from its kitchen.
Also on this coast, you’ll find Santa
Margherita Ligure. Its promenade or
lungomare is a lovely spot for a seaside walk,
and if that puts you in the mood for an
apertivo, then two bars, Sabot and Master
are perfectly placed. If you decide to stay for
Places to visit around Portofino
dinner, then our choices would be Skipper,
As we’ve said, Portofino is a small place,
lovely for a couple of days, but you’ll probably right on the rather touristy harbour, or
Ristorante Ardiciocca, a cosy place with just
want to explore further afield if you are here
nine tables.
for longer. Fortunately it’s well placed for a
Alternatively head out to the village of
number of interesting villages: Santa Maria
Nozarego, a 10-minute drive away, where
Ligure, San Fruttuoso, Camogli and the
La Stalla dei Frati is an informal place with a
precariously positioned Cinque Terre, five
small towns, Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, panoramic terrace (the views are outstanding)
and a menu that runs to a good selection of
Manarola and Riomaggiore, which cling to
meat dishes as well as the ubiquitous fish.
vertiginous Ligurian coast west of La Spezia.
Then there’s Camogli, another colourful
We mentioned San Fruttuoso in the
introduction, but we’re doing so again because port-cum-resort of ancient yet towering
houses, where the dukes of Genoa used to
it is special. Ideally you’d hire the boatman
spend their summers (their 16th-century
Cesare Gardina in Portofino, who will take
holiday residence is now a four-star hotel, the
you round by sea (the journey takes 15-20
Cenobia del Dogi). Charles Dickens called it
minutes depending on conditions).
“the saltiest, roughest, most piratical little
The abbey of San Fruttuoso is owned by
place” when he visited it in 1884 – quite
Prince Doria, but that and the submerged
Jesus statue, Cristo degli Abissi a few minutes’ damning when you consider his view of parts
of London – but it’s slightly more genteel now.
sail out into the bay and 20m below the
Every May it celebrates the Sagra del Pesce, a
waves, are only some of its attractions.
festival during which residents cook up a huge
For those who’d rather eat than admire, there
fish supper in a giant frying pan in the main
is a clutch of restaurants. We’ve mentioned
square. Of the Cinque Terre, the one you
charismatic, ultra casual Da Giorgio, set right
Art galleries
Galleria San Giorgio
A small gallery on via Roma that deals in
mostly figurative and occasionally surreal oils
by Italian artists. Not really our thing, but it
has its constinuency of fans. Alternatively
check out Galleria d’Arte Portofino, though
again it’s more a place for souvenirs than
serious investments.
31
NOTA BENE destination review Portofino BOATS
The name may not be edifying, but Wally
is pure Portofino – clean, simple, chic and
respected by those in the know.
Boats
should not miss is Vernazza, in our opinion
the most beautiful. The most-visited of the
five (and therefore seething with trippers on
summer Sundays), it’s a huddle of brightly
painted houses set on a rocky promontory
under the watchful eye of the medieval tower
of Santa Margherita di Antiochia. Its little port
– it’s the only one of these villages to have a
natural harbour – could hardly be prettier.
It’s also the setting for two good places to
eat. As long as you ignore the tacky piscine
décor, Ristorante Gambero Rosso is an
agreeable place. The menu is ambitious and
quite well executed, especially the house
speciality, a local dish involving potatoes and
anchovies, well worth ordering if you have the
appetite. Alternatively, try Da Gianni Franzi,
whose padrone is a pastmaster with pasta
and a winning host.
Of the others, Monterosso is the closest to
a traditional seaside resort, complete with
promenade, not least because it’s the only one
with sandy beaches, a couple in fact, not that
they are in themselves worth the journey. And
neither are its 20-odd hotels. Still, the views
are lovely if you want to stop for a gelato and
can find somewhere to park.
Portofino is best approached from the
water, so our absolute first choice for
accommodation would be to stay on a yacht,
assuming it was spacious and comfortable,
like those leased by these two companies.
The name may not be edifying, but Wally
is pure Portofino – clean, simple, chic and
respected by those in the know. It also runs
the Zegna Trophy sailing regatta in Portofino
each year, and you’ll spot its discreetly wealthy
Italian owners and professional racing crew
around the restaurants and bars after sailing.
Its optimum vessels are Barong C, a
28.6m/94ft yacht that sleeps six, has three
crew and rents out at €40,000 a week.
Alternatively, there’s Tiketitan, a 27m/88ft
boat also sleeping six (with three crew) that
costs €30,000.
If you don’t want to sail, but fancy a day
trip in a cruiser, then the Wally Tender is a
13.6m/45ft that rents out at €1,500 a day.
Alternatively, consider CNM, a new Italian
brand based in Rome, that leases the fourcabin Continental 80, a 24.4m/80ft vessel, a
boat said to be worth €3.5-4m. It’s available
for rent at €6,000 a day if you book well
ahead. Boat International said of her: ‘She
strikes just the right chord – elegant but
restless, as welcoming as she is aggressive.
There is a strong hint of offshore racer in her
streamlining and the reality does not
disappoint.’ Or as Katharine Hepburn’s
character in The Philadelphia Story might
have put it, ‘My she is yar… quick to the helm,
easy to handle, fast, bright – everything a boat
should be.’ And who are we to disagree?
www.wally.com
www.cnmspa.com
BEST OF PORTOFINO
BEST HOTEL
Hotel Splendido
BEST SUITE
Ava Gardner Suite at Splendido Mare
BEST RESTAURANT ON THE QUAYSIDE
O Magazin
BEST COOKING
Concordia
BEST FOR CELEBRITY SPOTTING
Puny
BEST DESSERTS
Pitosforo
BEST RESTAURANT IN SAN FRUTTUOSO
Da Laura
BEST OF THE CINQUETERRE
Vernazza
33
Location
Milan
Turin
Genoa
Portofino
ITALY
CORSICA
Rome
Naples
SARDINIA
SICILY
Best time to go
Late May/June or September/October
Average temperatures
On average early summer hovers around
20/25 degrees and can reach 30 degrees
and above in July and August with high levels
of humidity. Winter feels cold and damp but
rarely falls below zero.
Time difference
Currency
Language
Electricity
TO SANTA
MARGHERITA
AND RAPALLO
GMT + 1
Euro
Italian
230V
Paraggi
Capo Nord
Splendido
TO SAN
FRUTTUOSO
Hotel San Georgio
Splendido Mare
HARBOUR
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
37
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39
Digest
Credo
News
Directory
Digest: New offerings from Four Seasons
Credo: Chain Reaction – Designs of the times
News: Updates from around the world
Directory: Complete contact details of all
establishments mentioned in this issue
Digest
New offerings from Four Seasons
The highly efficient and charmingly run
reception and concierge desks are tucked away
off the right. While directly ahead is the Salon
Dufour, an attractive and atmospheric sitting
room furnished à la mode de Louis Philippe,
full of genuine antiques and period paintings
belonging to the hotel. (Note the handsome
pair of Chinese portraits either side of the
fireplace – Chinoiserie is a bit of a theme here
– and the Jolin clock in the centre of the
mantelpiece.) To the right of the salon, you’ll
find a handsome elliptical spiral staircase
and the lifts, worth mentioning because the
area in which they are set is an unexpected
Hotel des Bergues, Geneva
delight: midnight blue walls, a little gilded
All sorts of brands have opened in the Swiss
console with a baroque mirror, in whose
city recently: Mandarin Oriental (corporate
but adequate), Rocco Forte (closed while Olga reflection a portrait appears as you approach.
It is this witty attention to detail – reflected
Polizzi works her magic), and last November
in the décor, the service, the way the menus
the Four Seasons group, with the Hôtel des
are written – that makes staying at the hotel
Bergues, like the George V in Paris owned by
so pleasing.
HRH Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal Bin
The rooms and suites – 103 of them – aspire
Abdulaziz Al Saud and designed by Pierreto a similar 19th-century aesthetic, though
Yves Rochon.
inevitably all mod cons are in place too (Bose
As you enter this neo-classical palace hotel
on the Rive Droite, or north side of the Rhône, hi-fis, flat-screen TVs, DVD players etc).
The palette favours every shade of blue from
directly opposite the Ile Rousseau and
aquamarine and azure to midnight bleu foncé,
a matter of minutes’ walk from the Quartier
interspersed with occasional greens, reds and
des banques, the vision, too, is reminiscent of
black. There’s toile de Jouy or silvery rosethe Georges V, what with its highly polished,
patterned damask on the occasional wall, but
monochrome marble floor and the banks of
it’s balanced with stern, striped wallpaper to
flowers. The arrangements here are not quite
prevent the effect from being too flouncy and
so vertiginously thrilling as Jeff Leatham’s
feminine. After all, Geneva was the capital of
in Paris, but local florist Serge Marzetta’s
voluminous and headily scented creations have Calvinism and remains to some extent a city
that frowns on fripperies.
a less pretentious splendour of their own.
One of Nota Bene’s preferred brands, Four
Seasons, continues to roll out new properties
at an astonishing rate. With 69 hotels in 31
countries, can they possibly maintain their
exacting standards? Or are they risking
diluting their brand, especially when this year’s
openings are so varied: a tented camp in
Thailand’s Golden Triangle, an 18-storey,
297-guest room business hotel in Damascus,
Syria. We haven’t sampled these two yet (they
only opened in January), but we have stayed
at the following.
NOTA BENE destination review Portofino DIGEST
The rooms aren’t over furnished, but neither
are they sparse: expect a sofa, an armchair and
ottoman, a desk that’s actually comfortable to
work at. The furniture was a mix of polished
wood pieces and cream and off-white meubles
cerusés. The expansive bathrooms favour pale
marble and come equipped with generous
quantities of full-size Aqua di Parma toiletries.
There honestly isn’t much to choose
between the rooms as long as you specify a
river view (rooms on the back look out on a
formal but not terribly interesting gravel and
box parterre). None of the rooms – not even
the royal suite (at 133 sq m/1,432 sq ft) – are
overwhelmingly large, but equally none are
poky. Our first choice would be one of the
executive suites (50 to 63 sq m/538 to 678 sq
ft) on the third or fourth floor, 322 or 422:
two perfectly proportioned rooms, separated
by a door, with an expansive bathroom and
separate dressing area well supplied with
wardrobes. But honestly we felt we could have
been happy anywhere on the front. Even the
lead-in superior rooms at 25-29 sq ft/269-312
sq ft are so well planned as to seem a
reasonable size (as long as you’re on the front
of course).
The staff is predominantly French, though
there are also a number of Italians and
Portuguese among them, partly because
Geneva has a sizeable Portuguese population,
but perhaps also because that’s where its
urbane general manager, José Silva, formerly
of the Ritz in Lisbon, hails from. Otherwise
we especially liked Alain Spieser, the sales
director, and Federico Colombo, the
sommelier at Il Lago, the hotel’s restaurant,
and one of the hottest in the city. In terms
of the set up, it owes a lot to Le Cinq at the
George V, though for the moment it has
neither the Michelin stars nor the pretension,
formality or rarefied atmosphere they bring.
However, the chariots des champagnes, des
fromages and des friandises are similar (apart
from the absence of Deutz rosé on the former).
The menu is essentially Italian – fairly simple
dishes expertly and elaborately executed –
and there is a wide range of Italian wines to
accompany them, as well as an intriguing
selection of Swiss ones. We enjoyed an
aromatic, caramelly Pégase suggested by
Signor Colombo, a blend of Chardonnay and
Pinot Gris from the Genevois canton. Our
only slight puzzlement concerned the decision
to decorate the walls with reproduction period
murals of Naples, just not quite nice enough to
have been worth reproducing.
Opposite Il Lago is the Bar des Bergues,
a clubby, wood-panelled, popular space
most alluring at tea time, for its cartes des
thés is outstanding, and its patisserie is pretty
good too.
For the moment, there’s no spa (though
there are plans for one) or swimming pool,
and we’ve seen better gyms. There’s a
reasonable range of Technogym equipment
and a nice enough view of the rooftops
while you run, but a sense it feels tucked
away on the attic storey and only for
endorphin addicts.
43
An unexpected delight: midnight blue
walls, a little gilded console with a
baroque mirror, in whose reflection
a portrait appears as you approach.
That apart, it’s an exemplary hotel: well
located, beautifully designed and utterly
comfortable. Four Seasons has no truck with
bath butlers and tea sommeliers and all those
maddening extras no one wants to have to
contend with. Instead it trains its staff to smile,
remember your name and treat you as though
your contentment is something they truly care
about. It may, of course, be an act, but if so
they all deserve Oscars.
Gresham Palace, Budapest
Regular readers will know that, Moscow
aside, we have still to be convinced by Eastern
Europe as somewhere to visit. So it was in
low spirits that we took ourselves off to
Budapest to check out the Four Seasons
Gresham Palace even though we had seen it
glowingly reviewed elsewhere.
All the major international chains
(Sofitel, InterContinental, Kempinski, Hilton,
Le Méridien, Marriott etc) have hotels here,
mostly strung out along the Danube in
buildings that should never have received
planning consent. And nothing on our drive
into town exactly thrilled us. Pest, the flatter,
more modern half of the town is not an
obviously beautiful capital, or not according
to the route our driver took.
But the Gresham Palace? Its traffic-clogged
approach and the foul fumy air as we alighted
on the pavement – car ownership in the city
has more than quadrupled since independence
in 1989 – weren’t promising, but the entrance,
though a pair of intricately wrought ‘peacock’
gates, to this palatial building is handsome and
the welcome warm. (Andreas, on the door, we
later found out had formerly been a dancer
with the excellent Hungarian National Ballet.)
From outside, the building, which has an
optimum location facing the chain bridge, is
a fantastical fin de siècle confection, all
luminescent azure tiled cupolas and turrets,
fanciful Art Nouveau carvings, insets of
stained glass and details in gold mosaic that
sparkle in the sunlight. Built in 1906 by the
London-based Gresham Life Assurance
company – there’s a portrait of the 16thcentury English financier Sir Thomas Gresham
after whom it was named set high on the
façade – it aspired to be the grandest edifice in
the city (an ambition, we’d say, it more or less
achieved), with a shopping arcade on the
ground floor, offices on the first, and
apartments fit for royalty. Indeed members of
the British, German and Russian royal families
resided here from time to time. The company
collapsed between the wars, and in 1952 the
building was nationalised and became social
housing. But in transforming it into a hotel,
a cool $120 million was lavished on it. Money
well spent, we’d say, for the result is a luxury
hotel of considerable beauty and charm.
The lobby itself is remarkably splendid, if
a little chilly. The floor is iridescent Murano
glass mosaic, the ceiling a vast glass dome,
each opalescent pane individually moulded,
the better to refract the gauzy light below,
some of which comes from a fabulous modern
sparkly chandelier. But if that seems a hard act
to follow, we weren’t disappointed by our
room. The optimum accommodation is, we’d
suggest, the Palace Suite (no 104) centrally
positioned on the first floor, directly before the
Chain Bridge looking across the river to the
Castle and the Fishermen’s Bastion.
It’s an immense space (85 sq m/915 sq ft),
divided, but not partitioned, into three distinct
areas – for sleeping, sitting and dining each with
a view from the expansive windows. Along the
back wall stands a huge impeccably comfortable
Four Seasons bed, behind which, in a separate
room is a slightly disappointingly functional
marble bathroom, with L’Occitane products and
a separate WC (there’s another one for guests by
the main entrance). Directly in front of it,
making use of the window bay is a seating area,
the sofa backed by a capacious window-facing
desk. And on the right, facing the window, is a
circular dining table easily big enough for four.
The room is rich in carefully restored
Sezessionist details, but the furniture mostly
conforms to a classically modern, understated
style: a thick black and brown chequerboard rug
on herringbone parquet floor, and opulent gold
and sage silk curtains. It has also been expertly
soundproofed so that the procession of cars on
the bridge won’t disturb you at all.
If you prefer separate sleeping and living
areas, the Crown Suites are a similar size,
but they don’t have quite the same grandeur,
perhaps because their furniture is more
obviously Art Deco in style. (The are also
Royal and Presidential Suites for those in
need of even more space.)
But actually I suspect we’d have been happy
in any of the Danube facing rooms. For even
the 33 sq m/355 sq ft Danube Premier Rooms
up on the fifth floor, whose décor is more
obviously contemporary and whose ‘step-out
balconies’ don’t really merit the name (sure
you can step out on to them, but that’s about
all you can do with them) are pleasing and
well-planned, if a little on the compact side.
For all our prejudices, Budapest actually has
a lot to offer in terms of world-class art, opera
and ballet. But even so, we were tempted to
stay put. The hotel’s main restaurant, Páva,
has an Italian-influenced international menu
and an impressive wine list (including 130
Hungarian bins; Sangiovese fanciers like us
might like to note that Kadarka is the local
equivalent, though the Pinots Noirs are good
too), and buzzes with outsiders as well as
guests. We dined on beef filet and chanterelles
and veal with white asparagus. The service is
sweetly attentive; we had taken advice on the
wine we ordered, and were delighted when we
returned to our room to find that our waiter,
Gyorgy, had taken the trouble to have the
labels steamed off and delivered to us, so that
we should not forget its name.
On the other side of the lobby lies the
Gresham Kávéház, or coffee house, a slick
updating and miraculously inexpensive
traditional MittelEuropean café serving
moreish patisserie as well as full meals
featuring traditional Hungarian dishes such
as goulash – delicious here, though it often
isn’t – and heavenly wild mushroom soup.
45
The only part of the hotel that disappoints
is its top-floor spa. Bath culture is big in
Budapest, but the tricksy menu of treatments
involving Tokaji, the celebrated local wine,
seem forced. (Otherwise it’s a standard
Clarins spa, and there are also Vichy showers.)
And the 12m freestanding ‘infinity’ lap pool
is both too small and too warm to swim
comfortably in.
Still, it’s a minor cavil in a hotel that
otherwise has much to recommend it. Not
least, its delightful staff. With no apprentice
system or tradition of luxury hotels in
Hungary, Four Seasons cast its net wide to
recruit for the opening, finding people in the
most unlikely quarters, the unifying
characteristic seeming to be that they were
all team players: there are a lot of former
professional sportsmen (even some
Olympians) and performers from the opera
and ballet. But the result is a team of highly
proficient enthusiasts, proud of their jobs,
proud of their city and proud to serve.
Four Seasons Langkawi
Though we’d long intended to visit the Datai,
the GHM resort on Langkawi, it took the
opening of a Four Seasons resort on the
Malaysian island to get us there.
From the road, the resort may look slightly
forbidding, a little too gated and secure, but
once inside – once you’ve checked in to an
extraordinary, rather Moorish hall, lined floor
to ceiling in midnight blue terrazzo, and been
ushered through a baffling sequence of
‘gardens’ filled with reflecting pools (it’s lucky
they give you a map), you’ll find yourself in
what’s been artfully contrived as a sort of
idealised Malaysian kampong (or village) of
wood-and-glass houses, standalone Beach
Villas of wood and glass structures with steeppitched roofs clad in shingles of ironwood,
surrounded by 48 acres of not-yet-mature
tropical garden on the edge of the wide, white
beach of Tanjung Rhu. Which is itself lined
with the feathery casuarina trees after which it
is named.
Inside and out, the aesthetic is pared down
and authentically Malaysian (the ecoconscious can comfort themselves with the
knowledge that the paths are made from
reclaimed railway sleepers sourced in
Sarawak), with lots of teak and stone and
pebbles, a riot of subtle prints, ikats and local
batiks. Each is also a more than generous 220
sq m/2,368 sq ft, including not just a bedroom
area, sitting area and bathroom but a discrete
study area for those unable to leave the world
behind completely. Outside there is a shaded
wraparound veranda, with a table and chairs
and a blissfully comfortable double daybed
strewn with cushions. While a few stepping
stones placed on the sand itself lead to a private
sunbathing platform with loungers and a giant
parasol.
So far, so stylish. But it’s the attention to
detail that astounds, for in terms of luxury,
Four Seasons has pushed the boundaries pretty
conclusively here. Fancy an urut melayu
Malaysian massage without schlepping to the
Fancy an urut melayu Malaysian
massage without schlepping to the spa?
There’s a dedicated two-person treatment
room ensuite.
spa? There’s a dedicated two-person treatment
room ensuite. Though actually you’d be a fool
not to visit the spa, for it’s one of the loveliest
we’ve seen. Instead of a locker-room, each
luxurious and deliciously private treatment
room has a spacious dressing room, equipped
with a wardrobe hung with various dressing
gowns, sarongs and silk slippers, all of a kind
we would like to have taken home. There’s
also an adjoining bathroom, and a private
steam room. And from those we sampled, the
quality of therapy is impressive.
Can’t be bothered to walk to the pool? Not
to worry, each villa has its own, quite
capacious (12 sq m/129 sq ft) plunge-cumwhirlpool. Though to stay put would be a
shame, for the 55m infinity lap pool is very
fine indeed, and when you tire of lapping it,
there’s a freeform family pool that is almost
as big.
Want your breakfast toast as fresh as can
be? There’s a toaster concealed behind the sofa
on the veranda.
Finished your book? What about the
special-edition bedside copy of Somerset
Maugham’s Malay-set short-story collection
The Casuarina Tree (‘stand in its shadow
by the light of the full moon,’ he wrote, and
‘you will hear, whispered mysteriously, the
secrets of the future’), for which the cerebral
general manager, Royal Rowe, has written
an introduction.
And if after bathing in the lotus-shaped tub
that dominates one end of the excessively
spacious 80 sq m/860 sq ft bathroom, you feel
the need to recline, there are cushion-strewn
daybeds on either side of it.
We found it pretty hard to fault, though we
could nitpick by noting that the sand on the
beach is a little coarse; the warm sea a touch
opaque once you’re immersed; and there’s
a cement factory to spoil the view south
(though it’s some distance away). It also
seemed a shame to position the gigantic 42inch plasma-screen TV between the end of
the bed and the window, obscuring the
postcard view of the viridian Andaman Sea,
its surface broken by a cluster of wooded karst
islets. And we have to confess we never truly
got the hang of the fiendishly complicated
remote control lighting systems (oh for the
simplicity of lightswitches even if they mar
the flawless finish of the wall).
In terms of which villa to choose, the further
you are from the hotel’s main buildings –
reception, the restaurants, a rather fine array
of shops selling clothes, accessories, local
artwork and antiques – the further you’ll have
to walk. There are golf carts that buzz about
the place, but there’s not always one around
when you need one. But the upside of a unit
towards the edge of the property is the sense
of isolation and privacy it engenders. Some
of the more central ones also have rectangular
rather than freeform pools, but otherwise
each is more or less identical, and we honestly
don’t feel there’s a great deal to choose
between them.
For those who don’t want such an
abundance of space, who want sight of other
47
guests, there are the lesser, but nonetheless
attractive Melaleuca Pavilions, two storey
structures each containing four units.
Most guests, we suspect, never stray from
the resort, and why would they? (Langkawi
isn’t actually a very interesting island.) You
can eat well enough, if not outstandingly on
site. Of the three restaurants, the cooking is
most authentically Malaysian at Ikan-Ikan
(which means fish), though the more formal
Serai has a number of local dishes on its
international menu. And for those beyond
help, there are pizzas at Kafe Kelapa, which is
a pleasant place for an informal beach lunch.
Better than the restaurants, we enjoyed the
Rhu Bar, a fantastical open-sided space, hung
with swing seats and lit with candles, inspired
variously by Mughal palaces, Moroccan
interiors and – the GM confided – the vintage
US comedy soap I Dream of Jeannie, which
accounts for the waiting staff’s preposterous
but fetching harem-pant and fez uniforms. The
only downside is the mosquitoes. The staff –
and like all the best Four Seasons there’s a lot
to praise about the staff here – provide various
repellents (concierge Aidi Abdullah will send
to the night market for some effective local
salve, if you ask him and don’t trust
chemicals). But we’d advise you to Deet up
before you venture out of the air-conditioned
comfort of your villa. We stayed here fairly
soon after its opening, and if there’s one thing
the hotel really needs to work on, it’s
fumigating the place and exterminating the
noxious mosquito population.
NB: Since we stayed there, we’ve heard that
the general manager has undergone heart
surgery, and that his absence coincided with
a fall in standards of service. One subscriber
also wrote to us to say she found the hotel
lacked a heart, and that there is nowhere to
play backgammon after dinner. True enough,
we should concede. If that is your priority, it
isn’t for you.
Lobby at Gresham Palace, Budapest.
49
Credo
Chain reaction – Designs of the times
For a few years now, various chain stores
have been persuading big-name fashion
designers to come up with bargain-priced
diffusion lines, Karl Lagerfeld and Stella
McCartney for H & M, for example, or
J by Jasper Conran for the British department
store group Debenhams. We mention this
not because we’ve suddenly changed tack
and think you might want to shop there – face
it, you’re unlikely to catch us wearing
anything but the real thing – but because it
seems that a number of hotel chains we might
previously have looked a little askance at seem
to be following suit.
Suddenly it seems the world’s most indemand boutique and grande-dame hotel
designers are being hired by the likes of
Marriott and Le Méridien in an effort to
shed their bland, cookie-cutter corporate
image. The upside of which means it’s now
possible to find leading-edge design and
luxury at competitive rates. Even Forte
(formerly Trusthouse Forte and nothing to
do with Rocco) Hotels are in on it, having
commissioned Conran & Partners to
design them a new Post House in Milton
Keynes, a 164-room ‘granite-clad building
that will make an appropriate addition to
this most modern of cities’. In the spirit of
objectivity, let’s just say we’ll reserve
judgement till it opens.
The germ of the trend probably started
when the otherwise unlovely Churchill
InterContinental on London’s Portman Square
wooed David Collins, revered for the Blue Bar
and Petrus at the Berkeley, the bar at
Claridge’s, the Wolseley and most recently
Cecconi’s, to design its restaurant (and Giorgio
Locatelli to cook in it). The result was
Locanda Locatelli, still one of the most
sought-after tables in London (though its
caramel-coloured serpentine seating aside, we
don’t much care for it ourselves).
Collins was brought in to work on the
Berkeley and Claridge’s by their then-owners,
the Blackstone Group (in what has been
a year of musical chairs for hotel ownership,
they have subsequently passed from Quinlan
Private’s Savoy Group to another Irish
company, Maybourne). Blackstone, however,
subsequently acquired the Marriott Rihga
Royal Hotel on New York’s West 54th Street.
A 520-suite establishment, and guess who’s
refurbishing it to the tune of $50m? Why,
none other than Mr Collins (though tellingly
his website alludes only to a major hotel
project in New York). No prizes either for
guessing that its restaurant will be part of
Blackstone – approved superchef Gordon
Ramsay’s empire – its first American outpost
(the chef will be Neil Ferguson, Angela
Hartnett’s head chef at London’s Connaught,
another property that once belonged to
Blackstone).
Still, none of this should come as a surprise
to anyone who’s been following the London
hotel scene. Last October [ie 2005] saw the
grand reopening of the partially – but we have
to admit very successfully – revamped
Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square. Which
NOTA BENE destination review Portofino CREDO
belongs to – you got it – the Blackstone
Group. Naturally, then, it has on its ground
floor a Gordon Ramsay-run restaurant, the
excellent Maze. But in a bit of break with
what has practically become a tradition, the
hotel’s interiors have been expertly designed
by Alexandra Champalimaud (who did the
rooms at the Berkeley in London, and also has
New York’s Carlyle and Alongquin on her
CV), while Maze is the work of David
Rockwell (cf Chambers, New York, and
Canyon Ranch).
We hazard you thought you’d never see us
hailing a Marriott in these pages, but in design
terms, there’s a lot to recommend this one. Its
lobby, with its black and white chequerboard
floor, pays more than a little homage to the
splendid hall at Claridge’s. As do its stylishly
refurbished rooms. Check into the expansive
two-room corner Duchess Suite (its optimum
unit), and you will find floor-to-ceiling sash
windows on a level with the treetops of
Grosvenor Square, stylish Neisha Crosland
beaded wallpaper and fabrics in black and
cream, ochre and cobalt (which also happens
to be the name of its other restaurant) and
a selection of slightly but not tackily 1930s
furniture to put you in mind of, well, the Art
Deco style at Claridge’s. It’s only a shame they
didn’t lavish the same attention on the frankly
poky windowless bathrooms.
Of course, it isn’t Claridge’s. It hasn’t its
concierge, or its staff, or its bars, or its style
or its heritage. Or the sheer sense of theatre.
(Though there was talk that the MHGS, as we
shall euphemistically refer to it, might get Jeff
Leatham, the genius florist best known – in
our world – for the inventive arrangements
that set the Four Seasons George V in Paris
above the competition, which would raise its
game yet higher.) There’s also no getting away
from the fact that it still says Marriott above
the entrance, which is actually on Duke Street.
(Though that said, its location, can’t be
faulted, sitting as it does on the northeast
corner of Grosvenor Square, the far end from
the US Embassy and its fortifications, facing
grass and trees yet in the heart of Mayfair and
handy for all the West End has to offer.) But
with an average lead-in room rate of £235
(and bargain deals at weekends), what were
you expecting?
Marriott, or rather the wiser owners of
some of its properties, is not the only chain to
be banking on the notion that great design
sells. Two weeks before MHGS threw open its
doors, Le Méridien unveiled the opulent new
Le Méridien Hotel Des Indes in the Dutch
capital, The Hague. Should we care? Well, yes,
for it’s the work of Jacques Garcia, doyen of
French hotel designers, best known for Paris’s
Hôtel Costes and Monte-Carlo’s Metropole,
both of which we love (the jury’s still out on
Paris’s Hotel Royal Monceau, which has been
managed by Mandarin Oriental since June
2004, and which Garcia has also been making
over). But in the Hague, his 35m scheme –
ancient and modern, with witty accents,
fashionably inky details (we love the black
chandeliers, the black fringing on the bedside
51
lampshades, the black picture rails, the
black marble floors in the otherwise
pale and porphyry-coloured bathrooms)
and the promise of a luxurious marble
swimming pool (at least if the reality of
not-yet-open facility lives up to its designs)
– does not disappoint.
The tiled corridors (Delft is but a tram
ride away) – abstract blue and white to
dado height, with giant tulip murals above
– might so easily have seemed cheesy in less
accomplished hands. But Garcia, whose tulips
recall Iznik designs, a reference, we worldly
sophisticates spotted immediately, to the fact
that tulipmania gripped Constantinople long
before it reached the Netherlands, gets it right.
Just stand back and admire the richness of the
jewel colours: the blues and reds and greens.
Amid all this baroque gorgeousness, who cares
whether the service isn’t quite as charming and
punctilious as it ought to be?
For service, as the Guardian newspaper
recently reported, “is a problem in Holland
generally, and for deep-rooted cultural
reasons. This is still the country of anti-bling
Calvinism where houses have large
uncurtained windows so the neighbours can
see for themselves the lack of ostentation
within. Maids and servants have historically
not been a major part of Dutch life, and as
such the concept of service is lacking.”
Evidently the staff just spent too much time
posing for the likes of Vermeer (The Hague is
where you’ll find Girl with a Pearl Earring)
and De Hooch.
Still we trust all is well at Blakes
Amsterdam, or rather The Dylan as it’s
become since its acquisition last January by
the Barcelona-based Stein Group (the people
behind the city’s Grand Hotel Florida and
Château Eza in Eze Village), in a sort a
variation of the above trend. It all comes
down to design of course, but in this case, the
intention seems to have been to acquire it off
the peg and buy into someone else’s already
achieved, already admired aesthetic. For
Anouska Hempel aka Lady Weinberg’s scheme
remains untouched and intact at the Dylan.
(Though our spies tell us it’s beginning to look
a little tired. When she was in charge, there
was a policy that paintwork should be
inspected daily and retouched so as to remain
pristine; perhaps they no longer do that.)
As does Grace Leo-Andrieu’s reimagining
of the Cadogan in London, another property
that passed to Stein last summer along with
its management contract, this time from Mme
Leo-Andrieu’s company GLA International.
GLA also parted with the Montalembert
in 2005 (it’s now part of Grupo Majestic,
which also owns Barcelona’s Majestic and
Inglaterra), which must have been a wrench
for Mme Leo-Andrieu, whose first hotel this
was. The first, that is, that she and her
husband, Stéphane, owned, revamped and
whose décor she conceived along with
Christian Liaigre. (In 1999 it was bought by
Westmont Alliance and Goldman Sachs, but
GLA retained the management contract.)
Opened in 1990, it was described as
By contemporary standards it may now
seem conventionally classic: neutral
colours, dark timber panelling, leather
armchairs, Asian accents.
combining the fastidious and impeccably
chic Mme Leo-Andrieu’s ‘personal ideal of
contemporary style and service, designed to
appeal to discerning travellers who demand
more from a hotel than the anonymous
standardised style offered by the world’s everexpanding luxury [their italics] hotel chains’.
An ambition we would say she realised. By
contemporary standards it may now seem
conventionally classic: neutral colours, dark
timber panelling, leather armchairs, Asian
accents. But as we said in our last Paris issue
(Volume Three, Issue Six), every trend has to
start somewhere. And Mme Leo-Andrieu is
nothing if not an innovator. Let’s hope she
isn’t grieving that her first-born hotel has
flown the nest. And that Grupo Majestic
continues to hold by her vision – here and
in its other properties, for we suspect it’s a
portfolio that may grow further next year –
and maintain their hotels to a standard that
befits their design.
53
News
Updates from around the world
LONDON
One of our favourite hotel managers in the
world recently resigned from his position as
Managing Director of Hotel Martinez Cannes
to become General Manager of Claridges,
London. Sylvain Ercoli, who has also held
positions at Le Byblos St. Tropez and Le Saint
Geran Mauritius, arrived at the London hotel
in June. So far there have been no major
changes but Nota Bene will keep you updated
on any planned refurbishments.
Alan Yau (Hakkasan) has purchased the
site formerly occupied by Italian/Japanese
fusion restaurant Shumi on St James’s Street.
Currently being developed by Japanese
architect Kengo Kuma, the new space will
open in April 2007 under the name Cha Cha
No Hana. In November, Yau’s first New York
project, Park Chinois, will open at the newly
opened Gramercy Park Hotel.
Galvin at Windows recently opened on
the 28th floor of the London Hilton on Park
Lane in the space previously occupied by
Windows on the World. The views are
absolutely stupendous but the wait for the
lift in the lobby of this hotel which feels more
like an airport spoils the experience a little.
We are under whelmed with the Thierry
Despont designed interior at the newly
refurbished Bar at The Dorchester. It seems
they are making some strange design changes
of late, evident in the very garish “nouveautartan” look in the The Grill!
The Ivy is converting its 3 upper floors into
The Ivy Club, a private members’ club with
spa, private room and bars, due to open
early 2007. It will be a totally separate entity
to the restaurant.
Will Ricker, the man behind E&O in
Notting Hill and Eight Over Eight on the
King’s Road in Chelsea, has bought the Belsize
Tavern in northwest London and is currently
turning it into a 90-cover restaurant called
XO. Opening in late November, the menu
will be very similar but Ricker has sent his
chefs to Shanghai and New York to seek new
inspiration. An upmarket take-away style
store, XO To Go, will open next door by the
end of the year.
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King (The
Wolseley) are due to open another restaurant
in October 2006. The name is likely to be
St. Alban and is located on the ground floor of
Rex House on Lower Regent Street, south
of Piccadilly Circus.
On charming Mount Street, Mayfair,
famous fish restaurant Scott’s will reopen in
November. From the people behind The Ivy
and J. Sheekey, we expect it to attract a
celebrity crowd. Carlos Almada (Automat)
will open his second London restaurant on
Berkeley Street, a little further south, at the
end of October. As yet unnamed, the space
will include a lounge bar.
Amaya, The Ledbury, Nobu Berkeley and
Rasoi Vineet Bhatia have all gained a Michelin
star for the first time.
VIETNAM
At the end of 2006 GHM Hotels (The Setai,
NOTA BENE destination review Portofino NEWS
Miami) will open The Nam Hai, a luxury
resort on a one-kilometre stretch of China
Beach near the ancient trading port of Hoi An
in Vietnam. It will feature 60 guesthouses and
23 one, two or three bedroom pool villas, all
with views of the South China Sea and Cham
islands. The pool villas will feature separate
living and dining areas, kitchen, maid’s room
and private swimming pool. The hotel will
also have two beachfront swimming pools, a
spa, clubhouse, tennis courts and an 18-hole
golf course.
EDINBURGH
Italian fashion house Missoni will open
its first ever hotel in the Scottish city of
Edinburgh in 2008. It will feature 130 guest
rooms, a Bar Missoni, Missoni Cucina
restaurant and a spa and fitness centre.
Located on the famous Royal Mile, which
connects Edinburgh Castle and the Palace
of Hollyrood House at Victoria Terrace and
George IV Bridge, Hotel Missoni Edinburgh
will undoubtedly be the city’s most prominent
hotel opening for decades.
Two further Missoni hotels will open in
Dubai and Kuwait. To ensure brand
consistency, all Missoni hotels will be
conceptualized by Studio Thun, the Milanbased architectural and design practice,
headed by renowned architect Matteo Thun.
SCOTTSDALE
James Hotel in Scottsdale has been sold to
Morgans Hotel Group (Mondrian, Delano,
Shore Club) for close to US$47million. Plans
are to rebrand the hotel as the Mondrian
Scottsdale. The 194-room hotel will remain
open while renovations take place. These are
due to be completed by the end of this year.
LAS VEGAS
Following on from their acquisition of James
Hotel in Scottsdale, Morgans Hotel Group
will also develop two signature hotels in Las
Vegas bearing the Company’s Delano and
Mondrian brands. The project is expected to
be complete by 2010.
Delano Las Vegas will feature 600 guest
rooms, suites and bungalows, a destination
night club, a lobby bar and Asia de Cuba
restaurant. It will also offer a spa and
swimming pool.
Mondrian Las Vegas will be the twin to
Mondrian West Hollywood. The 1,000 room
property will include a bar and restaurant,
private pool and recreation area with Skybar.
Barneys is also due to open in Las Vegas in
autumn 2007. It will reflect what’s sold at
Barneys’ Madison Avenue and Beverly Hills
flagships, including the currently “hot”
clothing brands Balenciaga and Lanvin. The
three level, 85,000 sq ft store will have an
entrance off the Strip and valet parking.
MOSCOW
We are eagerly awaiting the opening of
The Ritz Carlton, Moscow at the end of 2006.
The 11 storey hotel will feature 334 rooms
including 76 suites, a 21,520 square ft spa
55
NOTA BENE destination review Portofino NEWS
with indoor pool and fitness centre, a rooftop
bar with indoor and outdoor seating
overlooking Red Square and the Kremlin and
a fine dining restaurant headed by 3 Michelin
star chef Heinz Winkler. A Four Seasons is
due to open in 2007.
Nota Bene Moscow is scheduled for 2007.
FLORENCE
Fashion designer Catherine Malandrino
has taken over a 17th century palazzo in
Florence which she plans to renovate alongside
Philippe Starck protégé Christophe Pillet.
Malandrino will interior design each of the
22 rooms. No specified opening date yet but
we’ll keep you posted.
We love the Four Seasons Milan and have
high hopes for the Four Seasons Florence,
which will open at the end of 2007. Housed
in a number of restored historic buildings
including Palazzo Della Gheraradesca on
Borgo Pinti, the location is a little way out
of the centre but will feature a private 35,000
sq metres garden (one of the largest in town,
including rare trees), unique to any hotel in
the city.
Next issue
Barcelona – ‘We love it for its style and
its dynamism and diversity, the product in
part of the friction that comes from a culture
that embraces two languages, Catalan
and Castilian.’
Directory
Hotels
Restaurants
HOTEL EDEN (p22)
Via Dritto, 18
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 091
www.hoteledenportofino.com
ARDICIOCCA (p31)
Via Maragliano, 17
Santa Margherita Ligure
t. +39 0185 281 312
DA U BATTI (p26)
Vivo Nuovo, 17
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 267 802
BAR MARIUCCIA (p28)
Piazza Martiri dell’Olivetta, 27
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 080
DA U MARIU (p26)
Calata Marconi, 7
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 257
CHUFLAY (p26)
Splendido Mare
Via Roma, 2
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 267 802
DELFINO (p28)
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 081
HOTEL NAZIONALE (p22)
Via Roma, 8
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 575
www.nazionaleportofino.com
HOTEL SAN GIORGIO (p20)
Via del Fondaco, 11
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 91
www.portofinohsg.com
HOTEL SPLENDIDO (p7)
Salita Baratta, 16
16043, Portofino
t. +39 0185 267 801
www.hotelsplendido.com
SPLENDIDO MARE (p16)
Via Roma, 2
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 267 802
CONCORDIA (p23)
Via del Fondaco, 4
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 207
DA GIANNI FRANZI (p32)
Piazza Marconi, 1
19018 Vernazza
Cinque Terre
t. +39 0187 812 228
DA GIORGIO (p3)
San Fruttuoso di Camogli
t. +39 0185 771 781
DA LAURA (p3)
San Fruttuoso di Camogli
t. +39 0185 771 781
GAMBERO ROSSO (p32)
Piazza Marconi, 1
19018 Vernazza
Cinque Terre
t. +39 0187 812 265
LA STALLA DEI FRATI (p31)
Via G. Pino, 27
Località Nozarego
t. +39 0185 289 477
O MAGAZIN (p23)
Calata Marconi, 34
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 178
NOTA BENE destination review Portofino DIRECTORY
Shops
PITOSFORO (p28)
Molo Umberto I, 9
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 020
AZZURRO (p28)
Via Roma, 38
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 267
ORIZZONTE (p30)
Calata Marconi, 24
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 503
PUNY (p26)
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 037
CANALE (p28)
Via Roma, 30
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 248
PANERAI (p30)
Via Roma, 13
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 267 123
SKIPPER (p31)
Calata del Porto, 6
Santa Margherita Ligure
t. +39 0185 289 950
CUSI (p30)
Calata Marconi, 14
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 241
SPINNAKER (p30)
Via Marconi, 25
17021, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 194
TAVERNA DEL MARINAIO
(p26)
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 103
DAMIANI (p30)
Calata Marconi, 3
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 478
TENDER (p30)
Via Roma, 34
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 162
GENTRY PORTOFINO
(p30)
Via Roma, 28
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 478
GFE (p30)
Calata Marconi, 28
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 527
MALO (p30)
Calata Marconi, 16
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 510
59
Art Galleries
Digest
GALLERIA SAN GIORGIO
(p31)
Via Roma, 42
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 269
FOUR SEASONS
HOTEL DE BERGUES (p42)
33 Quai des Bergues
1201 Switzerland
t. +41 (22) 908 70 00
GALLERIA D’ARTE
PORTOFINO (p31)
Via Roma, 42
16034, Portofino
t. +39 0185 269 322
FOUR SEASONS
GRESHAM PALACE (p44)
Roosevelt Tér, 5-6
1051 Budapest
Hungary
t. +36 (1) 268 6000
www.fourseasons.com
FOUR SEASONS LAGKAWI
(p46)
Jalan Tanjung Rhu
07000 Langkawi
Kedah Darul Aman
Malaysia
t. +60 (4) 950 8888
www.fourseasons.com
MANDARIN
ORIENTAL GENEVA (p42)
Quai Turretini 1
1201 Geneva
Switzerland
t. +41 (22) 909 01
www.mandarinoriental.com
LE RICHEMOND (ROCCO
FORTE) GENEVA (p42)
Jardin Brunswick
1201 Geneva
Switzerland
t. +41 (22) 715 7000
www.lerichemond.com
Credo
THE BERKELEY (p50)
Wilton Place
London SW1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 235 6000
www.the-berkeley.co.uk
THE CADOGAN (p52)
75 Sloane Street
London SW1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 235 7141
www.cadogan.com
CECCONI’S (p50)
5a Burlington Gardens
London W1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 434 1500
CHATÊAU EZA (p52)
rue de la Pise
06360 Eze Village
France
t. +33 493 411 224
www.chateaueza.com
THE CHURCHILL (p50)
30 Portman Square
London W1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 486 5800
www.london.churchill.
hyatt.com
FOUR SEASONS
GEORGE V (p51)
31 avenue George V
75008 Paris
France
t. +33 1 49 52 70 00
www.fourseasons.com
CLARIDGES (p50)
Brook Street
London W1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 629 8860
www.claridges.co.uk
GRAN HOTEL LA
FLORIDA (p52)
Ctra. Valluidrera al Tibidabo
83-93
08035 Barcelona
Spain
t. +34 93 259 3000
www.hotellaflorida.com
HÔTEL COSTES (p51)
239 rue St. Honoré
75001 Paris
France
t. +33 1 42 44 50 00
www.hotelcostes.com
THE DYLAN AMSTERDAM
(p52)
Keizersgracht 384
1016 GB Amsterdam
The Netherlands
t. +31 (0)20 530 2010
www.dylanamsterdam.com
MARRIOTT HOTEL
GROSVENOR SQUARE
(p50)
Grosvenor Square
London W1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 493 1232
www.marriott.co.uk
LE MÉRIDIEN HOTEL
DES INDES (p51)
Lange Voorhout 54-56
The Hague 3514 EG
The Netherlands
t. +31 (0)70 361 2345
www.starwoodhotels.com
61
News
HOTEL METROPOLE (p51)
4 avenue de la Madone
Monaco, France
t. +377 93 15 15 15
www.metropole.mc
HÔTEL LE ROYAL
MONCEAU (p51)
37 avenue Hoche
75008 Paris
France
t. +33 1 42 99 88 00
www.royalmonceau.com.fr
THE WOLSELEY (p50)
160 Piccadilly
London W1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 499 6996
AMAYA (p54)
Halkin Arcade
19 Motcomb Street
London SW1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 823 1166
XO (p54)
29 Belsize Lane
London NW3
UK
(telephone number to be
confirmed)
CLARIDGES (p54)
54-55 Brook Street
London W1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 629 8860
www.claridges.co.uk
THE LEDBURY (p54)
127 Ledbury Road
London W11
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 792 9090
FOUR SEASONS
MOSCOW (p56)
(Details to be confirmed)
GALVIN AT WINDOWS
(p54)
Hilton Hotel
22 Park Lane
London W1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 208 4021
THE IVY CLUB (p54)
1-5 West Street
London WC2
UK
(telephone number to be
confirmed)
MISSONI EDINBURGH
(p55)
MONDRIAN LAS VEGAS
MONDRIAN SCOTTSDALE
(p55)
7353 East Indian School Road
Scottsdale AZ
USA
t. +1 408 308 308 1100
www.mondrianscottsdale.com
NAM HAI (p54)
For further info contact:
Capital Place, Floor 9
6 Thai Van Lung Street
District 1, Ho Chi Min City
Vietnam
t. +848 910 4855
www.thenamhai.com
RITZ CARLTON MOSCOW
(p55)
Tverskaya Street, 3-5
125009 Moscow
Russia
t. +7 495 225 8888
www.ritzcarlton.com
NOBU BERKELEY (p54)
15 Berkeley Street
London W1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 290 9222
RASOI VINEET BHATIA
(p54)
10 Lincoln Street
London SW3
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 225 1881
ST. ALBAN (p54)
4-12 Lower Regent Street
London SW1
UK
t. +44 (0)20 7 499 8558
63

NB Rev barca cvr_wrkg

Transcription

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