Gianluca Miserendino

🏠 The Room Mate Collection, led by Kike Sarasola, has launched the Mia Room Mate Collection hotel in Rome, following the renovation of the former Hotel Capo d’Africa. The 4-star superior hotel boasts 65 rooms, including 5 executive, 34 superior, 11 triple, and 15 deluxe. It features a city-view terrace for breakfast and snacks, and is just a five-minute walk from the Colosseum and Roman Forum. Interior designer Luis García Fraile has infused the rooms with Italian vintage charm, combining modern and classic touches. The hotel's Rooftop Restaurant & Bar offers quick meals and evening seafood dishes sourced from local fishermen. Services include a dog-friendly policy, a gym, restaurant, bar, and 24/7 concierge, along with four event and meeting spaces. Room Mate Collection has seven properties in Italy, including in Florence, Venice, Milan, and Rome.

🏠 Hilton is set to open the Canopy by Hilton Milan Duomo with 96 rooms within the year and the Hilton Garden Inn Rome Colosseum with 181 rooms by summer 2026. The agreement for these launches comes from a dual franchising with Forimi Italia of the Roscioli Group. The Milan property, located on Via Torino, will feature a restaurant, lobby bar, and rooftop bar with city views, plus indoor and outdoor pools, wellness and fitness facilities. The Rome hotel will cater to both business and leisure guests, offering modern amenities. Hilton currently has 109 operational and pipeline hotels in Italy.

🏡 In Milan, the historic Hotel Diana, managed by Sheraton of Marriott, will close and reopen in 2027 after major refurbishment by Immobiliare Diana S.p.A. The renovation, announced by the owner, aims to preserve the 1842-founded hotel's identity while updating it with contemporary features. Egnazia Ospitalità Italiana, led by Aldo Melpignano, is selected for future management, ensuring operations that respect the hotel's historic and cultural value.

🏠 Club Carpeneto, an "albergo diffuso" in Alto Monferrato by Essence Interiors and EIDOS Group, will open in January 2026 in Carpeneto, Alessandria. Developed for American entrepreneur James McKinley Thomason, the project features integrated tourism with local partnerships and premium services like a spa and recreational activities. Five locations offer suites to houses, with the Casa dei Leoni luxury Club House as a centerpiece. Future plans include new partnerships and restorations to maintain Carpeneto's character, blending tradition with modern comforts.

🏡 Opening day for the world's first Orient Express hotel, Orient Express La Minerva, takes place in Rome with key figures in attendance, including Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and CEOs Paolo Barletta and Gilda Perez-Alvarado. The hotel, near the Pantheon at Piazza della Minerva 69, boasts 93 rooms ranging from 25 to 235 sqm, including 36 suites. A 17th-century palace, restored by architect Hugo Toro, the hotel merges Roman heritage with a new aesthetic. Orient Express La Minerva will also feature three exceptional gastronomic outlets, including La Minerva Bar in the lobby, Gigi Rigolatto on the terrace opening in May 2025, and Mimi Kakushi, a fusion restaurant coming by the end of the year, with a concept by Rikas Hospitality Group. Additionally, the hotel offers five event spaces with a capacity ranging from 28 to 165 sqm and a marble statue of Minerva sculpted in 1854 by Rinaldo Rinaldi. CEO Gilda Perez-Alvarado and CEO Paolo Barletta express their commitment to blending the iconic brand with the entrepreneurial vision of Arsenale Group, while emphasizing Rome's ideal blend of history, culture, and Italian hospitality.

🏡 Nuvole Garden Hotel in Brunate, overlooking Lake Como, revives the historical Grand Hotel Milano after 40 years of silence with an 8-year renovation. Accessible by funicular from Como in seven minutes, the hotel offers 80 rooms and suites across five floors, including 29 suites and 37 lake-view rooms. It was originally designed in Art Nouveau style by Italian architect Achille Manfredini in 1910. The hotel showcases noble materials, fine fabrics, rare marbles, and crafted finishes. The Sole Gourmet Restaurant led by Executive Chef Stefano Mattara, honors Italian cooking legend Gualtiero Marchesi. The hotel's spa, THE SPA, features Finnish saunas, infrared sauna, Turkish baths, and sensory paths for wellness. Nuvole Garden Hotel, owned by Emilio Polillo of Italiana Hotels & Resorts, promises exceptional experiences for guests, events, and is the group's first luxury market venture.

🏡 ÖÖD Hotel, the first in Italy and Southern Europe, featuring mirror houses, is coming to Casola in Lunigiana, owned by Davide Longobardi of Spino Fiorito. The project, initiated in 2018 and resumed post-pandemic with a 2021 visit to Estonia, will open within weeks. Architect Paolo Scoglio designed a treehouse-like, reversible site without concrete use, including an outdoor deck, a 2.5-meter high ÖÖD house, and a 4.5-meter high mirror sauna, establishing a flagship point for ÖÖD in Italy.