Aperture

🎢 Star Clippers' themed cruise season starts in the Caribbean and Costa Rica with professional teacher-led classes aboard. Photography workshops by Danielle Desnoyers on Star Flyer start January 11 from St. Maarten. Marcy Clark and Kori Burkholder join for a February 8 departure. Early booking reductions for Mediterranean summer cruises available until January 31, with new departures from Nice, including a four-night mini-cruise in September 2025. Star Clipper's new home port in Grenada for winter 2025-26 has booking perks until April 30.

📍 Paola Coccarelli, Chief Product Officer at Gruppo Nicolaus, announced new summer programming in Sardinia, including new entries in Budoni and Castiadas. The company has developed a strategic transportation plan, offering flights to Cagliari and Olbia from main Italian airports and ferries from Civitavecchia, Genova, and Livorno. The addition includes Nicolaus Club Li Cucutti in North Sardinia and Nicolaus Prime Villas Resort in the South.

🏕 Mama Shelter Lake Como, a French hotel brand, will make its debut in Como, Italy, by mid-2026. Ennismore, in partnership with joint venture partners Zanklon Capital and Extendam, announced the project featuring 150 rooms across five categories, including 21 suites. Located two minutes from Como San Giovanni station and 35 minutes from Milan Malpensa Airport, the hotel will offer four restaurants and bars, a rooftop bar, a poolside informal restaurant, a Cafe Gelato, and a wellness area. The Como site, long unused, is being developed by studio A+B2 architettura.

🏦 Oberoi Hotels & Resorts is set to debut in the UK with the luxury Oberoi Mayfair hotel in London's Mayfair district, expected to open by the end of 2027. The development on South Molton Street will also include offices, residences, shops, restaurants, and public facilities. Construction began in the previous year. Oberoi, with 21 properties across Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East, marks this expansion as a key milestone in its international growth.

🏡 Relais & Châteaux will open the new Relais & Châteaux Vetera Matera on March 15, featuring 23 rooms in the ancient city of Sassi. Adda Attanasio, Director of Sales and Operations and Owner, hails from a four-generation family deep-rooted in hospitality, with Bellevue Syrene 1820 joining the prestigious association in 2012. The new project in Matera is a testament to the family's dedication to maintaining traditions. Six new entries were announced, including Relais & Châteaux Hotel Diepeschrather Mühle, set to open in March 2025 by renowned chef Nelson Müller in Germany. Other additions include an eco-resort in Brazil's Campos de Jordão, a hotel in Chile's Elqui Valley, a traditional Norwegian home with a Spa overlooking Storfjorden, and The Modern restaurant at MoMA. Laurent Gardinier, President of Relais & Châteaux, emphasizes the association's 70-year commitment to excellence and cultural, culinary, and natural heritage preservation.

🏕 Hyatt Hotels Corporation plans to open Hyatt Regency in Rome in 2025, expanding its Italian presence. Designed by architects Jeremy King and Riccardo Roselli, the contemporary hotel near Termini Station features a rooftop pool, bar, and restaurant, plus 238 rooms and over 1,000 sqm of flexible event space. Garnet Hospitality Partners manages, Investire SGR owns the property. Hyatt's Italian portfolio has grown to six properties since 2019, including recent openings in five cities. Future growth targets secondary markets like Naples, Turin, Bologna, and Puglia.

🏖️ Atmosphere Kanifushi Maldives, a five-star resort, is now an exclusive destination for Naar Bespoke Travel's new line of beach stays. The resort features 162 villas and suites ranging from 100 to 594 sqm across 9 categories. Silvia Collepardi highlighted the resort's philosophy of "Joy of Giving," which includes a comprehensive all-inclusive plan. Naar targets an expansion in Italy, with a clientele averaging spends of €10,000. In 2024, Naar expects to generate €74 million in revenue, a 12% increase, with projections of tripling the current €4 million from sales in France, Benelux, and Germany starting December.

🌟 Nicolaus Valtur Group is expanding with several new properties: Valtur Lifestyle in Cervinia opening December 4 with a 5-star rating post-restyling; a second Valtur Lifestyle in Gallipoli this summer featuring 122 rooms with a private bay and DJ-equipped suites. Valtur Maritim in Sibari, a 5-star facility aimed at MICE with a 1000-seat meeting room, complements nearly 1000 rooms across two other Nicolaus properties in Calabria. Efforts to add 15-20 hotels in Gargano are underway. Two new Club Nicolaus openings in Sardinia include the 4-star Nicolaus Club Li Cucutti in Budoni with 120 rooms, and the south's first 4-star Nicolaus Prime in the province of Cagliari at the Villa Resort Castiadas of Santa Giusta.

🏡 Belmond's Hotel Splendido in Portofino, Italy is undergoing a multi-year renovation led by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, with major updates each summer. In 2024, the hotel revealed refurbished rooms and a lobby. The 2023 focus was on the pool area, Splendido Grill restaurant, and La Baronessa suite. By 2025, the main building will be completely renovated, featuring new suites, junior suites, breakfast area, coffee bars, lounge bars, retail area, and a Dior Spa with four treatment cabins and a relaxation area on a panoramic terrace. Villa Beatrice, formerly known as Castello Odero and built by Attilio Odero, will open in July 2025, offering privacy with private sea access and services from Hotel Splendido. Located on Punta Caiega, the villa accommodates up to ten guests with four suites, an additional suite in "La Casetta," and includes amenities like a marble bathroom, a subtropical garden, private sea access, a pool with a solarium, butler service, a full kitchen, a gym, yoga or treatment area, and a large terrace for dining. Belmond acquired the villa in 2021, and restoration work includes original frescoes, ceilings by architect Gino Coppedè, and a mix of antique and contemporary regional art, designed in 1913.

🏠 Sonder, a multinational hospitality company, has launched 38 luxury suites and apartments in Milan's Corso Porta Romana, following the complete renovation of a building from the late 1960s, the former Hotel Lloyd. Angus Fiori Architects designed the project, maintaining existing alignments and complying with landscape constraints. The Unica wood/aluminum windows by BG Legno were chosen for their aesthetic and up to 46 db sound insulation, harmonizing with the historic surroundings and sustainable mobility services offered by Sonder Building.