Aperture

🌆 Opening on March 31 in Rome, The Social Hub completes its launch in the capital, featuring a hybrid hospitality model, designed to foster community connections with shared experiences and spaces for travelers, workers, students, and locals. The San Lorenzo-based hub is part of a broader urban regeneration project and will include a four-star hotel, a coworking space with 15 private offices and 48 private desks, bars and restaurants, a 24/7 gym, a swimming pool, and event spaces. A public park will open in late spring. The site also introduces a monthly subscription for full-access to amenities like coworking spaces and the gym.

🏨 IHG Hotels & Resorts expands its mid-scale international portfolio with the Garner brand, starting in the UK. The Garner Hotel Preston Samlesbury in North England is the first to join the development program. Approximately 50 Garner hotels to emerge in Germany through a deal with Novum Hospitality. Garner focuses on essentials like comfortable beds, free wifi, fresh coffee, and healthy snacks. Expansion plans include Central and Northern Europe, Italy, and Turkey, with IHG pursuing new acquisitions.

🏖️ Sani/Ikos Group, with over 50 years of luxury hospitality at Sani Resort in Calcidica, plans to expand in the Mediterranean using Sani and Ikos brands. New Ikos resorts are expected to open in Greece, Spain, and Portugal between 2026 and 2028. In Greece, Sani Resort is developing an ambitious plan to unify five hotels into one destination, including a land acquisition between Sani Club and Sani Dunes, and renovating Sani Club as part of an ongoing investment program to enhance the luxury experience.

🏛 Minor Hotels brings Tivoli Hotels & Resorts to Mexico, debuting in Merida in 2027 with 69 private Tivoli-branded residences. This will be Tivoli's first venture in Mexico and the third in Latin America, joining two existing properties in Brazil. The five-star complex, located on Paseo Montejo in Mérida, the capital of Yucatán, is 20 minutes from the international airport. It includes a restaurant, outdoor pool with bar, luxury boutique, gym, spa, gardens, and a patio. The project is part of Casona 333, a historic 1903 residence. CEO Gonzalo Aguilar of Minor Hotels for Europe and the Americas is excited about the collaboration with Designia and the entry into a new market. Additional branded residence projects are underway, such as Anantara Ubud Bali Resort and NH Collection Ras Al Khaimah Al Marjan Island Hotel & Apartments.

🏡 Hotel Metropole in Taormina, acquired by BZAR Hotels last summer, reopens tomorrow with 8 new suites in the historic Villa Conrad. The Metropole has undergone a restyling, now presenting 25 contemporary rooms and suites with furniture by Molteni, B&B, Flos, Poltrona Frau, and Ethimo. Executive Chef Gaetano Procopio, with experience at the Michelin-starred Pergola di Heinz Beck, introduces a new Mediterranean menu at La Terrazza and Bellevue restaurants, complementing the hotel's infinity pool and MET Pool Bar with a panoramic Etna and Baia di Naxos view.

🏠 In France, limehome is opening 25 fully digitalized serviced apartments in Paris Suresnes and 19 units in Versailles in a historic building near the Palace of Versailles and Marché Notre Dame. The Paris location, close to Europe's largest financial district La Défense, targets business travelers and will launch in autumn 2025. CEO Josef Vollmayr highlighted Paris's 52 million overnight stays in 2023, seeing significant potential in the French hospitality market. Both properties are collaborations with local real estate partners. Limehome plans to expand in the Île-de-France region, according to Chief Growth Officer Daniel Hermann.

🏡 The Goethe Hotel, situated on the banks of the Tiber river in Passeggiata di Ripetta, recently opened after a significant renovation. Inspired by the 19th-century Grand Tour, the boutique hotel boasts 27 rooms and blends elegance and culture with design by Pacini Group and Chiara Caberlon. Featuring a 'Libreria Infinita' in its grand hall and suites named after Italian cities visited by the poet Goethe, the hotel offers an exclusive experience with Affinity Kitchen & Alchemy restaurant and a spa. It is now part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

🍹 Bar Minerva in Pavia, established in 1957, reopened on February 7 after a month-long renovation. Co-owner Salvatore Spataro oversees the bar since 2023 at Corso Cavour 64. Featuring over 150 seating places, the bar serves from 7 AM offering breakfast, varied lunch menus, and transforms into a cocktail bar by night. With a selection of over 100 gin labels, the drink list includes classics and signature cocktails. The updated drink list will launch around March 15, adding 3-5 new signature cocktails and non-alcoholic options. Luca Somma, with extensive mixology experience, champions a minimalist approach to drink decoration and is updating the drink list to reflect a range of tastes.

🏛 Invel Real Estate will finance the transformation of Rome's Hotel Majestic into a luxury 5-star Baccarat-branded hotel with a €111.2 million investment via bonds. Acquired by Boscalt Hospitality two years earlier, the hotel, established in 1889, will undergo renovation, completing by late 2026. Baccarat Hotel Rome will feature 87 refined rooms and suites, a restaurant with a Via Veneto terrace, a Grand Salon, and panoramic bar-lounge. Invel manages around 2,000 keys in the Mediterranean. Baccarat Hotels & Resorts, soon to be named Starwood Hotels, is expanding globally, with the Rome location set to become a luxury hospitality landmark.

🛒 Bialetti, an iconic Italian coffee culture brand, opened two new stores on February 27 in Milan at Corso Vittorio Emanuele 15 and in Biella at the corner of Via Italia and Via XX Settembre. The Milan store offers a unique shopping experience with a special showcase for the Exclusive line and Dolce&Gabbana line. Enrico Segner, Bialetti Retail's Chief Commercial Officer, emphasizes the importance of this expansion for growth and commitment to urban vitality, marking the second Bialetti store in Milan after Piazza Duomo 17. This reflects Bialetti's strategy to promote the authentic Italian coffee experience, blending craftsmanship, innovation, and local ties.