Aperture

🏖 In Marina di Modica, the Terradamari Resort & Spa, part of Hilton's Tapestry Collection, opened on February 14 with a 65% booking rate for 2025, leading with British, American, German, and French guests. The resort features 42 rooms, a spa, and an outdoor pool. It represents a €16 million investment by Gruppo Minardo, creating 40 jobs and revitalizing the local economy with Sicilian craftsmanship and tourism-focused youth opportunities. Average stays range from two nights before June to four during summer.

🏖️ The Elysium Hotel in Paphos undergoes a €10 million renovation, introducing 48 new suites designed by Cypriot architect Eraklis Papachristou, harmonious spaces, and Mediterranean materials. Facilities include Garden Villa Suites with private gardens and plunge pools, and adult-only Studio Suites with queen-size beds and private terraces. Renovation completion is set for spring-summer 2025, enhancing the resort with native plant gardens and balancing tradition with innovation.

🏖 Ota Viaggi enhances Italy's coastal offerings with five summer club additions in Sardinia, Sicily, and Basilicata. Baja Blanca in San Teodoro reopens after an 8-year hiatus since 2016, now boasting a refurbishment and doubled beach concessions from 70 to 140 umbrellas. Baja Aranzos returns after three years, while Tonnare di Stintino, added mid-2024 season, is now exclusive to Ota. Cefalù Resort with 130 seaside rooms in Sicily and ClubEsse Aquilia in Calabria join as exclusive offerings. "Io prenoto" promos run until March 31, offering registration fee waivers, free cancellation within 30 days, money-back, and vacation booking with just 10% down, balance due one month before travel.

🏖️ Ten new Travelbuy travel agencies will open in early 2025 across various Italian cities including Rimini, Catania, Imperia, Napoli, Rome, and Salerno. These agencies are notable for predominantly featuring young entrepreneurs, indicating the tourism sector's appeal to the under-30 demographic. Alfredo Vassalluzzo, founder of Travelbuy since 2008, credits their long-term success to a consistent and proven business model. The network supports new travel agents by providing essential value-added services to ensure market competitiveness.

🏠 The Social Hub opened its first hybrid hospitality hub in Porto, Portugal, marking the company's entrance into the Portuguese market. Spearheaded by COO Marion Koopman, the €60 million investment created over 30 jobs and spans 11,200 square meters. The Porto site, located in Bonjardim, features 310 rooms including 271 hotel rooms and 39 apartments, alongside 580+ square meters of coworking space, 450 square meters of meeting/event space, and an auditorium with 250+ capacity.

🎭 Renowned chef Jean Imbert unveiled "La Forêt Secrète par Jean Imbert" at Disneyland Hotel in Disneyland Paris. Inspired by childhood memories and Disney animation, the restaurant offers two menus, including a children’s menu—a first in Imbert's career. The menu takes guests on a journey through Disney worlds, emphasizing seasonal produce and French culinary artistry. Wine and Champagne selections from regions like Bourgogne and Bordeaux enhance the experience, while Murano glass chandeliers and hand-painted frescoes create an immersive dining atmosphere.

🏠 B-Luxe Gironda, located in the heart of Ravenna, features sophisticated atmosphere and combines classical elegance with contemporary comfort. It relies on dormakaba's advanced technological solutions, including Pixel locks that blend design and functionality with a minimalist and modern finish, complemented by Olivari knobs. The installation also includes SR readers in common areas for secure, badge-based access, and the Ambiance software for real-time access management. This integration enhances guest security and experience, while easing management and maintaining aesthetic appeal.

🏦 Sina Hotels, led by Bernabò Bocca, won the bid to create a new luxury hotel in Milan's municipal building, Galleria Ciro Fontana, featuring over 2,000 sqm and 10 floors. The auction, starting at €1.15 million annually, saw Sina Hotels and Aries Group compete. Decided by a June 2024 council resolution, Sina Hotels will pay the city over €43 million for a 36-year concession, equaling more than €1.2 million per year. The expansion includes about 30 new rooms and suites.

🏖️ Atmosphere Core, an Asian company with nine resorts in the Maldives and luxury hotels in the pipeline in Sri Lanka and India, is set to open Borgo Monchiero Heritage by Atmosphere in Italy's Cuneo province as its first European destination in 2026. The 18th-century monastery, built in 1773, offers 19 timeless design suites and rooms, regional cuisine, a private chapel for weddings, an elevated chapter room for events, a lounge bar, a wellness area with sauna, infrared therapy, and a restored stone cistern jacuzzi, plus an outdoor garden pool. Owners Franco Giampetruzzi and Gian Maria Debenedetti chose Atmosphere Core for its international expansion aligned with their vision of authenticity.

🏠 The Social Hub opens in Rome on March 31, completing its launch in the capital. It's a hybrid hospitality concept designed to foster community connections through shared experiences and spaces for travelers, workers, students, and residents. Located in San Lorenzo, part of a larger urban regeneration project, it features a four-star hotel, public park opening in late spring, coworking space with 15 private offices, 48 private desks, flexible workstations, meeting rooms, and call cabins, a 24/7 gym, pool, event spaces, restaurants, and bars including a rooftop bar managed by The Social Hub and an externally run restaurant. The Rome facility will also test a monthly subscription model for additional access to coworking, pool, gym, and community experiences.